Undergraduate / UC Prompt: 'Stale air'; I want to make my grandmother proud [4]

UC Prompt #2: 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?

As I pushed open the heavy door of the ICU, I heard the beeping of the various heart monitors in their assigned rooms. I knew that in one room, I would see my grandmother recovering from surgery. Eventually I came across her room, entered, and saw the woman who raised me, the woman whom I have grown accustomed to seeing so strong, look so unfamiliarly vulnerable. Her eyes were closed shut due to some swelling, and tubes were attached to her that hooked onto countless machines. To see her like this was horrifying and my initial reaction was to cry. I could not help but think about what life would be like without her.

I began to feel an overwhelming sense of guilt thinking about how I have treated her in the past. She has always been there for me even when I was disobedient. I then decided to cancel all my plans of two weeks to dedicate all my time to her at the hospital, similar to how she has always stuck by my side in times of need.

During my stay in the cold, uncomfortable ICU room, I became aware of the stale air. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like days. I began to reflect upon my grandmother's wishes if she were to pass. She has always been persistent with me about going to college to be successful in life. I yearned to fulfill that wish of hers, not just for her but for me as well. Moreover, I came to realize that I had to prioritize certain aspects of my life. Education was number one on my list, right next to family. My grandmother always told me "A stunning woman is nothing if she has a dim mind. " That saying echoed within the walls of my head.

Furthermore, my grandmother constantly put into view about how my mother was having a difficult time working because she did not have the chance to finish college. I want to make my grandmother proud and in that ICU room, I promised her and myself that I would be successful in anything I do, especially in education.

Undergraduate / UC Prompt #1 Essay: Describe the world you come from; Hollow [6]

Prompt: "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."

Many teenagers take their parents for granted. When I walk down the hallways of school, I can hear students conversing about what was on television that night, relationship problems, or complaints about their parents. I find that I cannot relate to any of my friends when they complain about their parents. I always try to imagine or dream of having two parents to come home to every day after school to talk about my day, and to see their reactions to what I have to say. I missed out on those special and endearing moments a child shares with a father and mother. The absence of my parents in my life continues shapes me into the person I am today.

I am aware that it is not my parents' fault that they are not together or with me. When I was a year old, my mother had to go back to her home country, the Philippines. She wanted me to stay with her, but believed that life in America was a better alternative. By the time I was two, my father had already found a new woman but I cannot blame him for courting another woman. From then on, I lived with my grandmother, aunt, and cousins for most of my life.

At a very young age, I knew what emptiness felt like. Not the emptiness one feels as lunch nears; a sort of hollowness. At the mall or grocery store, I gawked and admired little girls with their mothers and fathers at their hands. I secretly envied my cousins when they held my aunt's hands too. I found that a big knot would form in my throat and my eyes would start to get hot. I would just put my hands in my pockets, and let my hands dwell in my longing to fill the void.

As I matured I gained a sense of responsibility, independence, and time management. I have also come to grasp that my grandmother and aunt have become my mother and father figures. Because my grandmother and aunt live in different locations, I constantly have to take my belongings from one place to the other. This taught me how to make lists and schedules to be more efficient with my time. I had to learn these habits on my own, but when it came to emotional or financial support, my grandmother and aunt would be there. They would always put me back on the right track.

My independence and ability to think for myself is owed to my parents' absence. I am eternally grateful for my grandmother and aunt's generous hearts for taking me in. ultimately I realized that the void would never be filled, but that is fine with me. It feels rewarding to look back and think to myself that I did not allow an imperfection to bring me down, but instead allowed it to teach me.