So why do you want to be a doctor? Anonymous

"It's all we doctors can do," my dad told me as we stood in the sunbaked dirt watching dying tadpoles flop feebly in the quickly evaporating puddle, "We can't change the course of nature, we can't change the fate of the dying, but we can give them more time." As I poured the water I got from the summit of the mountain, which had taken me two hours to procure, I couldn't help but feel hopeless against the course of nature. These tadpoles were doomed to die. At this temperature, they would quickly dry out. All I did was prolong their existence, give them a few more hours of breath - that was all I could do.

I often think about my father's words; being a doctor seems the obvious path for me (both of my parents are in the health profession), but it wasn't until recently that this calling became more personal.

I've always been interested in the sciences (especially Biology). Although I remember being initially frightened of viruses and what they are capable of, this fear quickly became a fascination. Why can't AIDS be cured? Why does Ebola cause internal bleeding? Why can't we transplant a brain? If my dad was annoyed with all the questions I bombarded him with, he certainly didn't show it.

It's true my parents encouraged my passion...