autobiographical essay must be 2-3 pages. should include information about your past educational, professional , and personal pursuits beyond that found in other documentation such as transcripts.
Essay
I kept telling myself just smile and please, please do not trip. As I was walking up the stairs and down the stage, I think I forgot all about smiling and tripping, all I could think was that I had done it, I could call myself a college graduate. All the hardships and obstacles I had faced seemed insignificant as I was walking up and receiving my diploma. I looked up and I could make out my family in the crowd cheering me on, my mom probably holding back the tears, as I was walking degree in hand back to my seat.
I graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor in Exercise and Sport Science Pre-Physical Therapy. Completing my degree was one of my greatest accomplishments yet; but I did not do it alone, I owe many thanks to my parents for all the support and encouragement. As an immigrant student I felt like my future was uncertain at times. During my senior year in high school I was told by a few that I could not apply to a university because of my status in the country, at the time I was a permanent but not yet legal resident of the states. Is thanks to Mrs. Erica Orozco, an advisor from project graduation, who explained all the opportunities I had to attend school, all I needed were to act. It amazes me all the opportunities this great country has given me; not only did I attend a great university with a terrific pre-physical therapy program but I was awarded federal financial aid every semester to help pay for school. That is one of the reasons my parents decided to move to the states twelve years ago, the great opportunities, the American dream, nothing is handed in a silver platter, you must work and work hard for it, but the opportunities are endless if you have the desire to succeed.
Moving to the United States was an adventure. I was only twelve and I did not comprehend the meaning of our move. It was a few days after we had landed in the states that the reality of it all hit me, a new culture, new language, new school, I was starting from zero. In Colombia I attended a catholic all girl school, I was a competitive figure skater and I had big dreams of becoming a professional skater and making it one day to the Olympics. I handled the change well. I was submerged in the culture, there was no in between. The school that I went to was primarily Anglo, everyone wanted to get to know the new girl it was not hard to make friends. I absorbed the language rather quickly, it was either sink or swim, there were no bilingual classes and ESL (English as a second language) was a joke, but I was floating along. To my surprise I was very plucky and social. I auditioned for a musical, "Bye Bye Birdie" I was not picked for the part, but I'm surprised I had the guts to stand in front of crowd to audition, I didn't let the language barrier keep me down .
I have been blessed with many opportunities that with hard work, perseverance and dedication have allowed me to achieve my dreams; all except for one, skating. I sadly had to give up skating due to our low income. My dad lost his job in 2011 and could no longer afford to provide for all the expenses that came with a competitive sport. Skating was an enormous part of my childhood, the arduous and long days at practice taught me time management from a young age, I had no time to waste; I was either at school or at practice and during my time off I would do homework, study or catch up on sleep. Skating gave me a purpose, kept me busy, active and it taught me how to manage and organize my time. It lit my passion for the body, its anatomy and how it all functions together to created one smooth movement. It amazes me every day to see just how beautiful our body is; a perfect machine. Now that I work at a physical therapy clinic as a technician, I have the opportunity to see this every day. Is astounding to see and accompany patients in their journey to wellness and independence, starting from when they walk, roll or limp in, to experience how week after week they progress and achieve their personal rehabilitation goals.
My next challenge is physical therapy school. I will tackle it with as much hard work and dedication as I have attacked every other aspiring dream. As a first generation graduate my family looks up to me to pave the road for my younger cousins, a role model. It's a hard standard to live up to, but I'm committed to make my family proud but most of all I want to show my parents that the decision they made as we were sitting in our living room twelve years ago was worth it, I'm thankful for their selflessness
Essay
I kept telling myself just smile and please, please do not trip. As I was walking up the stairs and down the stage, I think I forgot all about smiling and tripping, all I could think was that I had done it, I could call myself a college graduate. All the hardships and obstacles I had faced seemed insignificant as I was walking up and receiving my diploma. I looked up and I could make out my family in the crowd cheering me on, my mom probably holding back the tears, as I was walking degree in hand back to my seat.
I graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor in Exercise and Sport Science Pre-Physical Therapy. Completing my degree was one of my greatest accomplishments yet; but I did not do it alone, I owe many thanks to my parents for all the support and encouragement. As an immigrant student I felt like my future was uncertain at times. During my senior year in high school I was told by a few that I could not apply to a university because of my status in the country, at the time I was a permanent but not yet legal resident of the states. Is thanks to Mrs. Erica Orozco, an advisor from project graduation, who explained all the opportunities I had to attend school, all I needed were to act. It amazes me all the opportunities this great country has given me; not only did I attend a great university with a terrific pre-physical therapy program but I was awarded federal financial aid every semester to help pay for school. That is one of the reasons my parents decided to move to the states twelve years ago, the great opportunities, the American dream, nothing is handed in a silver platter, you must work and work hard for it, but the opportunities are endless if you have the desire to succeed.
Moving to the United States was an adventure. I was only twelve and I did not comprehend the meaning of our move. It was a few days after we had landed in the states that the reality of it all hit me, a new culture, new language, new school, I was starting from zero. In Colombia I attended a catholic all girl school, I was a competitive figure skater and I had big dreams of becoming a professional skater and making it one day to the Olympics. I handled the change well. I was submerged in the culture, there was no in between. The school that I went to was primarily Anglo, everyone wanted to get to know the new girl it was not hard to make friends. I absorbed the language rather quickly, it was either sink or swim, there were no bilingual classes and ESL (English as a second language) was a joke, but I was floating along. To my surprise I was very plucky and social. I auditioned for a musical, "Bye Bye Birdie" I was not picked for the part, but I'm surprised I had the guts to stand in front of crowd to audition, I didn't let the language barrier keep me down .
I have been blessed with many opportunities that with hard work, perseverance and dedication have allowed me to achieve my dreams; all except for one, skating. I sadly had to give up skating due to our low income. My dad lost his job in 2011 and could no longer afford to provide for all the expenses that came with a competitive sport. Skating was an enormous part of my childhood, the arduous and long days at practice taught me time management from a young age, I had no time to waste; I was either at school or at practice and during my time off I would do homework, study or catch up on sleep. Skating gave me a purpose, kept me busy, active and it taught me how to manage and organize my time. It lit my passion for the body, its anatomy and how it all functions together to created one smooth movement. It amazes me every day to see just how beautiful our body is; a perfect machine. Now that I work at a physical therapy clinic as a technician, I have the opportunity to see this every day. Is astounding to see and accompany patients in their journey to wellness and independence, starting from when they walk, roll or limp in, to experience how week after week they progress and achieve their personal rehabilitation goals.
My next challenge is physical therapy school. I will tackle it with as much hard work and dedication as I have attacked every other aspiring dream. As a first generation graduate my family looks up to me to pave the road for my younger cousins, a role model. It's a hard standard to live up to, but I'm committed to make my family proud but most of all I want to show my parents that the decision they made as we were sitting in our living room twelve years ago was worth it, I'm thankful for their selflessness
