Alexia Tawes

Writing for the Sciences

English 21003

Letter of Introduction

8/31/2020

When registering for this class, I had mixed feelings. Mixed feelings because I love to write but I don’t like to be given a topic, if that makes sense. When writing, I like to express my thoughts, my views, the way I feel when I read and what I get from certain topics . I was excited because I would get to express my views on whatever scientific problems we are facing or the trending scientific topics but one of my fears  would be not being able to put my thoughts into words which is something I constantly struggle with.

My name is Alexia Tawes and I am a third year student at the city College of New York. My major is biology and my minor in psychology. My academic goals for this semester include getting a 4.0 GPA and putting in 360 hours of self studying for the MCAT exam. When I tell people about my career aspirations, they often think that it’s far-fetched or unrealistic because of my background but that only makes me want to go harder. After my undergrad, I want to go to medical school, believe it or not.

Hopefully, taking this class will help me put my thoughts into words, articulate myself better, critique articles the correct way and also open my eyes to the things trending that relates to science that I probably wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for taking this class. My reason for saying this is because I know I will be assigned readings that I probably wouldn’t have read or wouldn’t have encountered if it wasn’t a requirement.

I was born in Jamaica and I moved to the Bahamas at the age of five. Jamaica and the Bahamas are comparable because of the fact that there are racial and ethnic disparities in health care. I was always interested in science from when I was little and knew I wanted to become a doctor since I was five. When I was a kid, I would often question the things around me and the universe but my interest in science and my dream of being a doctor grew after certain experiences. Growing up on both islands opened my eyes to the disparities we face as minorities. When I was old enough to understand it,  I pledged to be a change or help out in any way that I can. I have asthma attacks frequently and growing up I would spend nights in the hospital because of my asthma attacks. I remember all of my visits to the hospital where I was helped by doctors and nurses when it came to being hooked up to the nebulizer and everything else and none of the healthcare professionals looked like me. I had an experience years ago where I finally had a doctor who looked like me. We had the same Jamaican accent and I came to find out that we were born in the exact same place even though she was way older, obviously. Different nurses and doctors cared for me over time but that specific doctor made me feel different. It made my experience at the hospital completely different. I remember looking at her and saying I wanna be just like you. I was so intrigued by the fact that someone who was a minority just like me was able to make a difference. So growing up I was least interested in science. I loved it but I was more interested in being a doctor. But how do you want to be a doctor without loving science when the both of them go hand-in-hand?

I remember my mom had this friend that died during childbirth. Because I was younger, I didn’t understand the science behind it. When I got older and I started thinking about it I realized that healthcare disparities exist and race is important in medicine. A lot of thoughts started running through my head. Like “ She was a minority. Her doctor looked nothing like her and maybe that’s why she received a lower quality of care than a non-minority.“ That really solidified my aspiration of being a doctor. Being able to represent the minority, the people who do not receive quality care, those who are disadvantaged, marginalized, is what is going to make me feel fulfilled. I now realize that healthcare disparity is not a thing of the past and it is something that is still present, something that is relevant to the world at large. I know that a large number of minority women die during childbirth because of the healthcare system and it’s  racial disparities and I would love to be a part of a field that changes that.

My writing process may be significantly different from the typical person. First I brainstorm all of my ideas based on the rubric, if I’m given one. I then organize my thoughts into paragraphs starting with the introduction and ending with the conclusion. Afterwards, I type a rough draft. After reading the rough draft, I eliminate the unnecessary information then refine it. If I am able to, I go to the writing center for feedback. Sometimes I tend to over write and stray from the topic which is why I need feedback. I realize that I am easily distracted and so I cannot write in the daytime. I write better in the night time or early in the morning because that’s just when my thoughts flow.

I don’t remember much on English 110 but the rhetorical terms but I do know that when it came to drafting, revising and editing English 110 helped me to improve my skills.

Hopefully this class will help me to fix my bad habits and become a better writer.