Essay Prompt: 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.
Growing up Korean in an 85 percent Asian city by the name of Cerritos and attending schools with more Koreans than Caucasians has certainly shaped me to be the individual I presently am. Wild, adventurous, and reckless in spirit, I loved to explore and ride toboggans down hills with my scooter, my friends and I, you can say, lived life on the edge, or as much on the edge as you can at a young age. But contrary to my exuberant nature, I was all business when it came down to school and studies. The perks of growing up asian is that our parents constantly emphasize how education is important in our lives at a young age that in due time it becomes programmed inside our respective cerebrums. While studying is great, excelling in academics is great, I grew up not enjoying the quirks of my education, but rather treating it like a routine, I quite simply did not have fun in school. Eventually the walls of my limited perspectives came crashing down amidst high school, and it was there that I realized my true calling in life.
Admittedly, the beginning years of my high school life were a time in which I didn't really push myself. In laymen's terms, I treated school as if it was a chore and I didn't feel as if I was engaging my analytical facilities in any way. My decision to cruise through high school eventually caught up with me, and my nonchalance, while at first comfortable, led to my dissatisfaction with school life. Hence, for a change, I decided to really push myself academically and also prioritize my time to truly get the most out of high school. While difficult and oftentimes, to no avail, frustrating, my diligence and hard work proved to be rewarding and above all else, cathartic, on the grounds that I was properly challenging myself. My simple decision to become the best student I could be, benefitted me academically but it also made me more resolute and keen on what I wanted in life and it was ultimately what led me to run for the presideny in my junior year. Looking back, my choice to become president of the Associated Student Body was so unlike me. While by no means a conformist, I was never one to run for any kind of position, let alone the presidency of an entire school, but there I was focused on what I wanted and dedicated to getting the most out of high school. Eventually I became the president of my school and it was all because of my drive, acquired from my previous commitment, that ultimately got me over the hump.
So how exactly did my participation with the Associated Student Body help mold my dreams and goals in life? It allowed me to dream big and be bold about my decisions in life. "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear," is a quotation that is printed on every and any licensed vehicle in the United States, and it yields a surprisingly insightful meaning to me in that, my decisions to be bold with my decisions in school helped shed old viewpoints and create a new perspective that the goals I have are, no matter how intimidating, achievable through a healthy infusion of determination and focus. Similar to a child's first experience of riding a bike for lack of a better analogy, my experiences with school has taught me that if I constantly work at what I want with perseverance and optimism, more often than not, the wheels start to turn ever-so slightly, and things start to fall in my favor. The educational institution has also helped me realize my, hopefully, more-than adequate leadership qualities. The responsibilities that came with being president, while no easy task, were very gratifying and enjoyable and kept me accountable to being the best student I could possibly be while leading my school the best way I can through example and respectful communication without being pretentious to others.
All in all, my experience with school has instilled in me a passion for educational administration and has imparted in me the desire to demonstrate to kids who were just like me, who just went through the motions, that thinking with your brain can be fun, if done right. My goal is to open new doors for the younger generation that will attend schools, that I can use the leadership attained from my own experiences in the educational institution to make school more saturating and worthwhile for the students-to-be.
Please give me advice on how to improve the quality of my paper! and feel free to critique it, if it will help improve the essay!
Much thanks~
