Sereena Kumar
By Sereena Kumar
What was your passion when you were younger? Do you remember that spark you felt when you first picked up a paintbrush or a football? You were a child, simply choosing to do the activities that made you feel happy, unaware of society’s stone-cold judgments. I remember being that child; dancing around the room singing to loud pop music and doing fashion shows with my stuffed animals. My competitive high school and peer pressure made me shove that happy child in a box with the lid sealed shut so that no ounce of imagination could escape. I thought that I was doing myself a favor by abandoning what I loved and what resonated within my soul. I thought that I would gain something by looking at my friends and family, trying to ride the same path they were riding in life. Coming from a family of doctors, medicine was the obvious path. And so, with these convincing thoughts in my mind, I clicked “submit” on the application of my high school’s Medical Bioscience Academy.
Why did you join the Medical Bioscience Academy?” That question written in green ink on the whiteboard echoed throughout my head. It’s a simple question, right? All I have to say is why I’m planning to take this path in life. What gave me that spark, that urge to apply to this program? As I was sitting in my first period on the first day of high school, I pondered over this question and reassured myself that nobody would have the exact answer to this deep yet broad question. I was dismayed when several hands shot up and several eyes lit up when the teacher called on people. They all had the spark. They all pictured themselves as confident doctors in white lab coats with excellent posture and excellent social skills. I too will be able to see a confident doctor when I look in the mirror. Some day. I will be just like my friends.
I will be just like my friends. That promise rung all throughout my head, all throughout my freshman year. I looked at my aunt, my dad, and my grandfather. All in the medical field. They were such bold and successful people. They were my superheroes and the ones I looked up to. Would I have to follow their path to be like them? I confidently answered “yes” to this question. From then on, I decided to look forward instead of getting stuck in the past and rethinking if following my family members was the right decision. It had to be the right decision if my superheroes were successfully walking on this path.
As I am in my second year of being a part of the Medical Bioscience Academy, I am reexamining myself with a fresh eye. I went into high school thinking that my final destination is to be a healthcare provider. The clarity of these thoughts in freshman year turned into a mush of haziness and doubts come sophomore year. I still love science and the thrill of peeking through a microscope, but I can’t abandon that artistic kid starring in her own fashion shows, altogether. I am an amalgam of the arts and sciences. Both art and science make me complete and the Sereena that I am today.
I’ll admit that I still don’t know who I truly am, but the unknown is more exciting than scary. By not knowing where I will end up, I have a world of possibility open to me; a world that only I can create. Nobody else can tell me what planets make up my solar system. Afterall, why should I put up a facade that makes me look like everyone else and hides my true calling? Instead, I should be putting my mental energy towards cultivating my true talents and hobbies. Ultimately, throughout this journey of self-discovery, I found out that no two people have the same “path”. Our paths are carved by the passions that gave us the same spark as a kid when we first picked up that football or paintbrush.
Sereena Kumar is a sophomore at Enloe High School and has a passion for writing. Contact: slkumar@mycomedical.com
