I have to send this some time this week. Will somebody go over it and edit it? I've never written anything like an SOP! I really have no idea what to include and what not to include. Though, I feel like my personal experiences are really important to mention. I'm wanting to study physics: space science. Keep in mind I JUST typed this up, so I haven't really edited it myself. Oh, and I can't seem to end it the way I want, so don't nag on the conclusion... I know it sucks. Grammar Nazi's, shred me to pieces! I will appreciate it! Any experienced SOP writers, HELP! Please!
I am a survivor. Life has created its most intricate obstacles for me, but I have not let them hold me back from doing my best in any circumstance. When I was fifteen years old, my world collapsed around me. Since then, I have witnessed losing my family through divorce, been homeless due to irresponsible parents, and had to work myself into exhaustion to ensure survival. I sacrificed studying what I love in order to help my family financially. Now that my family's lives are steady, I want to start moving towards the goals I was forced to put on hold years ago.
After the divorce my mom escaped back to her home country, Turkey, while I moved with my dad to a five hundred square foot back house in Wichita Falls, Texas. Subsequently, I have moved seven times and attended three different high schools. I suffered from constantly trying to depend on my (once reliable) dad who constantly proved that he had become unreliable. I felt the true weight of my dad's financial problems once we had nowhere to go for two days, which caused us to sleep in the only car we had that was not yet repossessed. From this experience, finding a job became my first priority. If I was not going to change our situation, I knew nobody else would.
I have been employed for the last four years. The money I saved allowed me to help my dad get on his feet, put money down to buy myself a car, and inspire my mom to come back to America to help me establish a life. Our lives finally became stable. The greatest "mystery" as my parents say, is how after all of the setbacks, I still managed to graduate high school a year early and succeed as a full-time student at Midwestern State University, both while working many hours. This is not a mystery. This is simply what I do best: survive. I learned to persevere and thus, worked towards my goal of stabilizing my family.
Entering college, I chose to study accounting because I assumed it would be a fast track to success. To me, the classy business woman in her designer suit and complimentary briefcase always struck out as "successful." I talked myself out of studying what interests me most like, cosmology or even the human brain. Instead, I wanted to become an accountant so I can "make tons of money and wear my classy designer suit." At that time, I needed to make a sufficient amount of money because of my extenuating circumstances. However, I realize now that I was looking through an ephemeral eyeglass!
I do not enjoy studying business. Though I am only nineteen years old, I fully understand that life is too short for me to waste time on anything I'm not entirely passionate about. I may become an exceptional accountant one day, but joyous little butterflies don't flutter around anxiously in my stomach when I'm studying the financial statements. There are butterflies in my stomach as I read about parallel universes in Brian Greene's "The Hidden Reality!" Tiny hair on my skin rises when I watch and learn from one of Stephen Hawking's documentaries. Galaxies, stars, the expansion of the universe... These are topics that excite me.
In the last four years, I grown into a mature, capable, confident woman. My harsh, life altering experiences are the foundation of my perseverance, my strong work ethic, and my discovery of myself. I have survived an impoverished life, and even added value to it. I want the opportunity to actually love what I'm learning in a classroom. I want my mind to be challenged. I want to express myself creatively. I want to start helping myself for once.
