The minute I stepped foot into Mrs. Park’s kindergarten classroom, I knew I was going to have a great year with an even greater teacher. Every morning, she would stand in front of room two, greeting each and every individual student with a genuine smile that seemed to stretch for miles across her face. On the first day of school, she introduced herself, as any teacher would, and told us a bit about herself. “Hi, I’m Mrs. Park, and I will be your teacher for this year…” Personally, I found her extensive shoe collection the most intriguing of all. My personal favorite were her sandal wedges that boosted her an extra two to three inches off the ground. That night at the dinner table, my parents pestered me with questions.

“How do you like school? Did you learn anything new?”

“She’s so nice. When I grow up, I want to be a teacher! She gets to wear high heels. I want to wear open-toed shoes like that, too!” Of course, my reasons for being a teacher were odd, but she and her shoes had a lasting effect on me and laid a foundation for the rest of my life.

Years passed and soon the prospect of eighth grade graduation was near. My friends and I directed our thoughts towards the inescapable -- high school. We loathed the idea of having to focus all academics and even extra-curriculars towards the idea of college acceptance. Everything revolved around if it was worth it and if it would look good on a college resume.

Most of my friends had older siblings that they could refer to or get answers from, but I was the older child in my family, which often times left me feeling behind and lost. It was so easy for them, and I constantly felt as if I were held at a disadvantage. I was struggling with the idea of handling my future, and when I asked my parents for advice, they told me not to worry and that sooner or later, I would find my “true calling.”

“Did you know that your great-uncle, worked for his government? He was even on the news sometimes! My sister works as a nutritionist in a hospital and Aunt Wen works at a children’s radio station. Your grandpa trained police dogs for some time, but he quit because he was always coming home with scars on his hands from dog bites...” Mother continued mumbling to herself as she turned away, busying herself in the kitchen. She was a travel agent, and through her job, she had also established many connections with people in high places.

“Your uncle in Australia founded a sunglasses company, and my brother is a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Your cousin Terry is studying to become a lawyer; Tiffany is in med-school. Aunt Ho used to be a teacher in Florida, Aunt Lu retired from her previous job and is looking to become a teacher as well! Many of your other uncles and aunts majored in chemistry, some even received a PhD!” My dad had just listed every successful relative on his side of the family. Realizing that he had not eased my mind at all, he hastily added, “There are many different jobs out there, you just need to find one that can financially support you as an individual, and also be interesting enough that you enjoy going to work.”

As I reflected back on what my parents told me, I began to notice that nearly every one of my close relatives were distinguished, some more so than others, but still extremely successful. This lead me to thinking about my own future and career, and how I wished to be remembered in my family. I had convinced myself that teachers just weren’t as notable as other careers. Realizing I was back to square one, with absolutely nothing on the job list that I had created in my mind, I felt dejected and unworthy. I went to bed that night drowning myself in sorrows, sad thoughts, and even shed a few tears.

As I entered high school, I found my classes to be harder and more challenging than I had expected. It was a rough transition for me and the thought that I was the family’s failure, or black sheep, lingered in the back of my mind. The summer before, a close friend of mine, Rose, had encouraged me to join her and take on field hockey as a seasonal sport. Taking her advice, I joined her in trying out and together, we made the team. From there, my love of athletics and interest in the human body and its functions skyrocketed. Field hockey became one of my passions and through the experience and my coach’s guidelines, it taught me how to better care for my body. I took on a personal interest and found that my daily protein and water intake was not enough. Upon changing my diet, my playing time and tallies on the roster indicated a noticeable increase in performance on the field.
Another friend of mine had recently told me about her friend who was taking physiology at our school. A requirement for that class was to complete at least eight hours of volunteer service under someone with a health related occupation; many students chose to shadow our school’s athletic trainer, Javier.

“You should try and go talk to Javier yourself, and see if he’ll let you intern or shadow him for a while. That way you’ll know if being an athletic trainer or physical therapist is actually something you want to do in your future.”

That day after school, I immediately went to present my dilemma to Javier.
“Are you sure this is something you want to pursue, or at least try out?”
“Yeah.”
“Well usually I only take on those that are currently in physiology, but send me an email about why you want to do this, why I should take you on. I’ll let you know within three days.”

I raced back home, sat down in front of my laptop, and drafted a quick email. I desperately wanted this internship, so that I could decide what I wanted to do with my life. I was in no position to turn down any opportunity, and a near miraculous one like such was rare.

Dear Javier,
I want to be your intern and be able to shadow you, so that I can see if this is
something I want to pursue in my future life and career. I have a sincere interest in this
opportunity and would like to make the most of it. I have no prior experience, but my
dedication is sincere and real.
Thank you,
Kimi C.

I was anxious and worried that I would come off as an inexperienced, overachieving freshman, who just wanted to put something that looked good on her college apps. On the third day, I ran home from school, as if my life depended on it. I paced back and forth around my room; there was nothing new in my inbox yet and I was scared that I had lost my final opportunity. I checked again after dinner and to my surprise, an email popped up, claiming that he would be glad to take me on as a disciple. In his email, he went on to mention that I would need to first dedicate myself to eight hours in his training room, and from there, make a decision to see if I wanted to continue working with him.

I chose to start the following week and I was so engaged and genuinely intrigued by the things that Javier did as an athletic trainer, that it wasn’t until a month later that I realized I had already completed my eight hours long ago. We worked out a schedule where I would go in a few days a week after school for two to three hours. My internship with Javier only started in the spring of my freshman year; however, in only three short months, I mastered the techniques of taping an ankle, wrist, and fingers. It was a complicated procedure of layering the tape in a way that it not only supported the injured area on an athlete, but also covered the entire section. Strips of tape also had to be ripped so that it would not fold onto itself. I obtained a great deal of knowledge in such a short period of time. Javier’s job was not purely caring for athletes during practice and games, but also included the upkeep and maintenance of the athletics trainer room. Cleanliness in the room was solely dependent on him, and to keep the place looking and smelling nice was a challenge since the cluttered room was small with limited air circulation. To make matters worse, athletes often came looking for Javier, glistening with sweat after a workout. This stunk up the place so much that even spraying an entire can of Febreeze wouldn’t help.

The simple fact that Javier had allowed me to work under his guidance gave me the biggest morale boost I have ever received to this day. Up until then, I had always thought of myself as incapable and unworthy. I didn’t think anyone would want to employ such a child with little to no experience. I like to think that it was because of Rose that inspired me to embark on this journey, that I was able to find my strengths and finally give a name and a title as to what I wished to become in my future. There are many different paths in life, some with bigger obstacles and more complicated than others, but with the right people by your side, each individual will ultimately find their own ‘true calling.’