“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength!”
It all started at Milton Mount Primary School in London. That was my first school, the first place
I started my education. 7 years ago I moved to America from London. I was around 11 years old
and it had a huge impact on my life. Everything was different. The words, the schools, the food,
the people, everything. It took me a while to adapt to my new life. I started 6th grade at Pine
Hollow Middle School. At first, I felt out of place and like I did not belong. People would always
imitate my accent and I used to think that they were making fun of me. I would get so sad and go
home everyday crying, begging my parents to move back to London. Soon, my life started
getting better. I started doing well in school, I made friends, and I was slowly learning to be
happy with my new life. After 3 years, I started high school at Leesville Road High School.
When I was 15 years old, my grandfather Kirit Patel died from a type of stomach cancer called
mesothelioma. He had cancer for 3 years, but went into remission. During his last year, it came
back even harder. That is when he was admitted to St. Catherine’s Hospice to receive the best
possible treatment before he died. Since that moment and ever since I saw how the nurses took
care of him, I have wanted to be in a similar career. I want to pursue a career in medicine and
fight for people who suffered the way my grandfather did. During high school, I worked hard
during my 4 years. I excelled in my classes, got good grades, stepped out of my comfort zone
and changed as a person. During my senior year of high school, everything started going
downhill. I got diagnosed with depression and an anxiety order. Everyday for months I would sit
in my room alone, crying my eyes out. I had many bad thoughts about myself as a person, a
friend, a daughter, a student, everything. I isolated myself from my friends and family. I was
having a hard time with school. I lost all motivation and drive to do anything. I would not even
get out of my bed some days. No one knew what I had been going through. I felt alone as if no
one cared about me. After a few months, I told my parents about what I was going through. They
took me to see my doctor and I was put on several medications as well as therapy. My
medications were making me have no energy and sleep all day. They were making me worse
than I was. My therapy was over video call every 3 weeks and that was not working either. I
went back to the doctor and I got put on different medications and started going to in person
therapy 2-3 times a week. Group therapy allowed me to hear other people’s stories and how they
suffered from mental illness. Based on their experiences and my own, I fully decided that I
wanted to make a change in people’s lives. I wanted to become a doctor, specifically a
pediatrician, and help lessen some people’s pain. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be
the person that is always there for them because I know what it is like to feel all alone. I am still
not 100% fixed, but that is okay. It took me a while to realize that I am broken and that it will be
a long process to get back together, it will not happen overnight. I am still in therapy and still on
my medications and I am doing better. I am looking forward to graduating high school, going to
UNC Charlotte, and pursuing my dream of becoming a doctor. I hope that I will have the chance
to achieve those goals.
