Most people would find my idea of a "happy place" to be downright horrifying. Many individuals feel content at a beach, mountain, or in the comfort of their own home. However, the one place that makes me feel most content is in a hospital. Common connotations of my place of peaceful happiness involve blood, sickness, and death. However, when I think of the word hospital, these negative associations do not come to mind. Instead, I think of a place I would like to work for the rest of my life.

Whenever my family and I walk through the emergency room doors of our local hospital, the staff immediately recognizes us. Over the years, my brother Luke has been the main reason for our trips to the hospital. From a broken knee, shoulder, ribs, and thumb, it's no wonder that we are familiar faces among the ER patients! In a way, I could call the hospital my second home. I feel this way because the nurses and doctors not only know my family by name, but I feel at home in the environment.

Because of my experiences at hospitals, I have set my mind on a profession in the medical field. My personal experience at Boston Children's Hospital sparked my initial desire. From the ages of one to seven, I had a medical condition that required me to have biannual checkups with doctors at the children's hospital. On a particular visit to Boston Children's, I walked through the revolving door into the brightly furnished lobby and saw many sick children. As I looked around there were kids with physical disabilities, terminal illnesses, and other medical conditions. I partially understood what these children were going through, but also did not. I recall seeing a boy whose feet were cut off by a lawnmower. I remember feeling sad for this boy because I realized he would never have the same opportunities I would. Seeing these kids made me realize I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field and make a difference in the lives of sick children.

After my appointment that day, I went home with a goal to make everyone and everything around me better. From that point on, every single stuffed animal that I possessed became a sick patient. I would carry my pretend medical kit around the house checking the vital signs of my beloved stuffed friends, along with my family members. Even at this young age, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to improve the lives of others. I think that most kids would be frightened by the sights seen at the children's hospital, but not me. I felt something totally opposite, a feeling deep down in my soul that I knew I needed to help children and their families.

There is something about the fast paced and unpredictable atmosphere of a hospital that excites me. One day I hope to work in a hospital, like Boston Children's, and work to make sick kids better. Even though I try to approach every situation with an optimistic attitude, I realize that I will not be able to save every child I treat. I understand that the main reason for these children being there in the first place is that they are extremely ill. Even though some patients of mine will not be given good prognoses, I am determined to work hard, and try my hardest to make them better. Someday I want to be able to look back in time and know that all of my hard work really did pay off. I want the dream the little girl had of healing her stuffed animals to come true.