College Admissions Essay: What Can I Do To Help

“What can I do to help?” Throughout my life I have asked this question many times. As a child watching my father interact with patients, as a Marine serving in a war torn country, and even now as a college student looking toward the future I ask how I can help. From a very early age, I remember looking up to my father in his optometry practice. From about the age of 8, I knew I wanted to help people like he did. I remember how he could comfort a patient by listening to what they had to say. It was always a treat for me to watch him work with a patient. He usually began by just speaking with the patient about their life and how they were doing, and then he would conduct the exam with such a fluid and calm demeanor that nearly every patient was completely at ease. I remember thinking how great a feeling he must have had when he helped them and how they must feel to know their doctor cares for their well-being.
However, I still had a desire to protect people. With the misguided mind of a youth, I decided to do that through the military. I chose the Marine Corps because it is widely believed to be the most challenging branch of the military, and in hindsight that was exactly what a lazy, irresponsible, and unreliable boy needed. The Marines instilled in me fundamental skills and values that transformed me into a responsible adult with an even stronger conviction to help those in need. I learned how to provide emergency medical care in the Combat Lifesaver course, and applied these skills in stressful and hazardous conditions. While deployed, I saw the devastation the war reaped on the people of Iraq, and I asked myself “What can I do to help,” so after much consideration, I became close friends with the corpsman (medic), and ultimately decided to help him in caring for Iraqis in