Undergraduate / Sobering Discovery - UC - the world you come from [2]

"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."

This is my second draft of the essay. Please share your thoughts about it!

I recall the putrid stench that danced away from open sewages, the intense sun that caused me to take multiple showers daily, and the clouds of black smoke that escaped the rear of public transportation, memories that I grew up with in the Philippines, a known third-world country. Despite these unfavorable conditions, life there was not as harsh as one might expect, especially in the hands of caring parents.Though they were not with me physically, my parents still supported me from afar, sending my grandparents, who raised my brother and I, money that was earned from their jobs in the United States. Although I had not personally spent the money that they earned, I was presented with necessities such as decent clothing, well-prepared food, and private education. Despite this, and regardless of all their hard work in order to provide basic essentials for me, I was woefully unaware of my parents' difficulties. As far as I knew, they were in the heart of the so-called "Land of Opportunity", where even the poorest had a chance of obtaining the "American Dream". However, I soon discovered that it was not such an easy task.

When my brother and I moved to California, I learned that my parents had been living in a small one-bedroom apartment and worked eight-hour shifts. Every day they came home exhausted and were often burdened with bills that had to be paid for. It was a sobering discovery as I had always thought of manual labor being "easy", as if my parents had been plucking off money that grew on trees. I was ashamed of myself for having been so oblivious, so I promised myself that I would repay them fiftyfold when I became successful. It was a perfect opportunity; my passion for knowledge, which had gradually developed while growing up, was burning, and my dream of contributing to the scientific world, as well as my parents, became apparent.

To achieve these dreams, I knew I had to prepare for the future by excelling in school and enrolling in rigorous classes, so I did. As I progressed through high school, my interest in mathematics and various sciences became more pronounced, and I soon discovered the world of Engineering, where the best of both worlds are perfectly mixed together. Though I am not sure which branch of Engineering I plan to tackle, I aspire to pursue a career in this field, This is the difficult path I have chosen to pave, but I know that the idea of one day being able to support my parents will greatly eclipse the struggle and drive me to success.

Undergraduate / My Catholic childhood and those weekly classes- UC Prompt #1 [8]

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.

Please provide feedback on my essay. What should I change? Add? Remove?

Everyone has had that phase in their childhood when their parents had tried to force upon them different talents and hobbies: piano lessons, martial arts, ballet, etc. There are some who take those talents to heart and grow up continuing to practice and improve on them, but numerous people end up loathing them. Although I wasn't taught how to play an instrument or trained in Karate, there was one thing I grew tired of during my childhood, and that was religion. All my life I have been raised as a Catholic, and ever since I was a little boy my family taught me about God, Jesus, and his creation. They sent me to several different Catholic schools in the Philippines where singing and praying were parts of our daily routine. They also taught me how to pray the rosary and drove me to pray every night before I went to sleep and every morning when I woke up. As the years went by, however, all those things became nothing more than a hassle to me.

Sunday became the day I enjoyed the least, not because the weekend came to a close, but because I had to attend an almost-two-hour-long mass. Some Sundays were relatively more interesting, I had to admit, when the priest discussed topics that caught my attention. However, those Sundays only occurred once every few months. Basically, I disliked Sundays. Catholic School was the same story as I also had to attend mass, but on different days. However, those days were more enjoyable since I spent them with my classmates. There was just something about being with friends that made even the most boring activities a lot more fun. Years later, at the end of my sixth grade year, I moved to another country. I was ecstatic about my first year of school in California, especially having found out that I didn't have to attend Catholic School (mostly because my parents couldn't afford to send me to expensive private schools). However, I was still enrolled into small, once-a-week kind of lectures for 4 years at our local church where we read parts of the Bible and discussed them afterwards. They weren't as bad as the actual Catholic school experience, but they were still dreadfully uninteresting.

During my freshman year of High School, however, my views were altered. On one weekend, I set out to the Santa Cruz Retreat Center for my church with about a hundred fellow classmates whom I had already met in public school. I expected the trip to be incredibly boring and for the first time, I couldn't wait for Sunday to come. Little did I know that I would quickly take back these words. It was one of the most unforgettable weekends I had ever experienced in my life. We, as a group, prayed together, held hands, and talked openly about deep topics of life. I felt closer to God than I have ever been. It was different from my previous weekly classes where we read from a book and had discussions (during which I had daydreamed about other random things) about its meanings. However, after the retreat I saw those weekly classes in a different light, took them more seriously, and realized that they weren't as boring as I thought they were. I also learned the importance of having close friends as a secondary family.

As I approach the end of my High School career and transition into College, I hope to maintain my connection with God and make new bonds with new friends. After all, life isn't much fun when you don't have anyone to spend it with.