This blog post explores how childhood experiences with pets shape aptitude and values for students considering veterinary medicine, naturally connecting these insights to the basis for choosing a major.
Academic Experience and Reflections
“Trusting my own abilities over cram schools”
From a young age, I searched for every method to excel academically and tried following my friends’ approaches. But after entering high school, I decided to trust my own study abilities rather than relying on methods like cram schools or private tutoring. So, I boldly quit cram schools and tutoring, resolved to create my own study schedule and stick to it as much as possible. Putting my parents’ worries aside, I first created a study schedule based on my sleep schedule and school timetable. The thing I guarded against most when making the schedule was ‘overambition’. I set study goals only within my capabilities and made sure to strictly adhere to the plans I made. I believed that only by consistently following the plan would quitting cram schools and tutoring actually yield results. After creating a study time schedule based on achievable goals, I also pre-planned what I would study during each study session. I planned what subjects to study and when, once a week, and stuck to it. After studying for a week, I planned to review my progress, identify weaknesses, and address those areas the following week. I focused intently during class to substitute for previewing material, and I prioritized reviewing over previewing. Since I wasn’t a student with exceptional memory, review-centered studying suited me better than previewing, and I believe this review approach helped my grades improve. Since I didn’t attend cram schools or private tutoring, I felt a bit more pressure to stick strictly to the goals outlined in my schedule. This actually led me to study more intensively and for longer hours than my peers. By planning and executing my studies in my own style, fully utilizing my abilities, I significantly improved my grades. This allowed me to achieve the scores needed to apply to my target veterinary pre-med program.
Major School Activities and Reflections
“Continuing My Volunteer Work with Stray Dogs”
I grew up with pets at home. I always considered them family rather than just pets. Beyond my own pets, I believed all animals deserve respect as they are friends to humans. Then, I watched a documentary about stray dogs. My heart ached, and I wanted to help in any small way I could. That’s how I started volunteering with stray dogs through a program my school organized. The place where these dogs gathered – dogs that had once been someone’s precious family, or who had thought of humans as family – was far worse than I had imagined. Hearing the cries of these stray dogs, desperate for love despite their harsh environment, I remember crying for a long time at first. Seeing these dogs hurt by thoughtless people, even facing euthanasia, broke my heart. Through volunteering, I tried to connect with them and give them moments of love. Especially when I volunteered with veterinary hospital staff, it sparked my dream of becoming a veterinarian. The hospital staff brought various medications, including pain relievers and anti-inflammatories, for the sick dogs. They treated and cared for the injured strays. Seeing the dogs, now somewhat relieved of their pain, running around energetically, I wished I could be a veterinarian who heals animals, giving them new lives and new hope.
“Taking the Lead in Improving the School Environment”
I believe a clean environment drives the purpose of a place. I felt a clean school environment positively impacts students’ studies and school life, and that studying in a neatly organized school makes learning enjoyable and encourages active participation in school life. So, I took the lead in striving to make the school cleaner. Beyond just picking up trash, I also decorated the school garden to make it look prettier and more beautiful. Within my classroom, I ensured not only regular cleaning but also kept the teachers’ tools clean. By actively stepping forward to make the school cleaner, my friends began following my lead—disposing of trash in bins, using desks and chairs cleanly, and striving for tidiness. My proactive actions changed my friends, and thanks to their transformation, our classroom became known as a particularly ‘clean classroom’. Personally, I believe the cleaner classroom also changed my friends’ behavior. In a clean environment, we developed a more organized appearance and mindset, fostering a more positive attitude. They say when your mind is cluttered, your surroundings become messy too. Looking at it another way, when your surroundings are neatly organized, your mind naturally becomes more organized as well. I personally felt this concept while improving my own environment, and my friends also told me they realized the power of such cleaning.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and What I Learned
“Mediating Between Two Divided Groups in My Class”
