I am applying to BC, BU, Northeastern and a few more. I am going to put a school-specific paragraph in somewhere near the end. Thanks so much!
"Eight months is a long time," I sigh to myself as I desperately search for an Internet connection on my laptop. I can barely hold a signal long enough to load my Gmail. Slightly frustrated, I sip my café con leche and begin to gaze out the window of this tiny Spanish bar. The view is so impressive that it almost doesn't seem real. Luscious green fields roll on for miles. Massive mountains cut the skyline in all directions. I start to think about the reasons I took this job, thousands of miles across the Atlantic teaching English to high school-aged Spaniards. My junior year of college, I was more than eager to apply to law school. Instead, I decided to heed the advice of every current law student and lawyer I knew and take a year off, do something different, find my proverbial self. I sit back and realize that with no Internet or homework for the first time in years, maybe this is a good time to start looking.
I was always well aware that the Spanish classes I took as an undergrad would never fully prepare me for the experience of living and working in a Spanish-speaking country. Even the adventure of living here before has contributed little to my situation today. My sophomore year of college, I spent a s semester here with a family who provided me with all my meals, a room to myself, readily available Internet and even a maid. I was very close with the eleven other UMass girls in the program and enchanted with the hustle and bustle of the big city in which we lived. Hundreds of shops stood within walking distance and classes didn't even start until two in the afternoon. After four months, I left the country, feeling like an independent and slightly pretentious 20 year old. Not many of my friends could say they were as "cultured" as me.
Now, nearly three years later, I have returned to the Iberian Peninsula, albeit in a position considerably less comfortable than before. I live in a small apartment in a rural village by myself. The students I teach are sweet, but rowdy. As a result, I have had to transform into the "strict American teacher." I am now financially responsible for myself. Because the salary I receive from the school hardly pays my rent and groceries, I have begun tutoring in the evenings. Despite my perceived hardships I feel a greater appreciation for this experience than my last. Every morning, I travel the cobblestone streets to the small school, savoring the aroma of freshly baked goods emanating from the charming little shops. My job here is that of Renaissance woman: I discuss states of matter and the composition of the planets, translate lecture notes into English for my colleagues and converse with teachers to strengthen our knowledge of the others' language. I help direct school plays and as a result, have nearly memorized Little Red Riding Hood repeating the lines over and over so the children can imitate my pronunciation.
My life today is so different than it has ever been. During my college years, I spent countless nights on the 18th floor of the library studying everything from transitional democracies and Plato to Spanish irregular verbs and One Hundred Years of Solitude. Schoolwork was my first concern and I was driven by my studies and exceptional grades. Here in the countryside, I have had the opportunity to sort out my priorities. My motivation for attaining happiness has changed from the need for stellar grades, to the pursuit of life experiences.
I love the Spanish culture and have become fluid in the language, but my real passion is advocacy. I worked for two years as a Student Judicial Advisor, counseling those peers of mine who were found to have violated the Code of Student Conduct. I prepared students' accounts of events as well as calmed their fears. Prior to my joining the program, few knew of its existence. Students often proceeded blindly into their judicial meetings, unaware of the meaning of the charges and most importantly their rights. Our program was a valuable resource that needed to be utilized, so my coworker and I greatly redesigned its structure to improve notoriety and accessibility. We hired more advisors and began heavily publicizing. Within weeks, we were counseling up to ten clients per day and acquiring favorable outcomes for the students.
I spent the next summer interning for the Victim Witness Program, a division of the Cape and Island's District Attorney's office. There in the courtroom, I gained invaluable insight in the legal profession as well as a fervent desire to begin my dream as soon as possible. However, it was in this very same venue that my mentors instructed me to slow down and take some time off before law school. I needed to "find myself."
So here is where I have tracked myself down, my coffee just about done, but my journey of self-discovery only just beginning. I have come to the realization that over the course of life, one gathers, through experience, the traits that are already inherent within her. I do indeed possess the traits necessary and I am convinced that with the help of ____ I could construct a talented and dedicated lawyer.
I may not be returning to my comfort zone for some time, yet knowing that every experience brings me closer to that person I yearn to be, I believe the wait is well worth it.
