Medicine has been around for thousands of years, and yet we still can't tell you what's causing your headache. How little we understand the world seems like an oxymoron. From the start of humanity's medical endeavors (from a western perspective), Hippocrates has been the father of modern medicine, and since then, engineers and scientists have made seemingly magical discoveries like unraveling the mysteries of DNA. Despite the monumental medical advances we have made we’ve only breached the tip of the iceberg. So many deaths and ailments derive from what we don't know, and as a prospective biomedical engineer, the not knowing kills me. When I was younger, I would fall asleep to ideas of bionic hands and feet that followed me into my dreams. The first time this happened I was gripped by a fear of forgetting these ideas, because if I forgot I would never be able to help people. Obviously, this sounds a bit dramatic, but I confess I was a pretty dramatic middle schooler. Once I woke up in the morning, I would run over to my desk - knocking over some books along the way - and frantically jot down my ideas in my notebook, relief flooding over me because as far as I was concerned I had basically just saved the world. Biomedical engineering has followed me all my life, and now I am intrigued by the implications it has and the possibilities of using technology to improve lives through preventing, treating, and diagnosing diseases better. Working to understand the nature of our bodies is important, and technology is the best way to do it. Chemistry and biology are the building blocks of the body and steps to begin understanding it. My dream has always been to gain as much knowledge as I can and from watching How It's Made to listening to MIT quantum theory podcasts in the shower I haven't even made a dent in the abyss of knowledge. The fact that I think I know a lot shows how little I actually do. Dunning-Kruger effect in full swing. Red pill, blue pill. Which would you choose? The blue pill will allow you to live blissfully ignorant of anything bad your future might hold, while the red pill gives you the means to stay awake and probe into the secrets of the universe. From this essay, you can probably guess what I would choose but of course, human behavior is once again a subject shrouded in mystery. But the mist draped over the human body does nothing but enthrall me, and working towards untangling the shadows is important not only in the goal of having greater knowledge but also in improving the quality of life of the whole human race. I hope to use my studies in biomedical engineering to tackle this metaphysical beast.

The piece that has the most important message to me conveys its meaning without words. I love the piece adoration by Florence Price, the first female African American composer. Adoration brings about feelings of unadulterated yearning and captivates you in a cacoon of sound and love until the final note rings absolutely in the air. This song to me shows the struggles of a black female composer to be noticed in the classical community. Its somber and lullaby-like melody paints the picture of music prevailing over stereotypes and racism. An undercurrent of the need to be heard reaches an audience of all types of people. Because under music we are all equal and our passion unites us no matter ethnicity, race, or sex. As an African American Female playing violin, this song stands out to me not just because of its beauty but because of its slow anthem singing I can do it too.

There's a repetitive cycle that's easy for me to fall into, as tantalizing as the pull of the moon on the waves. But the depression and anxiety that pull me under are not things to be romanticized or given into. The shape of these monsters has changed throughout my life, they get restless and try to find other ways into my head. This is why I need to be aware of my tell-tale signs of anxiety and keep up with my mental health. Keeping up with my mental health is a day-to-day process, once I stop being intentional about it it will easily slip out of my grasp. This is why whenever I find myself starting to self-depreciate or pick at my skin I need to notice it as soon as possible and bring myself back to reality. The truth is that nobody really cares about what I do and they don't agonize over it as long as I do. One thing I learned from a friend that has helped tremendously is the philosophy of stoicism. This is the idea of having awareness of what you can and can't change. The main point is to focus your energy on what you can change, and not worry about what you can't. Because being worried about what you can't change: like somebody not liking you no matter what you do, or having an awful day that you can't rewind will just waste your time and make you unhappy. I have also learned the art of giving myself a break. I often overwork myself and worry too much over things like my grades and some little social mistake I made over lunch. I found that stepping back for a moment and getting a snack or reading a book can be a great destresser and allow me to think about things in a more rational way. Overall there are many different tips and tricks to mental health but all that really matters is loving yourself. Loving yourself is important not only because you are important but also because loving yourself better allows you to have a stronger love for those around you. Always remember to take care of yourself and know that the world is a better place with you in it. Thank you for reading my essay, I hope you have a nice day don't forget to take care of your mental health as well.

