Let Us All Oooh and Ahhhh

So after Ryan broke up with me last sunday, I took it upon myself to jet back into action in regards to Pacific, etc. Hence, I wrote my essay. Hence, I provide it for your reading pleasure. Hence, please read and remark on improvements, etc.

That is all.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman.

I’m alive when the ocean surf whips up at me. I’m alive when I’m laughing at the precociousness of a three year old child. Most importantly, I’m alive when I help other people feel alive. To me, that is exactly what an occupational therapist strives to do. The goal is to help that person feel the sense of power and peace that comes so naturally with truly living. I want to be that Occupational Therapist and I believe that the Occupational Therapy Masters program at Pacific is the experience that will help me reach that goal. I’ve looked at a great number of schools, read their mission statements, admired their NBCOT pass rate, and been impressed by their tuition. It doesn’t seem to matter where I look however, I’m always drawn back to the little school that seems to encompass the big idea of loving and ‘living’ the whole person. I would be honored to be able to associate myself with an institution that respects the humanity in the world.
I left Seattle to go to college in Utah. I felt that it was a good step – a place I needed to grow in. I absolutely have. I’ve learned that to truly be content, I need the ocean as my backyard, Starbucks as my drinking source, and a school that values the same principles that I do. I found that institution when I researched Pacific University’s values and beliefs. I found it when I visited the campus and spoke with the admissions director, Jon-Erik Larson. He told me that the program strives to enrich their students so that they can, in turn, enrich others. I found a place where I can learn to help others come alive again.
For the past 10 months, I’ve spent time blowing bubbles, being a cheerleader, and coming face to face with extraordinary kids at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve been there for the much-celebrated ‘going-home’ parties, the screaming fits by the frustrated two year old, and the silent moments when you realize that the struggle the child is experiencing cannot even be imagined. Friends have asked me how I can find so much joy in a place where tragedy can sometimes be found. This is a story I tell them:
B came to the hospital to have a brain tumor removed. It was a fairly routine procedure but what the doctors found wasn’t so routine. B’s tumor had metastasized and ‘spider-webbed’ to surround part of his spinal cord and cerebellum. At this point, prognosis was whittled away to only a few months. After his surgery, B came to us in the inpatient rehab gym. The therapists wondered why we were treating him – it was a terminal illness – but someone made a point that rung true; “we were there to help make those last days as comfortable and positive as was possible.” That goal was realized when the boy, who once cried out in agony when moved from a lying down position, wheeled himself down the hall of the hospital, laughing as we attempted to run to catch up. B will die soon, if not already, but the therapists at Primary were able to help him feel life again. He had a chance to laugh, to goof off, to be a carefree eight-year old for a little longer.
Having the chance to play such an important role in a person’s life is what makes me alive. Pacific University’s occupational therapy program will help me realize that dream. I plan on working hard, asking questions, and absorbing as much as I possibly can so as to be the best therapist I can – the best person I can.