Undergraduate / Common app - How has your story defined you? [3]

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The grand canyon wasn't carved over night, the river constantly ran through and created a work of art. The situation I was in was like this. There were constant battles between my parents. Words were used along with fists. Violence was often in the environment I was raised in. Both my parents have been in trouble with the law. I was often told that statics say I was more likely to drop out than a person with both parents and a stable home. my father is less wise and more aggressive but I didn't let that get in my way, my mother is a great person who tried her best.

My father is an abusive drug, and alcohol addict. He was in and out of jail for domestic violence. When I was living with him he often told me I was nothing without him, that I was going to grow up to be a prostitute and nothing else. He would often threaten to beat me, to prove he would hurt me if I had not done what he said he threw me outside during the winter in pajama pants with a tank top at 20 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours, there are many other incidences like this. While my father tried to hinder me my mother encouraged me to move forward.

My mother has done the best she can. She got us away from my abusive father but as a result we were plunged into complete poverty. We could barely afford to eat and we usually ate every 2- 4 days. For 4 years we lived from hotel room to hotel room, during which I was not in school. If she were to enroll us in school my father would have found out where we lived and took us away. My mother turned to drugs to help her financially and emotionally.

I missed many opportunities during that time, I was behind my peers when I entered high school. I went from 6th grade to 9th, sure I started out late but I didn't let that get to me. I studied, worked hard, came out with a GPA over 3.0, am taking college courses while in high school and earned the respect of my teachers as well as my peers. I beat the statics, I'm currently in the process of carving my grand canyon and it will come out beautifully.

Undergraduate / 'My eyes have been opened to endless possibilities' - which communities do you belong? [2]

Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.

Please give as much criticism as possible. Thank you so much for your help!! c:

In the distance police sirens are heard, the occasional boom that could either be a gunshot or a firework, and shouting that could be heard from miles away. The neglected, broken buildings, vandalized with gang signs, accompanied the streets with the unwritten rule: do not walk outside at night! This is the neighborhood I was raised in, walking down the street was like walking in a lion cage. I often felt as if I were going to be attack, I would wonder " Is this all there is to life?" Living in a low income community was tough and emotionally draining. There is not a lot of hope in an environment like this, the community was like running water in a drain. It felt like if I kept trying it would just go down. I didn't let that get to me, through time I shaped into oil, I went down the drain for a while but not forever. I plugged that drain and kept building up until I hit the top of that sink!. I learned from my hardships through the low income community. Now when I step into a low income community I remember how this places has defined me. I had days when I wanted to drop everything and quit, but this place has taught me to never give up, even when thing seem impossible. People make mistakes and learn from them. My eyes have been opened to endless possibilities and to never let where I came from get in the way of my dreams!