This I Believe Essay By Isabel Legarda

Every person is precious and Isabel Legarda makes that very clear in her This I Believe essay. She filled her writing with how she came to the conclusion that ever person is precious. She mentions that she lost her faith for a while and she also tells how she found it again. Legarda makes it clear as to why or how she found her faith again but she doesn’t give strong evidence as to how she lost it in the first place.
Isabel Legarda writes “Every person is precious: This I believe with my whole heart.” As she started the essay she states her faith was slipping away but she doesn’t give reasons as to why exactly her faith was slipping away. She was in her residency as a doctor and was catching her self questioning why people pray and wondering if it will work. The moment that all changed was when she was taught how to give manual breaths (Legarda, 2009). She found herself

breathing for a child and the first thing that came to mind was the Latin root spiritus which means breathe or inspiration. Legarda doesn’t feel powerful when she is in the operating room, she feels humbly. She said watching over patients and protecting them when they are most vulnerable makes her faith come alive. This is her proof as to why she believes each life is precious. Throughout the essay she gives many reasons as to why the medical field is “spiritus” work, mostly though her life story and using emotional statements (Legarda, 2009).
This essay is meaningful in many ways.

It can make one feel safe knowing that this is the mindset that doctors have. It could also make any person feel special or loved because she is saying that she appreciates every human life and that she is humbled to be able to save them (Legarda, 2009). Not only can it make a patient feel safe and special but this writing can give doctors a different prospective. Anyone that is religious and is going to school to work in the medical field has worried about losing their faith along the way. Those that already work in the medical field may already have this problem. I know personally that is one of my biggest fears going pre-med. This essay gave me ease knowing that others have had this problem and have gotten through it. Personally this piece of writing meant a lot to me just knowing that I am not alone in my thinking. By showing that the medical field should be work that makes one feel humble and not powerful Legarda’s writing has made me feel more positive about my career choice. It shows that every human is equal and precious, and the doctors know

that.
On the other hand many people feel as if people should keep faith out of the work place. The separation of church and state. Isabel Legarda never states what exactly makes her rely on her faith. She states events that make her feel humble. But at one point she was questioning her faith and there must be a reason behind that.
Legarda makes it clear as to why or how she found her faith again but she doesn’t give strong evidence as to how she lost it in the first place. During her residency as a doctor she had a hard time connecting her work and her faith. It is important that she support her reasoning for losing her faith. She did not support that, she only supported how she found faith again. It’s important for the reader to know why they are special.