Michael S. Dunham
"Knowledge is Power"
Who Am I?
My name is Michael Scott Allen Dunham. I am ambitious, curious, and, I daresay, talented. From a very early age I have been interested and quite adept in art. But it has only been two years that I have been honing my musical and social skills. I am, perhaps, not best known for a most amiable attitude, but I come to generosity when I can. Nay, companionship comes to the most external of my worries and ceaseless eccentric ponderings.
Above all my abilities, I deeply value my vocabulary and writing skills. Though inexperienced, I enjoy writing novels, which I must confess do not always excite my peers, but seem to impress those of greater age than I. Perhaps they are only beyond their understanding, as my divided personality seems to be. What interests me? I surprise most with my minor and uncultured appearence that I am a collector of antiquities, a novice marksman, a persistent composer, and one who enjoys fine art, classical music, and Baroque, Gothic, and Victorian architecture. A self-conscious question I ask myself is, "How are you building your self-esteem?" normally followed by an uncontented "hmm?" if it is asked by my mother or father. I believe I've already answered this in part, but I detest speaking with strangers. But only those my age. I can make quick friends with an adult rather well, mostly due to being a pianist and antique collector. Yes, even though I have only begun to traverse the world of pianistic style and compositions, I consider myself to be more than an apprentice on the matter.
Now, what is my learning style? I am a strictly intrapersonal but engaged learner. I do not work well in groups, for I must again say that I am antisocial. I simply enjoy listening to a single speaker and working on my own. What are my values? I value cleanliness, order, and perhaps a bit of prestige every now and then.
My brief biography halts here with the inevitable question: "Why should all of these things be considered while deciding on a career?" Indeed, a good question. My maternal family members have carried a bloodline of medical experts for decades. Therefore, why should I splice the vessel? Cardiology has fascinated me from a young age, when I would surprise and give hope to the teachers of whom I would express my future title to as a cardiovascular surgeon. "Such strong aspirations" my grandfather always says, "but do you possess the audacity and intellectual power for the medical world?" Here is where I cannot be modest: there is no doubt that I belong in the operating room. Most do not seem to doubt me, why shall I doubt myself? But my ramblings escape the question... my social skills. Here is where hope may wither, but perhaps it only remains dormant until a potential spring. But nonetheless, one's traits, interests, and values should be considered in choosing a career to ensure that he should be happy, knowledgable, and prosperous in his choice.
My Potential Career as a Cardiovascular Surgeon
Cadiovascular surgery is a very meticulous and winding path that descends through endless forests of prolonged study, expensive colleges, scientific research, and scalpels. But at the end of those woods is a beacon of light that beckons those worthy into a field of riches and prestige.
Ah, those riches! A cardiovascular surgeon can make an impressive income of over $396,233 anually. It has been calculated, with a median of an 18% projected job growth, that by the end of my schooling there will be 814,700 jobs available in this area. Not specifically for cardiovascular surgeons, but for surgeons of eminent and renowned practice in general.
Oh, the health science career cluster. Most famous for it's terribly strenuous schedules that last into the night. A cardiovascular surgeon would work full time, in irregular hours that, as I've mentioned, will probably creep into the late hours. But in a rather nice enviroment. Operating rooms are perhaps the most neat and sterile chambers in a city, but are certainly not quiet and peaceful. The calls for aid from other physicians and the buzzing and beeping of countless machines fill the air of every hospital. But nay, a surgeon never must walk up to the operating table alone. He is always aided by his extenisive healthcare personnel of nurses, machine operators, and fellow surgeons that perhaps are not quite yet of his experience.
What interests me about cardiology? Cardiology is, as I've described a very intricate, involved, scientific, and fairly new branch of medical practice. Those who dare delve down that path are allowed to witness the triumphs of science: Replacing a heart, something never believed possble by our forefathers, and even basic, shall I daresay, "reanimation". Only of a sort, of course. It has been only less than a decade that physicians have forced the heart, a very stubborn muscle, to once again beat in a dying human.
How Do I Get There?
So on and on I prolongingly ramble about how I plan to join one of the most challenging careers on Earth. But how? I will procede with patience, meticulous research, and a curious ear to all I am taught. After high school, I plan to attempt to join Vanderbilt. Indeed, Vanderbilt is one of the most prestigious medical schools in North America and is very, very difficult to obtain enrollment.
Vanderbilt is in Memphis, Tennessee, not terribly far from Greenwood. Memphis is a town of music, something I deeply value, as you may have learned from my autobiography above. My father has urged me to go there since I was young, not wanting me to take favor in Harvard University, which is quite far away. In college, I plan to obtain a Master's degree in medicine. But of course, that is far from enough. I will also require an extensive period of residency. Oh but the cost! The cost per hour for my program, which will efficiently fill my education quotas, is $1,347 per hour. I plan to obtain scholarships in piano and saxophone to cover some of these costs.