Undergraduate / 'I was born in Mombasa, Kenya and lived with my mother and father' - UC college entrance essay [4]

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.500 words max.

I was born in Mombasa, Kenya and lived with my mother and father. We shifted to The United States in 2004; my family moved around the country and continents quite a lot because of my father's inability to hold a job due to his alcoholism. Around 2008 my father kicked us out of our home in India, so my mom and I came back and lived with our relatives in California. Eventually my mom found a stable job working as a clerk in a convenient store in Georgia, and that's where I completed my high school education.

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Undergraduate / I was told that I'm lucky to receive an education in America - USF college entrance essay [4]

I am applying to The University of San Francisco. The prompt is: Please compose a one or two page essay about yourself that tells us how you will help the University to carry out its mission:

To promote learning in the Jesuit Catholic tradition so that students acquire the knowledge, skills, values and sensitivities they need to succeed as persons, professionals and architects of a more humane and just world.

My Essay:

I never really put much thought into what I aspired to be when I grow up; my long term goal was to live somewhere more than a couple of months and because of that I never really focused on my education. I moved to my current residence and had a stable environment, but I had given up because there wasn't an adult to motivate me; Ever since my father left, my family in India always reminded me that it was up to me to make my mom's life better by studying and becoming something. That scared me. What if I fail? "I would much rather have people think I'm stupid, than have people think I'm smart, and disappoint them" (Mike Bronson). I had completely given up until the night of my graduation; my mother told me how lucky I am to receive an education in America. That gave me a new incentive to do something with my life and make a change.

I decided that I wanted to be a neurosurgeon; the brain always fascinated me because it was a mystery to me. I took some classes as well to try to understand a bit about it. A friend of mine had gotten in a car accident in which she suffered head injuries; after her recovery, I discovered that her personality had changed. That really got me wondering even more about the brain and its mysteries. Becoming a neurosurgeon will allow me understand the brain, and hopefully help others with my knowledge and comprehension of it. In about 30 years, I don't want to be just another doctor; I want to be known as the doctor who made a difference in someone's life. I would want to be a doctor who helped heal someone' traumatic injuries and made their family whole again; If I had the power and knowledge to heal my friend who got in the car accident, I would do it instantly.

Everything I know about life I have learned from my mother; she is and has always been very religious, and always advised that having faith is what helped her through her struggles. She would often say, "It's okay, everything will eventually sort itself out. You know why?" She would point up. Unfortunately, I never found faith, but having lived in a variety of places from Kenya to India, I discovered one thing in common all people had: faith. I understood that faith helped people to cope with sensitive times and situation.