Undergraduate / Intro to CommonApp Essay "Evaluate a significant experience & its impact on you" [11]

This is my second take on my introduction for the Common Application.

In the city that never sleeps, forever ablaze with the lights of office buildings and the rumbling of the subways, I was born. The name given to me on that cold December day was that of my father, Julio Diaz, to this day it is one of the few things I have to remember him by. Although I rarely acknowledge it, the experience of never knowing much of my father has gradually molded me as I've aged into adult hood.

Since my mother's and father's separation, my father and I have only met on several occasions. I feel that as I've gone through high school I've used the lack of such an important relationship as a way to empower and inspire myself as well as my goals. Even in his absence my father has impacted me as much, if not, more so than if he had remained in my life. As an underclassman coming of age in high school I constantly held myself back. My attitude was one of stagnancy and indifference. To me college was a distant four years or so away, far too removed to be of any importance. However, shortly after my sophomore year I received a call that changed my outlook. Phone in hand, I listened to a voice tell me I was talking to my father. Instantly I was shaken, do I yell, do I ask why, do I hang up? Instead I replied as if the heavy weight of the call didn't exist. "Hey," A conversation that seemed to resemble a job interview more than a father to son talk ensued. By the end of it arrangements were made for us to meet. Need less to say, they never happened. Via a convenient text message my father had canceled, blaming it on an unexpected meeting and failing to mention the next possible time. However I had got the true message. All of the family around me looked and stared with heavy eyes, ready to drop a tear as soon as I did, but that wasn't what I wanted. In that moment I decided the last thing I wanted was to be a victim of my circumstances. I wanted to be empowered by it, the fact that I had something to prove, whether it be to my father or myself, inspired me. This life long experience that ultimately led to that moment taught me that adversity can be my greatest source of motivation. Afterward as entered my junior year I vowed to become a determined young man with a future. I found myself seeking challenges where I used to retreat from them and have learned to love the feeling of conquering a challenge.

Entering my senior year and having to look back on past mistakes as I apply for college can be hard as I sometimes wonder "what if?", however, I remain determined. Constantly I remind myself of one of the greatest lessons I have ever received. I can never know how fate will interact with me, but I do now how I will react to whatever is given to me. As a young man looking back, I have no real regrets, only determination and readiness for the future and the challenges it will bring for me to overcome.