Undergraduate / "the jr. rec leader program" - your personal experience [3]

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

When I was 12 I had lost myself. I moved from the city life, living with two parents two the suburbs, countryside living left with only a mother, and a father I saw once a month. New town, new people, one parent, new school, new house, it was a new life, I was 12 and I could not comprehend what was happening,. with a new house meant my mom had to work two jobs meaning sometimes she worked late till 10pm. I was alone with no one around. I started becoming depressed, everyday it was a struggle to pay attention to school, make friends, eventually I stopped caring about school and about myself because it seemed that nobody else cared either. I slowly lost confidence in myself, I spent hours a day trying to make myself look good, I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. I ended up getting into the wrong crowd of kids, I had so much free time which led to trouble, but my mom had to work two jobs and deal with three teenagers and two in high school who were barely going to graduate. But eventually she saw something was wrong and thought I needed to be busy especially since summer was coming around. The City of Oakley had a program called "the jr. rec leader program" in which kids from 12-16 would volunteer at a summer camp 8hrs day 5days a week for the whole summer. Working just like an employee except as a volunteer. I did not resent to much because it brought back memories of things I used to do, and my greatest passion- helping others. This program taught me everything I know today and every summer I kept learning more. From learning work ethics and responsibility to gainig a sense of belonging and rekindling my passions. After a couple weeks I guess you could I "re-evaluated" myself, I thought to myself "im so privileged to have an oppturnity to do something I love, be a part of a group of kids (who are not involed in juvinile crimes), and look what im doing for my community." In this program, I was given authority and responsibility to take care of a group kids based on my judgment and knowledge that I was taught. But these lessons about work, responsibility, and leadership helped me cope with my life and what I was going through. This brought me back to the world, working as volunteer for my community taught me discipline, responsibility but most importantly the value of helping others. This one program taught and gave me so much. All my life I did community service, but for what? To complete hours for some club. But this community program taught me the signifcance of why helping out in your community is important, and how it can help yourself and most importantly so many others. This program didn't just help me regain myself but it taught me that we help others for Honeslty, without this program I would not be who I am today.

** i really need help on the organization of this essay PLEASE

Undergraduate / a new world- a new perspective (the world you come from) [NEW]

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.

My school has been the foundation for my life providing me with challenges as well as solutions, and hardships that came with opportunities to learn. Unfortunately my school's leadership, government and main events are centered around the good looking kids, cheerleaders, and football players, and in a way you can say that my school peers are involved with themselves. But this discovery showed me an oppturnity and a chance to be taken; to make a difference which started with becoming junior class co-vice president. I have come from a school full of chances that have created a passion my passion and dream to with youth in certain circumstances.

Junior year I ran to become vice-president, and I was pretty sure I had no chance of winning since I was not that popular, but I had aspirations to make a difference espically in our school. aside from the fact that being a leader, being part of a team effort was my passion, I had a goal to show students that we can ALL work together and be a part of something big, not just be in separate cliques with your race, level of popularity, or attractiveness. Elections came, and when I ran I got surprisingly lots of support from many different types of kids. Unfortunately I did not win because those groups of diverse kids were very small compared to the rest of the school population. However 60 percent of the election were teacher evaluations and interviews. And I won the advisors over by my support from teachers, and my goal making me co-vice president because they had faith in my goal, therefore giving me a chance to pursue it.

This chance of being a leader that EVERYBODY was going to look up to taught me courage to stand out. But what came out of this? My groups of friends were people from all parts of the school, from different cliques, different personalities and looks. But when I was out on a mission to teach a lesson to my peers, they instead taught me something. They all gave me new and different perspectives on the world, teaching me that people come from different places, and some with circumstantial backgrounds. I met a group of kids, who may seem not approachable, but overtime I learned about the things they did, but I also learned how they are just trying to better themselves.

I was stuck on just creating diversity put into one, but in doing so i never thought I would learn different lives, the places people come, perspectives and most of all kids in circumstantial conditions; such as those who have probation, are fighting an addiction, or have issues at home and just need guidance. And those lessons have driven me into perusing to help different kids from circumstantial backgrounds, shaping my goal into becoming youth advocate or a youth social worker.