Tonight I am watching “Hopkins” on ABC.  It’s a new - and fairly interesting - documentary, based on the events at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  I’ve always been interested in Johns Hopkins - they have such a wide range of fantastic doctors.  One of my favorite doctors works there.  He’s not “my” doctor or a doctor who I’ve even visited, but he is a doctor with an incredible story.  His name is Dr. Benjamin Carson.  He was born into poverty in Detroit, but his illiterate mother took him to the library regularly.  After going to college on scholarships, he graduated with honors and is now the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins.

This documentary mentioned another doctor at Johns Hopkins with a similar story.  This doctor’s name is Dr. Quinones-Hinjosa.  He entered the US illegally and worked his way up to legal citizenship, med school, and Johns Hopkins.

I am always amazed by individuals who do these amazing things.  I was born into the middle class and have never had to struggle (too much) for basic stuff.  These individuals born into poverty are hard workers who demand so much of themselves.  They go into service professions, like medicine, to help people.  Another common profession for them is education.  Today I read about a gentleman named Norberto Diaz, who is a principal and a leader in the New Jersey School District.  Like these others, he worked his way from poverty to success.  I don’t know what makes these people different, but unlike the people who surround them as children, they demand more of life than the struggles of poverty.  If only we could teach this desire to other children trapped in poverty!