"Eight months is a long time," I sigh to myself as I desperately search for an Internet connection on my laptop. I can barely hold a signal long enough to load my Gmail. Slightly frustrated, I sip my café con leche and begin to gaze out the window of this tiny Spanish bar. The view is so impressive that it almost doesn't seem real. Luscious green fields roll on for miles. Massive mountains cut the skyline in all directions. I start to think about the reasons I took this job, thousands of miles across the Atlantic teaching English to high school-aged Spaniards. My junior year of college, I was more than eager to apply to law school. Instead, I decided to heed the advice of every current law student and lawyer I knew and take a year off, do something different, find my proverbial self. I sit back and realize that with no Internet or homework for the first time in years, maybe this is a good time to start looking.
I was always well aware that the Spanish classes I took as an undergrad would never fully prepare me for the experience of living and working in a Spanish-speaking country. Even the adventure of living here before has contributed little to my situation today. My sophomore year of college, I spent a s semester here with a family who provided me with all my meals, a room to myself, readily available Internet and even a maid. I was very close with the eleven other UMass girls in the program and enchanted with the hustle and bustle of the big city in which we lived. Hundreds of shops stood within walking distance and classes didn't even start until two in the afternoon. After four months, I left the country, feeling like an independent and slightly pretentious 20 year old. Not many of my friends could say they were as "cultured" as me.
Now, nearly three years later, I have returned to the Iberian Peninsula, albeit in a position considerably less comfortable than before. I live in a small apartment in a rural village by myself. The students I teach are sweet, but rowdy. As a result, I have had to transform into the "strict American teacher." I am now financially responsible for myself. Because the salary I receive from the school hardly pays my rent and groceries, I have begun tutoring in the evenings. Despite my perceived hardships I feel a greater appreciation for this experience than my last. Every morning, I travel the cobblestone streets to the small school, savoring the aroma of freshly baked goods emanating from the charming little shops. My job here is that of Renaissance woman: I discuss states of matter and the composition of the planets, translate lecture notes into English for my colleagues and converse with teachers to strengthen our knowledge of the others' language. I help direct school plays and as a result, have nearly memorized Little Red Riding Hood repeating the lines over and over so the children can imitate my pronunciation.
My life today is so different than it has ever been. During my college years, I spent countless nights on the 18th floor of the library studying everything from transitional democracies and Plato to Spanish irregular verbs and One Hundred Years of Solitude. Schoolwork was my first concern and I was driven by my studies and exceptional grades. Here in the countryside, I have had the opportunity to sort out my priorities. My motivation for attaining happiness has changed from the need for stellar grades, to the pursuit of life experiences.
I love the Spanish culture and have become fluid in the language, but my real passion is advocacy. I worked for two years as a Student Judicial Advisor, counseling those peers of mine who were found to have violated the Code of Student Conduct. I prepared students' accounts of events as well as calmed their fears. Prior to my joining the program, few knew of its existence. Students often proceeded blindly into their judicial meetings, unaware of the meaning of the charges and most importantly their rights. Our program was a valuable resource that needed to be utilized, so my coworker and I greatly redesigned its structure to improve notoriety and accessibility. We hired more advisors and began heavily publicizing. Within weeks, we were counseling up to ten clients per day and acquiring favorable outcomes for the students.
I spent the next summer interning for the Victim Witness Program, a division of the Cape and Island's District Attorney's office. There in the courtroom, I gained invaluable insight in the legal profession as well as a fervent desire to begin my dream as soon as possible. However, it was in this very same venue that my mentors instructed me to slow down and take some time off before law school. I needed to "find myself."
So here is where I have tracked myself down, my coffee just about done, but my journey of self-discovery only just beginning. I have come to the realization that over the course of life, one gathers, through experience, the traits that are already inherent within her. I do indeed possess the traits necessary and I am convinced that with the help of ____ I could construct a talented and dedicated lawyer.
I may not be returning to my comfort zone for some time, yet knowing that every experience brings me closer to that person I yearn to be, I believe the wait is well worth it.
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