I live in Portugal and i’m applying for medicine in the UK. I’m just about to send my application form but i’d just like to have an opinion on my personal statement, please:

I will always have vivid memories of the two events in my life that made me realise that I wanted to be doctor. They both occurred in the same year, and although I was only eight at the time, I was able to understand the greatness of medicine and the fragility of life.
Firstly, I remember being hit by a wave of relief when the doctor walked into the waiting room and told my mother and I that my father’s life-threatening ear surgery had gone better than expected. This was when I fully grasped the power of medicine: the ability to save a person is one of the greatest things known to mankind. Nevertheless, I am also familiar with that gut-wrenching feeling of waking up to a phone call from the hospital informing my mother that my great-grandmother had just passed away. This experience made me realise just how fragile life is: in a second, it can all be over.
After these two events, I wanted to know more about medicine and the ways it can be used to save lives. So, I started a collection of books, videos and figures of the human body then being advertised on television. Every two weeks I would receive a book, a video and a plastic replica of an organ, things that I immediately read, watched and placed in the correct spot in my human body replica. I could never wait for the next ones to arrive: the intricacy of the human body intrigued me and ever since I have been curious to learn as much about it as I can.
Therefore, I chose Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics at secondary school, subjects I not only knew would be important for medicine, but was also sure I would enjoy. Along with Philosophy, these have been my four favourite subjects throughout my schooling. I have just begun my last year, and will be taking, amongst others, Biology, Special Project, PE, Mathematics and English. I strongly believe that knowing how to work in a group as well as individually is an invaluable life skill, all the more for a medical career, and these classes, especially PE and Special Project allow me to develop in this area. Moreover, in Year Five, I was elected Deputy Class Representative, which means that I have known responsibility since a young age, and this year I have once again been elected Class Rep. I am also very eager to be envolved in my schools decisions and day-to-day life, so this year a group of collegues and I will be running for Student Council.
My desire to help others has led me to volunteer at a nursing home, and I must say assisting the elderly with their everyday activities, helping them to have fun or just sitting down and talking to them is extremely rewarding. Volunteering further helps me improve my communication skills, sense of responsibility and autonomy, all of which I think are important in a physician. In the coming Christmas holidays I will be taking a First Aid course and shadowing a doctor at my local hospital, where I hope to observe an operation and come into contact with a variety of patients.
Apart from my interest in my studies, I also enjoy going to the gym and going out with my friends and family, especially to the beach. Indeed, doing physical activities, especially swimming has always been a great passion. When I was five, I started lessons, and right from the start, I knew I would love it. I went on to win various certificates and badges, but I had to stop when I was eight, because at that age I moved to Madeira.
I want to study in the UK not only because of its international reputation, graduate prospects and considerable student satisfaction, but also because I was born and raised there until I was eight: it is my country of origin. I also have close relatives living there whom I can contact at any time, which I feel is very important when you are making such a change as leaving secondary school and starting university. Ultimately, my goal is to become as successful a professional as I can, and I know that by studying in the UK I will have the opportunity to do so.

Thanks