Everybody should be different

I believe difference is essential to our survival. When I started college, I did not know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Within 2 weeks of my first semester, I was made responsible for a peer of mine who had slipped into an alcohol-induced stupor. From the moment her welfare was placed on my shoulders, I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life feeling like I did that night.

As a pre-medical student, I have taken a large number of science classes. Because my interests are in chemistry, I have taken a large number of chemistry classes. During lectures, professors point out that we don’t have all of the answers and that we, my classmates and I, are responsible for finding those answers. A textbook for one my classes asks its readers to be aware and be ready to solve the world’s energy and population crises.

Listening to these demands of me to save the world from its horrors scares me. Who am I? I am not smart nor clever, and I certainly do not know enough chemistry to solve these problems. It’s enough to make one restless. But as I talk to my classmates, I realize that not everyone is pre-med. Some people are undecided while others want to do research. I take comfort in this. Knowing that there are others out there who are not like me lets me calm down and say to myself, “don’t worry, it’ll get done.”