Two Roads, One Purpose by Sophie

Two Roads, One Purpose by Sophie - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

I hate doing things for myself. I always feel a sense of selfishness. I hate drawing attention to myself. I always feel self absorbed. I hate asking for help. I always feel needy. My feelings of how other people may view me are not only rooted in natural insecurity, but also the strength of my mother. My mother would give me her last sip of water even if it meant that she went thirty. She would give me her last bite even if it meant that she went hungry. She would take a bullet for me even if it meant that she would die. Her selflessness not only created gratitude for her dedication to me, but also envy for willingness to sacrifice. I realized that it is only right for me to be willing to endure the same struggles for my children. My major in college is not only dependent on what I will be happy doing in the future, but also a career path that will support generational success for my family.
While I want to make my children comfortable and my mom proud, I also do not want to disappoint my father’s name. I have a father but not a dad. My father has never been a major role in my life, but I still feel the need to make him proud. His validation is not for him, but for me to show myself that I was able to do it even when the odds were against me. From when I was young, my plan was to attend medical school and become a physician. My father has been jumping for joy ever since he found out that his daughter wanted to be a doctor. The first doctor in the family. My mom has worked at Meharry Medical College for my entire life. I essentially lived in the world of physicians and I loved it! I watched every doctor show. From Grey’s Anatomy to The Good Doctor. I watched it all. One thing that my mother’s coworkers always told me was to not limit myself while I’m young. When they first told me this, I thought they were crazy, and I was slightly offended. Did they not think I would handle medical school? Is it because I was a black girl aspiring to be a physician? My bruised ego turned into open doors that I would’ve never thought I would even peek through their window. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and take the Advanced Placement Economics course at my school and I fell in love with the world of economics and finance. When I told my father about this new door that I had discovered, he did not receive this very well. He is still adamant on me staying on the path of medical school, but his stubbornness only makes me want to indulge in the world of finance more. My understanding and appreciation of the world of finance was not at the expense of my desire of becoming a doctor. When I graduate high school, I plan on majoring in economics and also taking a pre-med track so I can explore my new interest while also becoming something that I have always dreamed of doing. I think it is important to note that I am not doing this to satisfy the wish of my father. I’m doing this for the little girl that looked down from her mom’s Meharry Medical College office at young black doctors, hoping that one day she would be one of them.