shadowx362
Nov 5, 2010
Undergraduate / UC Prompt #1 "My Journey to self-reliance" [4]
UC Prompt #1 Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
I was born and raised in Mexico up until the age of six, where I lived with my mother and two sisters. Our family made the big move to the United States when I was six in order to live a better life and be with my father. When we arrived in California we lived in a small home, where I was isolated from all the outside dangers present in the world. We later moved to a small home in Modesto, CA, where my whole life changed. Our neighborhood was not the safest place to be, our neighbors where either drug dealers or users, with a dose of gang related activities. I soon realized that I had to keep to myself if I wanted to stay out of danger. I instead concentrated in doing well in school and keeping up my grades, I did not know what it meant at the time, but I knew that it was the right thing to do. I really enjoyed my school and learned English quickly as I felt that it was my responsibly to do well as a way to show gratitude towards the new opportunities in the United States. I liked being the student who always went above and beyond in school projects; I was not accustomed to American expectations so I always made sure to try my best in order to try and be what I thought was average. I became comfortable enough that I participated in student council and ran for office; I tried to take every opportunity possible. At the same time that I discovered my liking for school my parents were going through a devastating divorce, my world was no longer "perfect." After intense custody, legal issues, my sisters and I lived with my father, while my mother moved to Texas. I coped with the situation by hiding my feelings and focused on school more than ever to try and ignore my home life. The absence of my mother made me more independent and self reliant. My father worked an irregular schedule so my sisters and I were often left to fend for ourselves, resulting in a hectic household.
Years passed on the same routine and when I reached high school I had perfected my self-reliance. I learned that the world was not here to serve me and instead I had to rely on myself or I would just end up like the people in my neighborhood. Entering high school I had to overcome another obstacle; my sisters moved with my mother in Texas, leaving me to rely on myself even further. I discovered that there was more to life than the routine I had developed; I became involved in community service and clubs to try and connect with other people, teaching me that life will get better. My friends and teachers have also motivated me throughout the years, giving me strength at the times I needed it the most.
I now am a senior in high school, still striving for my future, despite the constant setbacks and lack of family support. I have decided that I want to attend a four year college and later apply to medical school to become a forensic pathologist. I know that I want to pursue higher education and be the first college graduate in my family. I guess living a fairly private life and volunteering at nursing convalescent homes has taught me that death is mysterious art, which I want to further explore as a forensic pathologist. In my seventeen years of life I have fought the urge to give up and instead discovered that I am capable of becoming a college graduate and doing what I want to do and not what my demographics suggest.
UC Prompt #1 Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
I was born and raised in Mexico up until the age of six, where I lived with my mother and two sisters. Our family made the big move to the United States when I was six in order to live a better life and be with my father. When we arrived in California we lived in a small home, where I was isolated from all the outside dangers present in the world. We later moved to a small home in Modesto, CA, where my whole life changed. Our neighborhood was not the safest place to be, our neighbors where either drug dealers or users, with a dose of gang related activities. I soon realized that I had to keep to myself if I wanted to stay out of danger. I instead concentrated in doing well in school and keeping up my grades, I did not know what it meant at the time, but I knew that it was the right thing to do. I really enjoyed my school and learned English quickly as I felt that it was my responsibly to do well as a way to show gratitude towards the new opportunities in the United States. I liked being the student who always went above and beyond in school projects; I was not accustomed to American expectations so I always made sure to try my best in order to try and be what I thought was average. I became comfortable enough that I participated in student council and ran for office; I tried to take every opportunity possible. At the same time that I discovered my liking for school my parents were going through a devastating divorce, my world was no longer "perfect." After intense custody, legal issues, my sisters and I lived with my father, while my mother moved to Texas. I coped with the situation by hiding my feelings and focused on school more than ever to try and ignore my home life. The absence of my mother made me more independent and self reliant. My father worked an irregular schedule so my sisters and I were often left to fend for ourselves, resulting in a hectic household.
Years passed on the same routine and when I reached high school I had perfected my self-reliance. I learned that the world was not here to serve me and instead I had to rely on myself or I would just end up like the people in my neighborhood. Entering high school I had to overcome another obstacle; my sisters moved with my mother in Texas, leaving me to rely on myself even further. I discovered that there was more to life than the routine I had developed; I became involved in community service and clubs to try and connect with other people, teaching me that life will get better. My friends and teachers have also motivated me throughout the years, giving me strength at the times I needed it the most.
I now am a senior in high school, still striving for my future, despite the constant setbacks and lack of family support. I have decided that I want to attend a four year college and later apply to medical school to become a forensic pathologist. I know that I want to pursue higher education and be the first college graduate in my family. I guess living a fairly private life and volunteering at nursing convalescent homes has taught me that death is mysterious art, which I want to further explore as a forensic pathologist. In my seventeen years of life I have fought the urge to give up and instead discovered that I am capable of becoming a college graduate and doing what I want to do and not what my demographics suggest.