Undergraduate / Growing Up in Hawaii; Common App - Experience/ diversity [3]

Option #5: A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

Growing up in Hawaii has been an experience like no other. Not because the beaches or tropical climate, but because of the culture and diversity. I live on the island of Kauai. With a population of only 58,000, Kauai is one of the least populated islands in Hawaii. Being "stuck" on an island this small for most of the year has been challenging. But looking back, growing up on such a small island has made me more community oriented.

The word for family in Hawaiian is Ohana. In Hawaii we see everyone as our Ohana; our friends, our parents, even our friend's friends are all part of our family. I remember my first Christmas away from Hawaii, and how different it was. Instead of hundreds of people at Christmas dinner like I was used to, there were only fifteen. It was culture shock!

Along with the notion of Ohana is the Aloha Spirit. Aloha is generally used as a greeting. But to us it means compassion, affection, and understanding; basically the Hawaiian version of the golden rule. After 17 years in Hawaii the Aloha Spirit has become normal. Things like saying "please" and "thank you", always opening the door for people, and being compassionate to those less fortunate than I, are engrained in my subconscious.

One thing that makes Hawaii such a special place for me is how diverse we are. For centuries people have come to Hawaii from all over the world. They brought along their customs, their foods, and their music. Diversity is important to me because without it, my life would be boring. Without diversity, I wouldn't know how to use chopsticks, dance Hula, or play the Ukulele; I wouldn't be who I am today. That's why when looking at colleges, one of my primary criterion was diversity. At college I want my perspective of the world to grow.

While i'm sad to leave my home, i'm excited to see new things and experience what life is like outside of Hawaii. I hope that will be able to bring a little bit of the Aloha spirit with me to college; and learn about new cultures. After I get my undergraduate degree, my goal is to go to law school and earn a JD. After which, i'd like to return home to Hawaii and practice law. While i'm excited to see more of the world, I will never forget the values I learned growing up in Hawaii.