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I did a search on this and the threads related to this question are pertaining to specific situations... So, I am a 25 year old male finishing up his undergraduate degree right now. I really hope medical schools do not read this and connect this thread with my application, but I doubt that will happen, because I am nothing special lol. Plus that would take a lot of time.
Anyways, I am writing my personal statement and I was wondering what is too personal for one? It seems ironic, but almost every major obstacle I have overcome in my life is not really mentionable in a personal statement, at least I don't think it is. I am also not sure how to relate them to medicine, but I will try to outline how it helped me grow as a person. Here are some true examples. Note: A lot of these issues seem to be an extension of the first one that I am about to list.
1. A very abusive childhood. I was literally beaten several times a week (by a biological parent), and I had a knife held to my throat and somebody (an adult) threatening to kill me before I was even 10 years old. This happened over many years. This is relevant because I learned how to forgive, although it took a long time and a lot of introspection. It also helped me see the causality of things in life. This person was abused as a child as well (I think worse than I was), so it simply carried on to me. I also promised to myself that I would break this cycle and never abuse my children, if I ever have any. This did however, make me afraid to have children in the future, I am scared that I will abuse them too, and I do not want anybody to go through anything remotely similar to what I went through.
2. Battling depression and social anxiety. These issues probably stem from the previous issue. I really have thought about committing suicide so many times in my life, things just seem to get so down and pointless. But I really struggled through it and I feel that I am much happier now, and have become much more resilient after hitting such lows in life. This was an incredibly difficult thing to overcome.
I have also picked up jobs just for the sake of socializing and overcoming my anxiety, which I believe I have done. Jobs such as working at a crowded retail store at a popular mall on the weekends where I have to greet and talk to strangers all day long. I did not need the money, this was simply a self-improvement goal. I joined toastmasters for a year and gave about 10 public speeches in order to work on this as well, and I did this to get over my fear of public speaking too.
3. Trouble with the law and behavioral problems. I used to be a big trouble maker when I was younger and I have been arrested several times. I think this issue largely stems from having an abusive childhood with a parental role occupied by an easily angered individual. My record is clean, which is why I do not want to mention this. This was an issue that I believe helped me grow as a person. I made a lot of mistakes earlier on that I will never make again. I also had to overcome some issues with anger, which took a while. I used to get into a lot of fights in high school. I have not been in a physical altercation or been arrested since I was 18, so that is 7 years.
This was also beneficial because I was exposed to a wide range of people and experiences around this time period, from drug addicts to felons, and I made friends with some of these people as well. I saw a different side of life from a first hand perspective that many people only get a glimpse of from a distance.
4. Academic struggles. I used to do much worse in school and I was held back a year in high school, for not caring about school and skipping classes and failing most of my classes. I did get my diploma though, after some time. My high school counselor actually told me to drop out and said that I was unable to get my high school diploma. That was harsh, and I ended up getting my diploma a few months after that. My GPA in high school was around a 2.0, literally. My GPA now is about a 3.4, so that is a major improvement when contrasting the two situations. I have improved greatly since then, and I still have much room left for improvement.
5. My best friend committed suicide several years ago. This was one of the hardest experiences of my life to go through. I did not even believe it when I first heard the news. I did not have many friends in high school and I used to eat alone for the first few months, and this was one of my first friends in high school. We hung out a lot and have had philosophical discussions about life and death and what happens after death, and the meaning of life, and where we were going to be in the future. Now I wonder what kind of man he would be if he were still alive today.
I literally spoke to him days before he passed away. At his funeral, I was in shock and it was just so surreal to see him there. His family was devastated. This is the closest person to me that I have ever lost to death. I could not even comprehend what was happening at first. This also showed me how rare and meaningful true friends are, as there were people he hung out with at that time just to gain their acceptance, and they did not even bother showing up to his funeral.
This really forced me to confront mortality and how fragile and ephemeral human life really is. It also made me more aware of how futile many of our daily worries and troubles really are, and how they simply mean nothing in the big scheme of things. I also learned to be more compassionate and less judgmental, everybody is simply struggling through life and you have no idea what they have been through or what they are going through. I had no idea he was suffering to this extent, he was always good at putting on a tough exterior, plus we had been drifting apart around that time so I did not see him as often, otherwise I think I could have picked up on this.
The experience really made me wish I had reached out to him when he was in need, and gave me a yearning to help others who are in need as well. Suffering exists in all forms, and is not simply physical or psychological. Many people suffer quietly while those around them are unaware.
Sorry if that sounded flowery, I am writing freely because I know that I am anonymous on here. The way I write here is also the way I talk in real life too.
Thoughts? Can I write about any of these? If so, how would I even go about that? These topics seem too delicate and some of these events happening to a person can give a false pre-conceived notion of the individual if somebody were to read about it in a personal statement (Ex. Trouble with the law, even in the past, means an overall aggressive person).
