2 Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you
Over the past two months I have written many essays. Some of them were for colleges and some of them were for scholarships; but my essay for Boston College has been in the works since I visited during the summer of 2007. That is when I had my first visit to Boston College. Even though I was born and raised in South Florida, Boston feels like home every time I visit. I still have many relatives in Massachusetts and we have visited every year since I was a little kid. My father is Jewish and was born in Beth Israel Hospital. He lived in Brookline and grew up near Coolidge Corner before he moved to Florida. My mother is a native Floridian and had a very Catholic upbringing.
Coming from an interreligious family has exposed my brother and I to both religions' beliefs and Holidays. A few times each year we went to Synagogue, we celebrated Passover and Yum Kippur with my Father's family. I even know some of the Hebrew prayers. Other times we attended church and celebrated Christmas and Easter. We often had deep discussions about both religions, but my parents left the decision of what to believe open to us. When I was young I was offered the chance to attend Hebrew School and have a Bar-Mitzvah or attend CCD classes, but did not really see any need. When my brother, Spencer, was eight or nine years old he decided to follow in the Jewish faith and attend classes at the local Temple. He was a Bar Mitzvah last year and we had a great party. I was happy for him, that he had found a place where he thought he fit. Me on the other hand, I could not decide and did not think it was that important.
I attended public schools up until middle school. When I was in eighth grade a Dean from the public High School I would be attending came and spoke to our class. The only things he talked about were how only one out of three of us would graduate, and that discipline was more important than learning. It was not what I was expecting when I was looking forward to high school. That is when I started looking for other alternatives such as Magnet Programs and Private Schools. A good friend told me about St Thomas Aquinas High School. It was not to far away and my parents said if I did well on the entrance exam and was accepted I could go. I was accepted and have been enjoying my high school experience ever since.
For the last three and a half years I have been getting an incredible education, I have made some really great friends and been inspired by many great teachers. One of my theology teachers, Dr. McDonald, told me to keep questioning and striving and that one day I would figure out my place and where I fit. When I was on my visit to Boston College and I stood in one of the old buildings with all the culture and knowledge that had been built into them, I knew I wanted to attend here. I wanted to sit in that old library and read some of those books, and discover more about what I had been given a glimpse of.
I had been to five different college tours; I had received hundreds of college applications and letters, when I thought about college I got dizzy. But standing in that hall on that day in June every thing seemed to slow down. It was a feeling in my heart unexplainable but undeniable too. I believe it was a sign of where I may fit and that it was important to study what I believe. I would love the chance to learn from the Jesuit's at Boston College. I have a strong and diverse background in religion and would bring with me the ideals and questions I have from both of my religious upbringings.
