Undergraduate / "Curiosity for knowledge" - Common App #4 Hermione Granger [3]

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Knowledge; I have an insatiable curiosity for it. Growing up, while other children watched Nickelodeon, I watched PBS. I eagerly told my parents the new discoveries I learned: how fish breathe underwater and that the sky is blue because blue light is absorbed by gas molecules and then scattered, not because God's angles used a blue crayon. At home, my parents encouraged my intellectual curiosity; my mother took me to the library every week. But outside my home was a different scenario.

I come from a large and close family. We use any excuse to get together; Chivas soccer games, the Super Bowl. Sure, we may not follow American football or know the rules, but, there is still a party. I would go to these parties and tell my aunts and uncles everything I learned from a documentary or book. My family, highly blunt and honest; would look at me with confused faces and ask me, "Why are you so stuck up?" I never understood the reaction. My parents began to notice the frequency of these occurrences, and, when I was about seven, before we left to one of the parties celebrating the Chivas' win over the America soccer team, my parents calmly told me it was "disrespectful to act smart because it made others feel stupid." Most of my family is uneducated; they come from a small Mexican town and did not attend school. My parents made me understand that, although I did not intend to belittle them, I was came across as "stuck up" and my family felt I was mocking them. I never again spoke to my family, and even my friends, about the new facts I learned.

In sixth grade, I read the book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I became engrossed with J.K. Rowling's magical world, especially with Hermione Granger. Hermione is a student wizard at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She has an affinity for books and knowledge. I could not believe that someone as smart as her had friends like Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. My whole life I believed knowledge as isolating. I grew up to reject it. I was still a good student, but I did not see learning as something enjoyable. I no longer watched PBS. I actually believed that if I told my friends I liked reading, they would mock me. An irrational fear kept me from pursuing my love of knowledge. But Hermione showed me knowledge is not isolating. She does not mask her intelligence in order to fit in. She does not hide her knowledge in fear that she will be rejected. People respect her because of her intelligence. However, she also taught me that I must not flaunt my knowledge; I cannot use it as a weapon to show superiority. Her being isolated from her peers in the first book because of her pretension taught me that. It is when she finds the balance between her love for knowledge and her friends that she is happy. She taught me that I can have friends and be close to my family, and still keep my love for knowledge. I once again became the person I was initially. I restarted the weekly routine of visiting the library; I became more open and outgoing because I no longer feared others' opinions. If Hermione Granger, an intelligent girl, could have friends like Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, so could I. I still kept my friends after I told them I had my own library in my room.

I am now a senior in high school, and I can proudly say that I watch PBS religiously. I know it was immature to believe for so long that intelligence was isolating, and Hermione Granger made me realize that. I thank Hermione Granger for reawakening my true self.

Undergraduate / "Esmeralda's situation, Mexico" - event, USC ESSAY [4]

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PROMPT:USC's speaker series What Matters to Me and Why asks faculty and staff to reflect on their values, beliefs, and motivations. Presenters talk about choices they have made, difficulties encountered and commitments solidified. Write an essay about an event or experience that helped you learn what is important to you and why it is important.

I value education, family, and perseverance. I believe everyone has a basic right to a fulfilling life. The struggles my family has been through motivate me to exhaust all my resources. Use any and all my opportunities and resources; that is my creed. This creed that guides my life came into existence one night while talking with my cousin, Esmeralda. After that talk, I learned that what matters the most to me is family, education, and my responsibility to help others within my community. That conversation with my cousin prioritized my values of education, family and motivated me to become a beacon for change.

A conversation I had with my cousin prioritized my values of education, family and perseverance and motivated me to become a source of change. Every summer I spend two months in Mexico with my family. It is a small town where all men farm and all women stay home. This particular summer, I slept over my cousin Esmeralda's house. That night, we began talking about our futures. She talked about how lucky she would be if she could only afford to finish high school; her family was struggling financially. She talked about how she wanted to become a lawyer but would never be able to attend law school. I realized, at that moment, how fortunate I was to have access to an education and the basic necessities of food and shelter. Since then, I have reflected on my life; where I am and what I value. I am aware that if my parents had not succeeded in the U.S. after they migrated here, I would be in her position. This conversation was eye opening and made me realize that I cannot waste my education; I so am blessed to be able to go to school. My education is extremely important because it is an opportunity to live a life my cousin may never have an opportunity for. It would be an insult to her, my family and me if I did not take full advantage of it.

Growing up in the environment I did, being a first generation American and being raised in the Mexican tradition with Mexican values and beliefs, I have developed a different perspective than many of my friends and peers. Although I have a fortunate life, my family never lets me forget that I am privileged. I value education because I know it opens opportunities; I value my ability to persevere and find answers; I value family because I know they are sources of inspiration and motivation. I believe in solidarity.

After so much reflecting, I realize how much I value my family. My parents came to this county without an education and have provided me with everything I have needed and more. I appreciate and understand the value of hard work. My cousin does not believe that money is an obstacle; she works two jobs and is finishing high school. Seeing her persevere formed in me the desire to fight and to overcome any difficulties to prevent me from succeeding. I never allow myself to surrender to obstacles; I fight through. The thought that I could have been in Esmeralda's situation motivates me to work hard and to never be ungrateful for the blessings in my life. It is my responsibility to ensure my family does not struggle unnecessarily. The conversation with my cousin solidified my belief that since I am one of the few in my family to be educated, I must help my family members which are not. Also, I cannot complain about how life is unfair and how I have less than I deserve. I only deserve what I work for. I work for everything I have: my grades, the respect of my peers and my relationships. It is through perseverance and my newfound appreciation for an education that I believe I have a responsibility to use my life to benefit others.

I feel I must I succeed in my life; because I owe it to myself and to everyone around me. As Mark Twain once said, "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."