'more fortunate than my mother' - UC prompt #1- My World

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.

While thinking about the world I come from a quote from Richard Bach comes to mind, "Rarely do members of the same family grow up under the same roof." This quote seems to apply perfectly to my life because my sister and I did not grow up under the same roof as my parents did.

My mother was born and raised in the housing projects of Brooklyn, New York where she constantly feared for her safety. Her family had very little money and she was only provided with the basic necessities. She was unable to participate in any sports or activities that required payment. My mother developed a survival instinct as a result of growing up in an unsafe neighborhood. Even though she could not participate in any extracurricular activities, she worked very hard at school and made the honor roll all throughout school. She had a driving force to excel at all she did. My mother knew that she wanted to go to college and needed to find a way to pay the tuition. She began working in high school and saved every penny she earned. She chose not to spend her paychecks on the luxuries she had gone without, but to just save and save. She promised herself that she would work hard to ensure that her future family had more than she did. My mother finished college and has worked hard ever since that day almost 30 years ago. She continues to work hard at her career and was recently promoted to Vice President of the company where she remains today.

I, on the other hand, am much more fortunate. I live in a beautiful house in a safe neighborhood and have been provided wonderful opportunities. I have taken dance lessons and competed professionally, taken gymnastics lessons, and was a cheerleader for my school. I also do not have the same survivor instinct as my mother since there was no need to develop that. We not only have the basic necessities but the luxuries as well. While I do work as a babysitter; the money I earn is mine to keep. My college education will be paid for by my parents and my biggest responsibility is my school work. I carry my mother's ambition and determination when it comes to school, however, for different reasons. I work hard in an attempt to challenge myself and continue to push myself to do better.

Throughout my education I have constantly thought about the sacrifices my mother made. That knowledge inspired me to set lofty goals for my future. Although I am not yet sure of the type of profession I want to pursue, I know I want to work with children from impoverished areas. Knowing all of the pain and suffering my mother had to go through makes me really appreciate what I have today. It also makes me realize that there are many people out there growing up as my mother did. I had the opportunity to participate in a mission sponsored by the New Wine Christian Center and traveled to Mexico. We worked with underprivileged families in poverty stricken neighborhoods, and helped them build homes to live in. To say this was truly inspirational does not even do it justice. The joy in the children's eyes made it all worthwhile. This experience is what inspired me to want to work with children who are less fortunate.

The end of your last paragraph seems to end abruptly. I think you can fix this by reworking the last sentence, and putting it at the beginning of the last paragraph.

When thinking about the world I come from...

Even though she could not participate in any extracurricular activities, she worked very hard at school and always made the honor roll.

She chose not to spend her paychecks on the luxuries she had gone without, but to just save her money .

I also do not have the same survival instinct as my mother since there was no need to develop that.