Achieving a meaningful career requires utmost determination and commitment.

This is the philosophy of my father, who is the hardest working person I know and my role model. While in high school, I knew I wanted to become a physician. Since that time I have expended maximum effort toward my career goal. Reflecting on the source of my commitment, I realized to my surprise that it largely also stems from my longstanding affection for basketball. Let me clarify how I arrived at this conclusion. Within his poem, "Sailing to Byzantium", William Butler Yeats speaks of escaping from the natural world to a land of paradise. Indeed, we all have a place we go to in times of need, whether it be for consolation, comfort, or thought. Aristotle had his Lyceum, Caesar his forum, Buddha his Bo tree. And I, Arvinder, I have the basketball court. Since my early childhood, I have been an avid player of basketball. It came naturally to me. The lessons I learned from playing basketball laid the foundation of me becoming a mature adult. I learned that teamwork and making the proper decision at the right time are very important. I recognize that practice significantly improves performance and enhances physical coordination to carry out complex tasks. My intention, while playing basketball, was not to be the best player, but rather to contribute to the team's effort to the best of my abilities. Through basketball, I learned the need to live a disciplined life. I needed to maintain a superior academic record while at the same time be intensively involved in an extracurricular activity that demanded considerable effort and time. The discipline I learned from basketball spread to other parts of my personality, including my moral character, work ethic, and perseverance. Through this sport, I have experienced pain, sacrifice, adversity, and success. Exposure to these feelings-which are, in my opinion is the essence of being. There are obvious, important similarities between my sports activity and my career plans. I decided to pursue a career in Rehab medicine because of the many injuries that I had to rehab while I was playing basketball. I learned early on that rehabilitation requires hard work and team effort in order to be successful. Rehab starts from a proper diagnosis and exercise regimen made by a physician, which is then carried out by properly trained therapists. In order for the patient to recover properly and regain maximum function a team of professionals must be working on the same page. It does not matter if the patient is a star athlete recovering from an ACL tear or an individual undergoing cardiac rehab after a coronary artery bypass surgery, a multidisciplinary approach is required. "Unutterable and nameless is that which torments and delights my soul and is also the hunger of my belly." So says Nietzche when asked to describe his virtue, but I shall perhaps have to be specific. My interests have blossomed in Rehab medicine and deepened over the past few years because of its vast nature, but I have developed a keen interest in musculoskeletal medicine. The interest, most likely, stems back to my passion for basketball and sports activity. Early on I gained respect for the human body and the requirements needed for it to perform at its highest level. Throughout my residency, I have rotated through various outpatient clinics specializing in musculoskeletal medicine and saw tremendous amounts of pathology. I observed first hand the diligence required to do a complete physical exam and ascertain a diagnosis. However, what really was exciting was the multiple ways certain pathologies could be treated. Physiatrists have multiple modalities at then" finger tips, ranging from conservative to interventional. My interest in pursuing a fellowship is to gain further experience in musculoskeletal medicine and further practice in certain treatments. Similar to basketball, more practice will significantly improve my performance and will increase my manual dexterity to carry out certain treatments.