The Happy Little Cow. I am from Dominican Republic, a poor country.

my inner compass, love

"The Happy Little Cow", that's how my family began to call me when I was four years old because, it didn't matter what, smiling was my profession. Few years ago, we went through hard times. My father got cancer, and we didn't have enough money to buy food and pay the bills; mom had four jobs, she was exhausted and depressed. When she was at home, which was very unusual, my sisters and I tried to make her feel fine, but stress defeated her. My mother got a gastric ulcer. The frequent and abundant bleeding left her in a hospital bed.

At home, hope was scarce. The fear of losing my parents kept me crying a lot of nights. Some days I couldn't find the energy to get out of bed, but I knew pretty well that letting myself be dragged down by the surrounding vibes was only going to make things harder, so I had to motivate myself in order to motivate my family. I did my best to stay positive, bringing a smile to them with my bad jokes, and taking my little sister out for an ice cream from time to time. I watched motivational speeches on YouTube and what I learned from them I taught to my family. The hardest thing was to hold back tears while talking about how strong we should be. When the stress was intense, my refuge was the magnificent voice of Edith Piaf; listening to her songs made me travel to Paris and escape for a moment from chaos.

Everything was quite hard, but we receive emotional and financial support from our family and friends. Thanks to many people, my parents are now in good health. During those times, I realized that I really am that happy little cow whose laughter is contagious. Most importantly, I found my purpose. Transmitting love, peace and hope is what makes me feel alive. I desire people to understand that no matter how horrible the situation may seem; those challenges are not sent to destroy us. They're sent to promote, increase, and strengthen us. Life is full of wonderful opportunities, but we can never make the most of them if we only focus on those we don't have.

Works are worth more than words, so I will develop professionally and humanly to inspire through example. I have the will and the means to carry my objectives. My passion for medicine will make me able to collaborate body and soul for a world where love and hope predominate over hate and misery.

Six months ago, I had no idea that I would actually do this. If in my neighborhood you tell someone you will apply to a United States university, specifically Harvard, you can get two reactions: They could give you the number of a psychiatrist or they wouldn't even know what Harvard is. My mother begged me not to do it; she said it would frustrate me. She even took me to a friend of her, who is a school principal, to make me see the reality. At the moment, those discouraging comments made me feel ridiculous, but then I felt more powerful than before. How can I judge my mother? Where I see a horizon, she sees a wall. Although I love her, I moved on.

I went to a non-bilingual school, but I learned English by reading and watching movies. No one around me knew anything about applying to an international university, so the Harvard website along with their students were my consultants. I didn't even know what the SAT was; however, I Watched videos on YouTube to study, and so I have spent my life, taking the small seeds I find on the way and turning them into a wonderful garden. In the end, that's what I want to preach.

I may seem like a naïve girl who lives in a fantasy world, but I am not. Life can put me in the middle of nowhere and I will come out because I have my inner compass, love.

The essay is touching, but lacking in focus. I am not sure what prompt you are responding to at this point. The prompt for the personal statement or application essay specific discussion essays, help to give your writing direction and purpose. Right now, the writing separates into 3 presentations. All of these presentations are notable and useful, which is why I need to see the prompt requirements before I can tell you how to improve on this personal statement. Is this an open topic? A background story? A talent reference? Should you expand on the cow reference to your personality? Which of these are you supposed to be writing about? Like I said, the essay is good, but without proper instructions to follow, it is just all over the place. It doesn't have a point nor make a point at the moment.