Life is best discovered, not told. That is one of the many life mottos my parents would reiterate whenever I asked for something. I often thought it was just another lazy excuse to turn me down. Looking back, I was probably wrong.
Growing up, my parents never pushed me towards doing medicine, law or any other profession. They believed it was something that would come inherently. Instead, they revolved my upbringing around independence. It started in the kitchen where I would learn to cook and bake by helping my mother prepare dinner and clean up afterwards. Soon after, I started helping out in my parent's sanctuary, the garden. From bananas to bougainvilleas, they would teach me to cultivate anything that the weather would allow. I helped my father in building picket fences where the morning glories intertwined, the kennel where my dog would stay and birdhouses where wild birds would find home. Handyman skills like carpentry plumbing were his forte and part of my vocational lessons.
Although we weren't poor, money was a very sensitive topic to my parents. It was a restrictive chain that inadvertently affected my adolescence. I can still remember back when I wanted to learn music badly. I immediately began working in order to buy myself a guitar. My naive soul would soon taste the bittersweet reality of the working world. I met unscrupulous employers and colleagues who would make scapegoats out of each other. Some would even spit into abusive customers' food in order to get retribution while others would misuse their authority to undermine me. Slowly, I felt the hardships of earning a living that my parents often underlined.
While they are thrifty people, they are definitely not stingy. Every week, my parents insist on volunteering at the local soup kitchen and parish welfare homes. Over there, I would help the orphans with their homework. Teaching is something that I can relate with and has become a passion that I enjoy. More importantly, it helps me open my eyes to new horizons especially when I connect with them on a deeper note. I start appreciating the lessons of being independent that my parents had instilled upon me when I teach the orphans how to read, write sew or even play soccer. Reflecting back, I feel so immature fretting over such minor things when these orphans did not even have parents as beacons to guide them.
While the future is unpredictable, I am certain that I want to enrich my life with colorful experiences beyond my comfort zone. I do not want to be shallow and ignorant restricted by physical or mental barriers. Along the way, I want to connect, work and even share life anecdotes with different people from different cultures and places. Teaching will be my outlet where I siphon knowledge and experience to inspire young lives. However, these goals would not be possible without a good education. How can one educate if he himself is uneducated
I am thankful that my parents never fought for my battles because ultimately I want to achieve these goals on my own merit. My mother says independence is a step towards maturity that will guide me when they are gone. The very thought of that frightens me but at the same time drives me to become self-reliant and hungry for new adventures.
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- This is my first draft. My main concern is more on whether the content is suitable and does it address the prompt? ( Describe the world you come from - and how it has shaped your dreams and aspirations )
I read a comment on the internet from a former admissions officer saying : While it is important for you to define your environment, you should NOT use your personal statement to describe your family, school or community.
I recommend approaching the first prompt by figuring out what your environment is, what your dreams/aspirations are, and what you have done in the context of your environment to achieve those dreams/aspirations.
Your environment can have physical boundaries (for example, your bedroom, the church prayer room, or the community center) or mental boundaries (for example, your upbringing or cultural tradition). Another way to think about your environment is by imagining yourself as a fish; are you in a fishbowl, a stream, a pond, or an ocean?
Your dreams and aspirations can be broad or specific; perhaps you aspire to help people (broad) or maybe your dream is to be a TB specialist serving with Doctor Without Borders in Somalia (specific). Either way, you should discuss how your achievements (academic and/or extracurricular, within the context of your environment) have helped you move toward achieving that dream/aspiration. You also want to consider talking about how you plan to continue these achievements in college.
Whatever you choose to discuss in this prompt, remember the main focus should be on YOU; what you have accomplished, what your goals are for the future, and why you will succeed (in life and/or in college).
Have i done that? I don't know, can someone help me out? BTW the major i plan to take is economics.
You never described your dreams and aspirations. You focused on your family and what they have taught you. What does their teaching you independence, brought you? How have you cultivated their teachings into who you are and what you want to become.
