Undergraduate / "don't be upset about what you don't get." (best piece of advice essay) [6]

I am applying early, so I would appreciate some feedback.
I am unsure of what is missing with my essay, and I need to have another person's perspective on this. I feel that in this essay I am saying that this advice just magically made me change everything about myself.

500 word limit.

Ari the kindergartener was enveloped by fifth graders pressuring him for his solar capacitor. He calmly told them, "don't be upset about what you don't get." The faces in the crowd dropped. His advice kept repeating inside me, and over time, I adjusted my philosophy for life-I did not feel the need to mourn over trivial matters any longer. I began to accept the outcome of everything; whatever happened, happened; however, I did not allow the past to discourage me-I do all I can do to make things the way I want them to be. This advice inspires me to take action.

I was prohibited to go to the library, the playground next door, or even out my front door into the streets of Oakland. I needed to get out of this town-this place called home; people of all ages loitering, drive-by robberies, and shootings in the streets. I settled with rereading the same books and rewatching the same videos when I was not provided with new ones. No one had the time to guide me and I did not receive the best education, but I made the most out of what I had.

I realized that I need to take initiative and decide things on my own. It is up to me how serious I take my education. My parents do not encourage me to continue working hard nor do they expect me to succeed in school, but this advice is dear to me because now I understand that focusing on schoolwork and sports is the only way to stay away from violence and trouble. I am determined to focus on all my passions and to get out of the ghetto for a better future. My effort is for myself, and this reinforces me to live life my way and not someone else's way.

Even though I am not going to be unhappy with what I do not have, I am going to work hard to get what I want for my future. I swim or play basketball daily. Through poetry and speech, I try to uplift kids, teens, and even adults on a personal level and to motivate them to take action. Above all, I intend to indulge my penchant for knowing and learning. I will read, listen, and talk until my head spins; I shall then rest and begin again. I will be a sponge; soak in, bask under, and descend into knowledge. I believe this will lead me out of my unhappy circumstances in this town.

I cherish Ari's advice because it has lead me to find the direction I want to take my life in and the self-motivation to do so. I intend to pursue knowledge to get out of the ghetto, because grieving will not change my conditions. I may not have been given the best resources, but I take what I have and press onward.