I have not discuss my ideas with anyone because I thought that I can generate more ideas when I free-write.
Unfortunately, this action has costed me 19 rubbish essays, aka a month of nothing.
However, once I discussed my ideas with my brother and mother, who are medical school students and doctor respectively, I have written a much better essay.
Side note: I specifically said that your readers should going or be in the health profession because they know what kind of ideas will touch the hearts of the admission staff.
I have asked EssayEdge editors to look over my essay for at least six times. They did great to make my essay error-free because I always felt safe to hand in my essay after they checked my essay for me. Plus, I highly recommend Barbara Dressel from Essay Edge because she provides great suggestions to improve my essays.
Although the prompt says:
Your Personal Essay should address why you selected OT as a career and how an Occupational Therapy degree relates to your immediate and long-term professional goals.
Describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you achieve your goals.
YOU should be read the prompt as three-question problem:
"ME, you used to go to occupational therapy for developmental delay." I was confused when my mom told me about this because I have no recollection of it. Considering that I excel academically and physically in school, I was shocked when my mom told me that when I was three, I had severe hypotonia and had not started speaking or developing eye contact. After learning about this experience, I am amazed by the power of my therapist. I discovered that my therapist taught me the necessary skills that I need in life through telling me how to perform daily activities ranging from holding a pen to giving a speech. Realizing the positive impact of my therapist, I am determined to become an occupational therapist to help others live their lives to the fullest. I am also drawn to this career because of my interest in cognition and physiology, along with the possibility of applying my creativity to existing therapies.
My immediate goal is to help patients perform the tasks they want to perform. During my volunteer experience at Elmwood Rehabilitation Center, I helped an ALS patient, who thought he would never be able to write again, type a love letter to his wife by himself. I was able to find computer software that allowed him to type with only his head and neck motion,and I customized an on-screen keyboard so that he could type faster. It was extremely heartwarming and rewarding to see how surprised and joyful he was after accomplishing something that he had thought impossible. From this experience, I discovered the joy of helping others to achieve the "mission impossible." I am also excited about the possibility that I may one day positively influence someone for a lifetime, like my therapist did.
In addition to the rewarding nature of occupational therapy, I am also very interested in the science and physiology involved in the field. My interest stems from my college courses in physiology, anatomy abnormal psychology, and introduction to occupational therapy, all of which equipped me with the ability to appreciate the science and purpose behind the therapies. Because of this interest, I conducted activity analyses on the patients from Elmwood. I found that the most common therapeutic activity was tea-making. Tea-making requires high levels of both cognitive and physical function. My activity analysis shows that it requires an intact memory system and satisfactory physical abilities, such as dynamic standing, reaching, and appropriate muscle control. Patients with dementia or hemiplegia will fail in this task because they are missing some of these abilities. Activity analyses will be crucial in understanding the therapies necessary for patients to achieve their goals.
The possibility of tailoring therapies according to each patient's interest through my creativity as an occupational therapist also strongly appeals to me. The therapist from Elmwood asked me to use the pegboard to conduct a ten-minute session with a patient who needed to practice dynamic sitting and shoulder strengthening. Through previous communication with the patient, I knew that the patient enjoyed painting. Instead of asking the patient to put as many pegs into the pegboard as possible, I asked the patient to make pictures out of the pegs, such as in the form of a star. Being an innovative thinker, I was able to make a seemingly mundane exercise more interesting by combining it with the individual patient's interest. He made two pictures with me and practiced these essential skills for more than the required time. After this session, I was excited about combining my creativity with therapies, and I learned how important it is to conduct the therapy based on my patients' individual interests and goals, because this can enhance patients' adherence to therapy.
My long-term goal is to master these skills and publish my occupational therapy case studies to empower people who have disabilities. I vividly remember my fifth-grade classmate Richard, who had multiple disabilities: his face, his finger, and his legs were disfigured. He stuttered when he spoke. Instead of befriending him, my classmates excluded him for being different. Witnessing his experience, I was horrified: not only do people with disabilities have to face their medical problems, but they also have to face unnecessary social discrimination. Realizing how detrimental intolerance is, I am determined to use my cases to show to the general public that people with disabilities can be as functional as people without them, and that people with disabilities deserve to be accepted.
I still cannot believe that I was transformed from a helpless toddler into a woman who can assist others because of a past occupational therapist. Knowing that I am the living achievement of this once-forgotten therapist, I am inspired and excited to embark on my journey as an occupational therapist who will empower my patients through helping them to perform the tasks that they want to perform, and publishing their achievement, ultimately improving their quality of life.