DISCLAIMER: this is a free for all… In other words, I have three midterms this week, and my attempt to get things done early has failed miserably. I know this essay needs some sever revisions, so I won’t feel bad if you write “wtf?” in your reviews. Enjoy—it really is a feast of awfulness.
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Imagine this:
It is nine in the morning-- an unforgivable time for any college student-- and you’re sitting in a stiff wooden chair next to the chick who always smells like a hangover.
You could be cursing your university: who starts class before 2?
You could be cursing the hangover girl: has she never heard of Colgate?
Or, you could be like me, sitting at perfect attention, scribbling notes furiously, thinking admiring thoughts about your professor: I bet she loves microbes more than me!
For me, BIO 307D, also known as Biology of Aids, is one of those classes where I’m constantly having “ahhhhhh, I love this” moments. I took the class on a random whim, vaguely interested in learning more about AIDS. However, I will walk away from the class with a newfound passion for microbiology. No matter the time, location, professor, or lab partner, this subject will always been an incredibly intriguing topic for me. There’s something about bacterium, fungi, protozoa, viruses, and our immune system that captivates me, and, in a very abstract way, inspires a reverence in me.
For example, I find it shameful that western society is so quick to jump on the pharmaceutical bandwagon when most of us don’t have the slightest clue as to how a large portion of drugs can disrupt our body’s microbial equilibrium.
Another thing I love is children; more specifically, helping children who are forced to live with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (also known as AIDS). “Over 33 million people are living with AIDS”. The sheer mass of this statistic is tragic, but what really upsets me are the statistics concerning children: 2.5 million children are infected with HIV, and 90% of them are from Sub-Saharan Africa. What makes this figures even worse is the fact that-- the majority of the time-- children in Africa have no access to medication. This means that they are innocently forced to suffer this terrifying and painful disease, having done nothing to deserve this fate.
I’m not sure why helping children infected with HIV inspires such a passion within me. Maybe it’s the pure unjustness of the situation, maybe the fact that AIDS work enables me to fuse my two passions together, or perhaps it is a combination of the two. Whatever it is though, I’m prepared to dedicate the rest of my life to this cause.
In the next four years I hope to obtain a bachelors degree in Plan II and Microbiology. Throughout my years here at UT I plan on familiarizing myself with various AIDS organizations, particularly Face AIDS. Face AIDS works with Partners in Health, a non-profit organization, to provide funding for treatment and healthcare to AIDS victims and their families.
Additionally, I plan on volunteering abroad during a semester or summer at UT. Ideally, I’d like to go to Nepal, Mexico, or Ghana where I could do AIDS relief work. For example, if I volunteered Manisha Singh Punarjeevan Niwas (MSPN), the organization based in Nepal, then I would work directly with children under ten who are infected with HIV. I would interact with the patients on a more personal level, and, through familiarizing myself with these kinds of relationships, I will develop a certain degree of detachment that’s necessary for this kind of work.
Ghana and Mexico are two other options for volunteer work. Both of these programs would introduce me to the bureaucratic side of AIDS work. As a volunteer I would lobby governments for permission to visit schools and communities and teach AIDS awareness and be a counselor. Working with the non-profits that are stationed in these countries will give me another perspective on AIDS relief.
It is nine in the morning-- an unforgivable time for any college student-- and you’re sitting in a stiff wooden chair next to the chick who always smells like a hangover.
You could be cursing your university: who starts class before 2?
You could be cursing the hangover girl: has she never heard of Colgate?
Or, you could be like me, sitting at perfect attention, scribbling notes furiously, thinking admiring thoughts about your professor: I bet she loves microbes more than me!
For me, BIO 307D, also known as Biology of Aids, is one of those classes where I’m constantly having “ahhhhhh, I love this” moments. I took the class on a random whim, vaguely interested in learning more about AIDS. However, I will walk away from the class with a newfound passion for microbiology. No matter the time, location, professor, or lab partner, this subject will always been an incredibly intriguing topic for me. There’s something about bacterium, fungi, protozoa, viruses, and our immune system that captivates me, and, in a very abstract way, inspires a reverence in me.
For example, I find it shameful that western society is so quick to jump on the pharmaceutical bandwagon when most of us don’t have the slightest clue as to how a large portion of drugs can disrupt our body’s microbial equilibrium.
Another thing I love is children; more specifically, helping children who are forced to live with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (also known as AIDS). “Over 33 million people are living with AIDS”. The sheer mass of this statistic is tragic, but what really upsets me are the statistics concerning children: 2.5 million children are infected with HIV, and 90% of them are from Sub-Saharan Africa. What makes this figures even worse is the fact that-- the majority of the time-- children in Africa have no access to medication. This means that they are innocently forced to suffer this terrifying and painful disease, having done nothing to deserve this fate.
I’m not sure why helping children infected with HIV inspires such a passion within me. Maybe it’s the pure unjustness of the situation, maybe the fact that AIDS work enables me to fuse my two passions together, or perhaps it is a combination of the two. Whatever it is though, I’m prepared to dedicate the rest of my life to this cause.
In the next four years I hope to obtain a bachelors degree in Plan II and Microbiology. Throughout my years here at UT I plan on familiarizing myself with various AIDS organizations, particularly Face AIDS. Face AIDS works with Partners in Health, a non-profit organization, to provide funding for treatment and healthcare to AIDS victims and their families.
Additionally, I plan on volunteering abroad during a semester or summer at UT. Ideally, I’d like to go to Nepal, Mexico, or Ghana where I could do AIDS relief work. For example, if I volunteered Manisha Singh Punarjeevan Niwas (MSPN), the organization based in Nepal, then I would work directly with children under ten who are infected with HIV. I would interact with the patients on a more personal level, and, through familiarizing myself with these kinds of relationships, I will develop a certain degree of detachment that’s necessary for this kind of work.
Ghana and Mexico are two other options for volunteer work. Both of these programs would introduce me to the bureaucratic side of AIDS work. As a volunteer I would lobby governments for permission to visit schools and communities and teach AIDS awareness and be a counselor. Working with the non-profits that are stationed in these countries will give me another perspective on AIDS relief.
1. I believe being a counselor is one of the most powerful jobs I could have. Living with HIV is a very tramatic thing, especially for people who don't understand the disease or have acccess to medication. Coming to terms with AIDS is a very emotional process, in this photo the woman in the skirt is serving as a counselor to the other woman. Another thing I would like to do in the next four years is study at one of the premiere microbiology programs in the world. I believe that studying abroad offers a variety of obvious experiences, the most important being education and networking. By attending one of the top universities in the world, I could potentially intern at a lab (Europe has some of the leading AIDS research programs), and explore potential career paths with different research institutions.
2. Another potential career is to be a nurse in an underdeveloped country like the woman in this photograph. OR- I when I go for my Masters I could work part-time at an AIDS clinic.At this point in my life I’m not sure if my future lays directly in a lab or with another form of AIDS relief work. If I worked in a lab I would most likely be an employee of a major pharmaceutical company or research institution. If I was an advocate for AIDS I could work for The United Nations (UN) or The United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Both organizations have a heavy focus on AIDS awareness and relief work, and could offer me a variety of positions within their designated AIDS programs. Moreover, there are still a variety of career paths that I could pursue if microbiology doesn’t work out for me. There is the advertising and marketing section where I could work for ONE, an American non-profit that raises awareness of poverty, hunger, and disease.
It’s tragic to think about the millions of children who are infected with HIV each year. They’re innocent beings, who have done nothing to deserve such a painful condition of life. If I can do anything to relieve their pain, I will.
1. and 2. http://pro.corbis.com/search/searchFrame.aspx
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