Undergraduate / 'Greater than normal: demand and expectations' - quality, talent personal statement [9]

PROMPT #2: Tell us about a personality 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

If you are living in a place such as Silicon Valley, where almost every other kid's parents are doctors and engineers, the demand and expectation is greater than normal. In the advent of the Vietnam War, my mother's village and school was completely destroyed. She never made it past the third grade which left her illiterate. Without my biological father in the picture, my mother provided me with tender loving care, but lacked the skills to teach me all the primary subjects that a normal child would learn. As a child, I did not have the means to understand the basics of English or Math. When teachers would send home papers, I remember telling my mother where and what she was signing because she could not comprehend the words. Financially, our small family struggled because of the literacy requirement of jobs. Contrary to the stereotypical tiger mother's story, my mother never pushed me because she herself felt too guilty for not being able to give me to tools to succeed in school. As I grew older, textbooks started to become more costly and the homework consumed more time. My mom would often sneak in and check on to see what I was doing while I was studying. On one occasion while I was reading a textbook, she came in and helplessly whispered "I am so sorry for being able to help you". I pretended not to hear her as she left but it did not stop the tears from trickling down my face and onto the papers of the homework. This was often hard on my self-esteem but my perseverance to learn was buoyed by another saving grace: curiosity.

Despite the lack of support at home, I always had a perpetual need for learning new things which blossomed into many of my academicals accomplishment such as scoring a 6 on the California Standard Test for English and maintaining good academic standing for all the semesters in college. I had a hunger to leave no stone unturned. Everything accomplishment is done with underlying passion. I contributed an art piece life size cow sculpture for my high school which still stands in the main office until this very day. The desire to learn without been told to do so is what helped me survive. Despite many of its challenges, academia is and will always be my haven. This understanding is something that was not taught but is inherent in who I am fundamentally as a student and a scholar.

When taken together, these challenges are contradictory to the success I achieved however, they highlight the sheer curiosity and passion I have to help me get through school. I came from a world where my mom's illiteracy once crippled my chances of succeeding in school. I felt the aftermath of the war from a world completely removed from my own. Through many obstacles, I continue to stand steadfast as I meet my own obligations. I intend to pick up the pieces and make the places where I stand a little better than the world had left it. A pure love for learning and giving back are at the heart of why I choose to continue this voyage in pursuing a greater journey through the frontier of knowledge.