College essay writing and academic expression

¶ … values and beliefs is by William Arthur Ward, "If you can imagine it, You can achieve it, If you can dream it, You can become it." These beliefs have served me well in my endeavor to become a wrestling champion. And, more importantly, they drive my desire to help others in the future. I imagine a world where the sick and elderly receive the health care services they deserve and want to take the necessary actions to be a part of making this happen. My dream is for all people to die with dignity and I want to work in the Hospice industry to turn my dream into a reality.

Since I was just 5 years old, wrestling has been a major part of my life. The ultimate goal of any high school wrestler is someday being offered a full college scholarship to a great university. I dreamed that this would be a great time in my life filled with opportunity and excitement. But, I also realized that it would take years of sacrifice and hard work. Even so, I was determined to fulfill my lifetime goal. Well, last year the hard work paid off and I became New Jersey's first four time state champion in the seventy-two-year history of the tournament. Subsequently, I was ranked the number three recruit in the country with fifteen Division I scholarship offers. This experience has helped me understand that anything is possible if you are determined to make it happen.

I now have a new aspiration, one that is less self-centered than wrestling, but just as personally gratifying. I want to help the sick and elderly by pursing a career in the Hospice industry. This is my career decision because I believe it is society's responsibility to provide the highest possible quality for a person's life as long as it remains. Yet, I know that health care today is failing the elderly in this regard. At a time of intense grief and bereavement as well as suffering and pain, the elderly often lack the support and financial resources they need to obtain adequate services. And, traditional health care facilities simply aren't organized to fully address the special needs and circumstances of the sick and elderly. So, they are left to die alone and without dignity. This horrendous injustice will become an even more significant issue as our country's "Baby Boomers" continue to age, swelling the ranks of the elderly in need of adequate and compassionate health care. However, I imagine a society that will rise to the occasion to address the problem before it gets out of hand.

My dream is to further advance the Hospice model for care, taking care of the sick in their own homes, as a means for a much more humane and compassionate way to tend to the sick and elderly. I know that this dream is possible and I am already seeing the benefits through the work of my own family. My mother currently runs eight Hospices in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Texas and South Dakota. Many of my mother's Hospices are in rural areas. I have witnessed first hand the positive impact that the Hospice has on its' patients by volunteering at my mother's Hospices and by completing a fifteen week internship at a local inpatient Hospice. These experiences were not only educational, but also very personally rewarding. There's nothing more gratifying than knowing that you have helped another person in need.