When I was younger, I would fall asleep to ideas of bionic hands and feet that followed me into my dreams. The first time this happened I was gripped by a fear of forgetting these ideas, because if I forgot I would never be able to help people. Obviously, this sounds a bit dramatic, but I confess I was a pretty dramatic middle schooler. Once I woke up in the morning, I ran over to my desk - knocking over some books along the way - and frantically jotted down my ideas in my notebook, relief flooding over me because as far as I was concerned I had basically just saved the world. Prosthetics is a constantly growing field, and they can be used to help people from all walks of life. They assist people who are missing an extremity to continue living an active and independent lifestyle. This is important in increasing their quality of life which walks hand in hand with my desire to help people. Prosthetics was my starting point in medical technology but there is a whole world of technology that I am diving into by pursuing biomedical engineering. I want to use biomedical engineering to make medical interventions that can change people's lives for the better but are also cost-efficient. My main goal is to reduce social disparities in health by making things that are attainable for everyone including low-income families. The way to do this is through technology; technology is an exponentially growing thing and it plays a huge role in health care. Using technology to help people has always been my dream, starting from prosthetics and venturing to biomimetic scaffolding and more. This passion for using biomedical engineering to help others has only grown. It's kept up with me till this point and I know for sure that it is the job I want to pursue. To me, technology is more than just a means to make money. It is a way for me to keep learning and tackle the most difficult problems in medicine while also helping someone out there live a longer healthier life.

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been obsessed with prosthetics. My dream goal is to use this passion to help people stay active and live better lives. My first step to do that is making affordable, accessible, and universal care.

When I was younger, I would fall asleep to ideas of bionic hands and feet that followed me into my dreams. The first time this happened I was gripped by a fear of forgetting these ideas, because if I forgot I would never be able to help people. Obviously, this sounds a bit dramatic, but I confess I was a pretty dramatic middle schooler. Once I woke up in the morning, I ran over to my desk - knocking over some books along the way - and frantically jotted down my ideas in my notebook, relief flooding over me because as far as I was concerned I had basically just saved the world. My thoughts on biomedical engineering never ventured past prosthetics until I took a Bio-medical Innovations course and my teacher showed me UW-Madison’s Biomedical Engineering program. From there I obsessed with biomedical engineering and the expansive opportunities it offered - like neural engineering and biomaterials. Two of my main goals in life are to constantly learn and help people with my knowledge. I know the ever-changing field of biomedical engineering will allow me to do both. My passion for biomedical engineering wouldn't have been able to grow the way it did if I didn't have my parents to show me that I could do whatever I set my mind to. This mindset allowed me as a kid to look past the majority white male population that was biomedical engineering, and believe I could do it too. I know that I'm lucky to have great parents and that a lot of people don't get that opportunity. I want to be a part of the representation mixed girls like me need to be able to imagine themselves as a biomedical engineer, opening doors that may otherwise have stayed closed. Even though my parents have raised me in this mindset, I still sometimes struggle with finding the confidence to follow my dreams. As a minority, I worry that I'm not smart enough or strong enough to compete with the majority. When that is all but true, this lack of self-confidence comes from me never seeing an African American woman studying biomedical engineering, let alone being successful in it. I don’t want this to be the future for all the little girls like me out there. I want to help be a start to the movement of having more representation in not only biomedical engineering but every job. Every child should be able to dream that they can do anything and believe it too and the first step to realizing that dream is representation and variety in the workforce.

I remember as a child having a vivid imagination, and one thing that always captivated me was prosthetics. I would fall asleep to ideas of bionic hands and feet and try my hardest to remember them in the morning. The first time this happened I was gripped by this feeling that remembering the thoughts I had of magnetic joints and using nerve signals to stimulate the machinery was the most important thing in the world because if I forgot I would never be able to help people. Of course, this sounds a bit dramatic but all middle schoolers have a touch of madness to them. Once I woke up in the morning I ran over to my desk knocking over some books as I stumbled across my room and frantically jotted down my ideas in my notebook, relief flooding over me because as far as I was concerned I had just saved the world. My thoughts on biomedical engineering never ventured past prosthetics until I took the course bio-medical innovation where my teacher showed me Purdue’s Weldon school of biomedical engineering where I found the many opportunities Biomedical engineering offered. One of my main goals in life is to be constantly learning, and helping people with my knowledge. I think the ever-changing field of Biomedical engineering would give me that. I want to use biomedical engineering to make medical interventions that can change people's lives for the better but are also cost-efficient. My main goal is to reduce social disparities in health, and one way to do that is to make things that are attainable for everyone including low-income families. I understand that a lot of people don't have insurance or are underinsured so I want to make health care that is accessible and affordable. I want to make things that can reduce people's years living with chronic disease, and make their quality of life better by creating innovations that can help them keep living an active lifestyle. This passion for using biomedical engineering to help others has all but faded away. It's kept up with me till this point and I know for sure that it is the job I want to pursue. Because to me biomedical engineering is more than just a means to make money, it is a way for me to keep learning and tackle the most difficult problems in medicine while also helping someone out there live a longer healthier life.