In my first year of high school, a minor argument split the class into two groups. It was early in the semester, and the awkwardness between them deepened the misunderstandings, making it hard to resolve. I felt this division was wrong and believed clearing up the misunderstandings and resolving the issue was the right thing to do. Initially, the teacher tried to intervene, but I asked to handle it myself and listened to both sides. As class president, I could hear both groups’ stories without bias. A minor misunderstanding had deepened the emotional rift. Over time, emotions gradually subsided, and it became clear that both groups regretted the past misunderstandings. So, I first listened carefully to each group’s position and conveyed their perspectives as accurately as possible, minimizing further misunderstanding. Then, I arranged an opportunity for both groups to meet. From a neutral standpoint, I empathized with the students’ stories, fully understood their feelings, and guided the conversation. Honestly, if they had been closer, this misunderstanding could have been resolved easily. But because it surfaced between people who were still awkward with each other, it took more time. Once they acknowledged this, the friends began a deep conversation, understanding each other’s differing perspectives. I believe the hardest part of resolving a misunderstanding and reconciling is actually making the decision to reconcile. If you just act on that decision and create the opportunity, reconciliation becomes easier, and hearts soften quickly. I believe that unless the emotional rift runs too deep, people’s feelings can be resolved quickly. If both sides show just a little effort to empathize and understand each other, the issue can be settled swiftly. Nothing is ‘unconditionally right’ or ‘unconditionally wrong’. Therefore, rather than thinking the other person is wrong, if we consider ‘Oh, they might think that way’ and try to understand, there would be no reason to fight. Even if trouble arises, it can be easily resolved. As class president, I brought together friends who had drifted apart, fostered an atmosphere of reconciliation, and created an environment where we could build even stronger friendships. Through that experience, I realized that above all else, relationships require ‘dialogue,’ and that it’s important to lower one’s pride a little and adopt an attitude of listening.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
“The Value of ‘Animals,’ People’s Friends”
I believe animals, just like humans, deserve respect. Volunteering with stray dogs inspired my dream of becoming a veterinarian, and I’ve worked to improve my grades with the goal of entering your university’s pre-veterinary program. Rather than simply being a vet who fixes animals and feels joy from it, I aspire to be someone who deeply values respect for life, studies the role and significance of animals in society, and practices animal respect as a veterinarian. Therefore, when I entered high school, I explained my dream of becoming a veterinarian to my parents. In truth, my parents wanted me to pursue a more conventional field like business administration, economics, or humanities. They believed seeing sick animals would be too distressing for me. However, I expressed my determination, explaining that the value of treating sick animals and breathing new life into them felt far greater than any distress I might feel. My parents, who loved animals as much as I did and understood they deserved respect, agreed with my perspective and became my strongest supporters. While preparing for veterinary school entrance exams was important, they also encouraged me to actively seek out volunteer work with stray dogs, attend animal-related lectures, and read books. Through these experiences, they helped me develop the mindset, concerns, and values essential for a veterinarian. My parents especially took me to places like zoos and aquariums often when I was young, allowing me to be close to animals. They also raised a pet dog, showing me firsthand that the love given to a pet dog isn’t separate but comes from the mindset of treating it as ‘family’. This helped me realize ‘love for animals’ on my own. After I decided to pursue pre-veterinary studies, they actively sought out animal documentaries and related lectures. They would even deliberately bring me along to watch them together. While emphasizing the importance of studying, they always stressed that as someone studying veterinary medicine, I must deeply engrave within myself the proper attitude toward animals, their value, and respect. Through my parents’ guidance, I came to see the veterinary profession not merely as a meaningful job, but as carrying an important social mission: to foster a societal atmosphere that recognizes and respects the value of animals and our love for them. This perspective instilled in me a strong sense of responsibility to study veterinary medicine diligently and to practice as a veterinarian. As a veterinary student at your esteemed institution, I will actively acquire the knowledge and refinement expected of a veterinarian. I will fulfill my social duty and responsibility as someone who respects animals and communicates their value to others, striving to excel in my role as a veterinarian. While studying diligently enough to earn scholarships is important, I will constantly reflect and do my utmost to become a veterinarian who analyzes the coexistence of humans and animals, and who consistently emphasizes respect for life.
