Three years ago, I got the chance to spend a month as a volunteer helping out in a hospital in Africa. I had one month left at high school, and I was interested in studying medicine at university. I thought it was the perfect chance to get some practical experience and to see if I really wanted to be a doctor.
It was a month that changed my life. I was introduced to a new world that is very different to mine in so many ways. I was horrified at how poor so many of the families over there are and how difficult their lives can be. But I was even more amazed at how positively people go about their everyday lives in Africa. The way they come together and help each other is a real inspiration, and something I think a lot of us have forgotten in the United States. I think many of us don't realize how lucky we are.
My work in the hospital was hard. I spent a lot of time washing floors, cleaning toilets and changing bed sheets. I also got to spend some time looking after the patients. But it was such an honor for me to listen to a patient's story and communicate with people from so many walks of life. And I also got the chance to talk to some doctors and ask them about the profession. I saw some truly awful things in the hospital, but none of them changed my mind about being a doctor. In fact, they only made me more determined to do medicine.
It has been a great experience volunteering in Africa. When I finish, I know exactly what I'm going to do：I want to work for an international organization like the Red Cross and spend my life helping people who haven't been as lucky in life as me. I can't wait to get started.