Thanks for reading.
Anyways, I am writing my personal statement and I was wondering what is too personal for one? It seems ironic, but almost every major obstacle I have overcome in my life is not really mentionable in a personal statement, at least I don't think it is. I am also not sure how to relate them to medicine, but I will try to outline how it helped me grow as a person. Here are some true examples. Note: A lot of these issues seem to be an extension of the first one that I am about to list.
1. A very abusive childhood. I was literally beaten several times a week (by a biological parent), and I had a knife held to my throat and somebody (an adult) threatening to kill me before I was even 10 years old. This happened over many years. This is relevant because I learned how to forgive, although it took a long time and a lot of introspection. It also helped me see the causality of things in life. This person was abused as a child as well (I think worse than I was), so it simply carried on to me. I also promised to myself that I would break this cycle and never abuse my children, if I ever have any. This did however, make me afraid to have children in the future, I am scared that I will abuse them too, and I do not want anybody to go through anything remotely similar to what I went through.
2. Battling depression and social anxiety. These issues probably stem from the previous issue. I really have thought about committing suicide so many times in my life, things just seem to get so down and pointless. But I really struggled through it and I feel that I am much happier now, and have become much more resilient after hitting such lows in life. This was an incredibly difficult thing to overcome.
I have also picked up jobs just for the sake of socializing and overcoming my anxiety, which I believe I have done. Jobs such as working at a crowded retail store at a popular mall on the weekends where I have to greet and talk to strangers all day long. I did not need the money, this was simply a self-improvement goal. I joined toastmasters for a year and gave about 10 public speeches in order to work on this as well, and I did this to get over my fear of public speaking too.
3. Trouble with the law and behavioral problems. I used to be a big trouble maker when I was younger and I have been arrested several times. I think this issue largely stems from having an abusive childhood with a parental role occupied by an easily angered individual. My record is clean, which is why I do not want to mention this. This was an issue that I believe helped me grow as a person. I made a lot of mistakes earlier on that I will never make again. I also had to overcome some issues with anger, which took a while. I used to get into a lot of fights in high school. I have not been in a physical altercation or been arrested since I was 18, so that is 7 years.
This was also beneficial because I was exposed to a wide range of people and experiences around this time period, from drug addicts to felons, and I made friends with some of these people as well. I saw a different side of life from a first hand perspective that many people only get a glimpse of from a distance.
4. Academic struggles. I used to do much worse in school and I was held back a year in high school, for not caring about school and skipping classes and failing most of my classes. I did get my diploma though, after some time. My high school counselor actually told me to drop out and said that I was unable to get my high school diploma. That was harsh, and I ended up getting my diploma a few months after that. My GPA in high school was around a 2.0, literally. My GPA now is about a 3.4, so that is a major improvement when contrasting the two situations. I have improved greatly since then, and I still have much room left for improvement.
5. My best friend committed suicide several years ago. This was one of the hardest experiences of my life to go through. I did not even believe it when I first heard the news. I did not have many friends in high school and I used to eat alone for the first few months, and this was one of my first friends in high school. We hung out a lot and have had philosophical discussions about life and death and what happens after death, and the meaning of life, and where we were going to be in the future. Now I wonder what kind of man he would be if he were still alive today.
I literally spoke to him days before he passed away. At his funeral, I was in shock and it was just so surreal to see him there. His family was devastated. This is the closest person to me that I have ever lost to death. I could not even comprehend what was happening at first. This also showed me how rare and meaningful true friends are, as there were people he hung out with at that time just to gain their acceptance, and they did not even bother showing up to his funeral.
This really forced me to confront mortality and how fragile and ephemeral human life really is. It also made me more aware of how futile many of our daily worries and troubles really are, and how they simply mean nothing in the big scheme of things. I also learned to be more compassionate and less judgmental, everybody is simply struggling through life and you have no idea what they have been through or what they are going through. I had no idea he was suffering to this extent, he was always good at putting on a tough exterior, plus we had been drifting apart around that time so I did not see him as often, otherwise I think I could have picked up on this.
The experience really made me wish I had reached out to him when he was in need, and gave me a yearning to help others who are in need as well. Suffering exists in all forms, and is not simply physical or psychological. Many people suffer quietly while those around them are unaware.
Sorry if that sounded flowery, I am writing freely because I know that I am anonymous on here. The way I write here is also the way I talk in real life too.
Thoughts? Can I write about any of these? If so, how would I even go about that? These topics seem too delicate and some of these events happening to a person can give a false pre-conceived notion of the individual if somebody were to read about it in a personal statement (Ex. Trouble with the law, even in the past, means an overall aggressive person).
Thanks for reading.