Undergraduate / "my focus was helping my classmate" - Kyle was born with a disability [2]

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

The average first grader is carefree and worries more about what he or she is going to play with or with whom they're going to play with. However, as a first grader, my focus was helping my classmate Kyle Lamb. Kyle was born with a disability, which prevented him from speaking clearly and writing legibly. Throughout elementary school we always ended up in the same class and I believe this happened for a reason.

Many times Kyle would get angry with himself because of his disability. I remember "Speech Day," where our teacher made each student write a speech regarding someone that they truly admired. When it was Kyle's turn to present, he read his note cards to his best ability, but the class could only understand part of his speech. He threw a temper tantrum, feeling disappointed in himself. Reassuring him that everything would be okay, I took it upon myself to help him by reading his speech for him. I continued helping him throughout elementary school, knowing that he really needed it. As each new year came, Kyle began to write and speak more clearly.

Among all of the experiences I have been through, this one in particular is the most important to me. I realized how gratifying it felt, to put in as much effort as I did, to help someone other than myself. By helping others, I gained a completely different personal satisfaction that cannot be found in everyday life because I was able to positively contribute to a disabled child's life at such a young age. I feel that this reflects my personality because many people say that I am very kind, friendly, helpful, and caring. From this endeavor, and these comments, I have come to find that I want to go into the field of social work. I would like to listen to people's problems and help them overcome their obstacles. This newfound expression of pure kindness allows me to realize what I want to achieve in life and what my footprints will be in society.

PLEASE AND THANK YOU :)

Undergraduate / UC prompt 2, how a friend went missing, changed my life [NEW]

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

In my freshmen I experienced something that I will never forget. This experience changed my life and is an accomplishment that I am very proud of. I was at a friend's house one evening and one of my friends went missing. We searched around the house trying to find her and luckily we spotted her at a neighbor's house. There was a hip-hop dance choreographer at the house and randomly asked us if we were interested in joining a dance group. Everyone was excited but I on the other hand was very skeptical about this. As a child I never had a hobby that I was passionate for. Many children were put into a sport's club or dance studio by their parents, but I was never involved in any of that. I didn't think that I could excel in anything and was afraid of what others would think. But because my friends were up for it, I chose to join. In the beginning, I struggled having no experience. Many times I was discouraged because out of all my friends I was the slowest learner. All of them had some dance training. But I chose not to give up because this might be the hobby that I never had. After practicing three times a week, I started to become good at it, which allowed me to enjoy it. Throughout high school I joined three dance teams, two being a high school team and the other being an outside professional dance company. I soon became to love dancing. Anywhere I would go, I would be doing choreography in my head. My love for dancing has never faded. I've won awards titled, "The Next Big Thing" and "The Best Dance Performer," which is something that I would've never imagined. I have also contributed to dance teams by preparing them for dance shows and choreographing for them. This was a challenge for me to pursue, because thoughts went through my mind on whether or not they would like what I had to offer. Surprisingly they liked my choreography, which was a huge accomplishment for me. If Stephanie didn't end up missing, I would not be the aspiring dancer and performer that I am today. I can proudly say that I gained confidence in myself by joining dance groups, knowing that I CAN excel in something if I put my heart into it.