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? (800 word limit)
Sorry this is so long, but please look over it and make any suggestions you deem fit. Thanks very much in advance.
"Whatever you do, Paul, make sure that you complete your education to the fullest, and don't end up like me. I hate myself every day for not listening to my parents as a child." This was typical of the guilt invoking statements that my parents would throw at me whenever I began to slack off. My parents would always encourage me never to give up, to always pursue the highest standards of excellence. They would provide me with everything I needed to succeed in the strict academic environment that was my elementary school. Money didn't seem to be a problem then, since I simply didn't realize how little I needed at the time. When I entered middle school, I began to develop my passion for learning, and quickly became eager to traverse above and beyond my school's curriculum. I began going to the school's library and picking up as many books about particle physics and chemistry as possible, but these were simply not enough. They were at a middle school level and I gleaned nothing from them. I desperately felt the need to understand the universe and how it worked. I asked my parents if I could get onto Amazon and buy a few physics books. My parents didn't seem too excited, but they wanted to make sure that nothing got in the way of furthering my education. I was young. I didn't understand the pain that I was causing them.
As I entered high school, my passion for learning only grew, and the deficit of materials in libraries only exacerbated by efforts. High school only brought with unlimited dues and fees. Clubs, contests, labs, all required payment. Our family did not qualify for any sort of Fee Waiver. Our income was barely too high and the fact that I was an only child didn't help either. My dad paid for all of the extra competitions that I wished to attend; he paid for all of the supplies that I needed for classes. He never complained about any of it. But I was older now. I could sense that the endless costs were straining our already precarious financial situation. I wasn't sure what I should do, and I couldn't go to my parents about it because they would never admit that money was a problem when education was on the line. I was at a loss for ideas, and it soon developed into a loss for my passions. I stopped ordering books; I stopped going to competitions; I stopped joining clubs that would cost money. Those were the dark ages of my high school career, a time of nothing in life but the bare essentials. No joy, no interests. I tried not to think about college. It seemed like a lost dream at the time. If my parents couldn't easily pay for a few physics books, how could I even consider college?
Then one day during my Junior Year, my life was returned to me when my physics teacher showed us a Classical Physics lecture from MIT. I listened in awe as Walter Lewin explained the most complicated facets of the universe in the most elegant way possible. That day I went home and, slowly, I felt my old passions rushing back to me as I went through more of his lectures. I learned about electricity and magnetism, waves and optics, and quantum mechanics. But, there was still the problem of finances. I could not satisfy my lust for knowledge without books. Almost immediately, my mother came into my room with a letter by some organization called "QuestBridge." I read the letter, and almost just threw it away right there. An organization that can offer a full ride to the nation's top universities? Obviously too good to be true..., but I decided to research it. And here I am today, writing this essay.
I became wiser over time. I did whatever I could to save money wherever possible. I would print out papers at school rather than at home, I would try to get textbooks from other people or places rather than pay for them. But that day, I realized that I could pursue my dreams and passions without fear of fiscal issues. I could attend college essentially wherever I wanted now, something that I never even dreamed could be possible. My outlook on life changed that day, and now I can only hope that the values and lessons I learned along the way will help me to shape my aspirations and remain excited for the challenges that lie ahead.
Sorry this is so long, but please look over it and make any suggestions you deem fit. Thanks very much in advance.
"Whatever you do, Paul, make sure that you complete your education to the fullest, and don't end up like me. I hate myself every day for not listening to my parents as a child." This was typical of the guilt invoking statements that my parents would throw at me whenever I began to slack off. My parents would always encourage me never to give up, to always pursue the highest standards of excellence. They would provide me with everything I needed to succeed in the strict academic environment that was my elementary school. Money didn't seem to be a problem then, since I simply didn't realize how little I needed at the time. When I entered middle school, I began to develop my passion for learning, and quickly became eager to traverse above and beyond my school's curriculum. I began going to the school's library and picking up as many books about particle physics and chemistry as possible, but these were simply not enough. They were at a middle school level and I gleaned nothing from them. I desperately felt the need to understand the universe and how it worked. I asked my parents if I could get onto Amazon and buy a few physics books. My parents didn't seem too excited, but they wanted to make sure that nothing got in the way of furthering my education. I was young. I didn't understand the pain that I was causing them.
As I entered high school, my passion for learning only grew, and the deficit of materials in libraries only exacerbated by efforts. High school only brought with unlimited dues and fees. Clubs, contests, labs, all required payment. Our family did not qualify for any sort of Fee Waiver. Our income was barely too high and the fact that I was an only child didn't help either. My dad paid for all of the extra competitions that I wished to attend; he paid for all of the supplies that I needed for classes. He never complained about any of it. But I was older now. I could sense that the endless costs were straining our already precarious financial situation. I wasn't sure what I should do, and I couldn't go to my parents about it because they would never admit that money was a problem when education was on the line. I was at a loss for ideas, and it soon developed into a loss for my passions. I stopped ordering books; I stopped going to competitions; I stopped joining clubs that would cost money. Those were the dark ages of my high school career, a time of nothing in life but the bare essentials. No joy, no interests. I tried not to think about college. It seemed like a lost dream at the time. If my parents couldn't easily pay for a few physics books, how could I even consider college?
Then one day during my Junior Year, my life was returned to me when my physics teacher showed us a Classical Physics lecture from MIT. I listened in awe as Walter Lewin explained the most complicated facets of the universe in the most elegant way possible. That day I went home and, slowly, I felt my old passions rushing back to me as I went through more of his lectures. I learned about electricity and magnetism, waves and optics, and quantum mechanics. But, there was still the problem of finances. I could not satisfy my lust for knowledge without books. Almost immediately, my mother came into my room with a letter by some organization called "QuestBridge." I read the letter, and almost just threw it away right there. An organization that can offer a full ride to the nation's top universities? Obviously too good to be true..., but I decided to research it. And here I am today, writing this essay.
I became wiser over time. I did whatever I could to save money wherever possible. I would print out papers at school rather than at home, I would try to get textbooks from other people or places rather than pay for them. But that day, I realized that I could pursue my dreams and passions without fear of fiscal issues. I could attend college essentially wherever I wanted now, something that I never even dreamed could be possible. My outlook on life changed that day, and now I can only hope that the values and lessons I learned along the way will help me to shape my aspirations and remain excited for the challenges that lie ahead.
