Graduate / Personal Statement for Law School Admissions-Why I want to go to law school [10]

I would be very appreciative if someone could look over this. I have been trying my hardest to cut down on the length, but Im still a half page over.

Also, I feel my conclusion could use some work.

Thank you!
Ashlyn

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Walking into my childhood room might make one wonder if I had joined an underground, pig worshiping, Italian cult. While most of my friends had plastered their walls with photos of pop bands and celebrity crushes, I had overwhelming collections dedicated to pigs and Italy. However, being surrounded by posters and figurines did not satisfy my interests; I needed to better explore, connect with and understand my passions through experience. My pursuit of these seemingly unrelated interests have created life experiences that ultimately make the qualified law school applicant I am today.

Determined to own a pig, I joined the local 4-H when I was 9 years old. Disregarding the swine program's objective, to raise and auction off a pig at the county fair nine months later, I developed an immediate bond with Spamela Lee that equally satisfied her expanding waistline as it did my desire for experience. There were moments where I wished to be free of the hefty responsibility of raising a pig as a fourth grader, yet, when auction day rolled around, the sense of loss and betrayal I felt for leading Spamela to slaughter made my stomach church. Struggling to control my emotions, I tapped Spamela into and around the viewing ring to the auctioneer's chant. Those few minutes while I was both performing for the crowd and betraying something I had grown so fond of, an uncontrollable fuel ignited within me. The burning fire swelled, spreading into a defining moment of advocacy. On July 25th, 1997, I vowed to never eat pig again, and I have kept to that vow to this day.

As this experience proved that my determination could turn a fantasy into a reality, I was convinced to pursue aspirations of greater difficulty. When I first stepped foot onto Italian soil at the age of thirteen, I knew that this foreign land would one day be home. That moment influenced a passion for Italianism, which created unfulfilled desire and stimulation for a smell, culture, and association I had not yet fully experienced. Knowing this infatuation would not subside until I was entirely emerged in Italian society, I took the first opportunity and transferred as a sophomore from University of Washington in Seattle to The American University of Rome.

My life quickly adapted to waking to arguing soccer fanatics, mastering the appropriate hand movements while conversing in Italian, and falling asleep nightly to my neighbors' serenades. These experiences, along with studying International Relations and Communications and befriending local nomads and immigrant peddlers, informed me of the clout, culture has on its community and the injustices that can arise. This exposure influenced my newfound awareness to act as a definitive filter on my life's perspective, which consequently complicated my return to the insular community of my youth and broadened the extent of my desires.

After completing three semesters in Rome, I knew it was time to move on to a stronger, more promising educational experience. My fervency led me to complete a degree in Cultural and Media Studies at The New School in New York City where I was drawn to courses relating to gender, equality and representation. Taking advantage of this stimulating city, I advanced these interests and interned at The White House Project on the fundraising team and at Priority Films marketing Holly, a film relaying the story of a sex trafficking victim. Working at these non-profits, both advocating gender equality, functioned as an exemplar that accentuated my passion and clarified its necessary course to become a human rights advocate.

To satisfy this internal drive, I need to embody the relevant explorations, connections and understandings that fulfill the yearnings, which advance me toward this dream. As I have previously sought out and used inspiration and willingness to explore my pig and Italian infatuations, I am determined to acquire and utilize any skill that increases my ability to practice and achieve equal human rights.

Attending a law school that extensively integrates public interest and clinical training programs as relevant as an International Women Human Rights Clinic authenticates the possibility to attain and offer sustainable, resolute justice. To undergo such a curriculum, which prides itself on social justice and public interest law and urges legal reform in order to maintain egalitarianism, provides the experience, skills and inspiration necessary to succeed toward fulfilling my passion. For this reason, I am readily eager to embark, persevere and succeed through the most encompassing, promising opportunity to accomplish this dream, XXX School of Law.