Scholarship / The day that I never forget; Questbridge Significant Experience [3]

Essay 2: Select One (500 word limit)
Please write on ONE of the following topics:

Option 1: Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. 41 words

June 21st, 2012 is a day I will never forget, even if I wanted to. As horrible as that day was, I wouldn't want to forget it because it has made me who I am today. I come from a large family and I have many cousins who I am very close with. On June 21st, I woke up at seven in the morning to a phone call from Andrea, my best friend and cousin, who was hysterical. Her older brother, my cousin, had committed suicide sometime during the night. I can remember feeling numb and I was in shock, none of it felt real. I didn't want to believe her and I almost didn't believe her, but I knew it was true. Sometimes, to this day, it doesn't even feel like it actually happened, but then reality hits me.

Ever since that wake up call, I've realized that you have to live your life to the fullest. There have been times I wanted to give up, but I didn't because I know it's not worth it. What my cousin didn't realize was that he had an immense amount of people, both family and friends, who cared about him. I've learned that when it comes to people's feelings, you can't be selfish. As hard as it is to say, Johnny was very selfish that night because some people fight for the right to live and he just gave up. I'm not mad at my cousin because there's no point in that, I just miss him endlessly. I've learned so much since that day. Andrea chose to cope with the loss in a negative way. We are no longer as close as we used to be, and I miss her being a part of my everyday life. The difference between the two of us is that I've learned that I can't live in the past and keep wishing for Johnny to come back because my future is waiting for me. The tragedy of losing someone you love, especially in such a horrible way, is a difficult thing to deal with. You have to learn to focus on the good memories and not the loss itself. To me, losing Johnny was a learning experience. It's definitely an awful one that I didn't want to have to experience so young, but I can't hide from my life. I need to make something of myself for him, because he will never get that chance to do that. I want to pursue a career where I can help other people who are going through a similar struggle. Whether it's actually studying the brain or listening to other people's difficulties, I know that I can use my experiences to help people like me. June 21st is a day that has a negative connotation, which is accurate, but I also try to appreciate the positive motivation and determination I have learned because of that day.

Scholarship / My father's gamling had our family split; Questbridge Scholarship Biographical Essay [5]

Essay 1: Biographical Essay (800 word limit)
We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations and accomplished your academic successes. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors caused you to grow?

I hardly remember life before my parents' separation when I was eight years old or the memories of the happy family I always see in the family photographs. At the time, I was too young to understand why my parents no longer wanted to be together because I had rarely seen them fight. As I got older, I realized that my father had a gambling problem and it resulted in my family losing a large amount of our family's income. We lived minutes from the local casino and my father spent every night there blowing our money away on some flashing lights and false "ka-ching" noises. Eventually, my mother couldn't handle his late nights at the casino and my father moved out and into a motel. My previously stay-at-home mom had to find a job so we could try to afford being on our own, but it was difficult and the mortgage was too high to pay. My mother, my two brothers, and I moved to a small home in a different town at the beginning of fifth grade. I can remember feeling so angry towards my parents for making me leave Vernon behind and move to Sherrill, where I knew I wouldn't fit in. I didn't realize the real circumstances behind the move because I wasn't old enough. After a while, I managed to make a few good friends and start to adjust to my new life, but nothing was the same. I saw my dad on Wednesday's and the weekend but he ended up getting a promotion that resulted in him being gone every other week, yet he still gambled. My oldest brother started to go off the deep end, and little by little he managed to get himself into trouble. It started off small by hanging out with the wrong crowd, and then he started to drink and do drugs because he wanted to fit in and feel better about himself and his circumstances. I can remember being young and confused and I would hear my brother yell at my mother and call her names that no mother should be called, or I would see him and my other brother get into a physical confrontation. I would always scream at them to stop because I hated the fighting and I cared so much about all of them. I didn't want to see anyone get hurt. Everything always escalated further than it needed to go and the police or child services would be called. I remember walking into school one day and being called down to the social worker's office and seeing a strange man there, who was from Child Protective Services, and he was asking me all of these questions about my family. I was so worried that something bad was going to happen and despite everything I went through with my family, that's the last thing I ever would have wanted. Luckily, nothing happened with Child Protective Services. Still, my brother continued to make bad decisions all regarding his alcoholism and it landed him on probation, then house arrest, and eventually in jail during his senior year of high school. Once my brother had gotten out of jail and graduated high school, he still continued to drink and was constantly in and out of rehab. His addiction had consumed his life and made it difficult to ever hold a job or be a functioning adult. I don't resent my dad or my brother because of the addictions they both still have. In fact, I have learned a multitude of lessons from their experiences and in a way; they have both taught me to be a better person. I care immensely about the two of them, but there's no way I would want to follow in their footsteps because I want to be in control of my life. Their addictions don't make them horrible people, and they're actually two of the most genuinely good people I know. Watching them has given me the motivation to do something with my life, maybe do something that's going to help other people that have gone through similar experiences. I've learned addictions are diseases that can destroy families or cause a kid to grow up too fast. I've grown into an independent woman who can take care of herself because I had to. I didn't, and still don't, want to be a burden to my parents. As I was growing up, I realized they had a lot to handle dealing with my brother. I've grown to realize that my circumstances are a blessing in disguise because it's taught me how I should live my life. I don't want to let something like alcohol or a casino run my life, I want to run my life and do something great with it.