I take pride in my observational skills and adaptability.

I first realized my exceptional observational

skills because of a report card during middle school. My teacher made it clear that my observational
skills were much higher than it should be at my age. I used these observational skills throughout my
high school life in academics, in internships, and in friendships. My adaptability came to light when I
first moved to India. It was a very big move because our entire lifestyle changed so suddenly. I had a
new school, new house, new languages, new clothes (school uniforms), new cartoon channels; it was
a very drastic change. Through all that, my parents had even more stress, with all the new changes
they had to coordinate. My mom was always thanking me for making do with what I had and not
complaining about what I didn't. This adaptability was a very useful skill for me throughout my life, it
taught me to make the best of what I had and to not worry about things I didn't have. It helped me
become a more resourceful and efficient student. My observational skills taught me how to take in
and process information efficiently. I feel that these two strengths are extremely important for
someone like me who wants to pursue a career in medicine. In medicine, you need to be able to
notice the smallest changes in a patient's physiology, in their behavior, and many more things that
could play a role in their health. Once you can notice these nuances, you must be able to process the
information, and effectively treat the patient without hesitation. I feel that I will be able to use these
strengths to the utmost of my ability and be the best doctor I can be.

I'm the type of person to live in the present. I don't like to dwell on things that happened in the past,
things I can't change. I used to have a friend who was the exact opposite, he would always be stuck
in the past on things that he couldn't change, and he would always confide in me about his concerns
for these already occurred events. I would find it continuously difficult to reach a common ground
with him because of our different perceptions and mindsets. This was a real problem for me because
I'm the type of person who can relate to everybody in one way or another, whether it be because we
really were similar or because I could understand where they were coming from. This friend who I
just couldn't empathize with puzzled me; it was a completely new experience. I had thought about
his own situation, about why he couldn't move on from something that had happened in the past.
Was there something I was missing? Or was I just unable to show any compassion towards him and
his feelings? This whole situation changed the way I viewed empathy and my ability to empathize.
“It's just not possible to empathize with everybody.” is what I concluded. If I tried to empathize with
people I couldn't, if I showed fake compassion, it would only hurt them. It would probably hurt me
as well at some point. This realization helped me become a more mature person when giving advice
and letting people confide in me; I was able to help more people by not helping them in the wrong
way. The important distinction was that even though I could not show the compassion he needed
towards him, I still felt the need to help him, even if it wasn't me who could do that.