Write a concise narrative in which you describe a meaningful event, experience or accomplishment in your life and how it will affect your college experience or your contribution to the UF campus community. You may want to reflect on your ideas about student responsibility, academic integrity, campus citizenship or a call to service.
In movies when they show a flashback of childhood, people see children running around hysterically and happily, without a care in the world. I reminisce about my own childhood and try to remember, Who was I as a kid? Is it just me that has trouble remembering?
I grew up in a typical family of four with a father, mother, and younger brother. As a kid my mother always scolded me not to play outside. When I got home from school, I remembered how I would peer out the window and see kids running around, playing outside with friends, and having fun. I thought, Why can't I go play with them? Instead, I would be home watching TV, reading or doing homework. By the time I was about to graduate elementary school, my parents decided to start their own restaurant business, an event that changed my life and made me different from the kids around me.
At first, our family business was coming along well and every once in a while I got to visit the store and hang out there. I was amazed at the new environment and how everything was owned by my parents. Being curious, I would watch everyone as they did their job. I would sit in a chair behind the cashier and watch them take orders and count money. When I got bored of that, I would run into the kitchen and watch my dad cook food that made people call back afterward just to tell us how amazing it tasted. But, as time passed, rent got more expensive and business slowed down.
The amount of people working there and helping my dad became less, to the point where my mom and I had to go help out once in a while. At the beginning, it was exciting to answer calls, take orders, and do what the adults did. Every once in a while, customers would ask, How old are you? When they knew I was just about ten years old they complimented me for doing such a good job and being so smart. It made me feel happy and special that I knew how to do something that others at my age did not.
However, things started to change. I got tired of being there and of the work that I had to do. What once made me feel special, felt like just another responsibility where I could not mess up. It got to a point where I stopped caring and started to make mistakes, getting reprimanded for being careless and not doing my job correctly. At night, I would cry and cry. I asked myself over and over again, Why can't I have a normal childhood and be carefree like kids should be? Why do I have to be smart and capable enough to help my family? Why is it that when everyone else gets to play or relax, I have to work and get yelled at? Why did I have to even to care about anything?
Fast forward to today, a student in high school with graduation and college looming ahead, I found the answers to those questions. That's who I am. I could not let my family down and it would not be me if I did. I found my passion for wanting to help others and being capable enough for others to lean on. Sure, my childhood was not as fun as others but because of it, I grew up to be someone who is understanding and considerate of others. From a kid who questioned her own intelligence, I became a young adult who learned that intelligence and the capability to help others is not something that everyone owns.
In movies when they show a flashback of childhood, people see children running around hysterically and happily, without a care in the world. I reminisce about my own childhood and try to remember, Who was I as a kid? Is it just me that has trouble remembering?
I grew up in a typical family of four with a father, mother, and younger brother. As a kid my mother always scolded me not to play outside. When I got home from school, I remembered how I would peer out the window and see kids running around, playing outside with friends, and having fun. I thought, Why can't I go play with them? Instead, I would be home watching TV, reading or doing homework. By the time I was about to graduate elementary school, my parents decided to start their own restaurant business, an event that changed my life and made me different from the kids around me.
At first, our family business was coming along well and every once in a while I got to visit the store and hang out there. I was amazed at the new environment and how everything was owned by my parents. Being curious, I would watch everyone as they did their job. I would sit in a chair behind the cashier and watch them take orders and count money. When I got bored of that, I would run into the kitchen and watch my dad cook food that made people call back afterward just to tell us how amazing it tasted. But, as time passed, rent got more expensive and business slowed down.
The amount of people working there and helping my dad became less, to the point where my mom and I had to go help out once in a while. At the beginning, it was exciting to answer calls, take orders, and do what the adults did. Every once in a while, customers would ask, How old are you? When they knew I was just about ten years old they complimented me for doing such a good job and being so smart. It made me feel happy and special that I knew how to do something that others at my age did not.
However, things started to change. I got tired of being there and of the work that I had to do. What once made me feel special, felt like just another responsibility where I could not mess up. It got to a point where I stopped caring and started to make mistakes, getting reprimanded for being careless and not doing my job correctly. At night, I would cry and cry. I asked myself over and over again, Why can't I have a normal childhood and be carefree like kids should be? Why do I have to be smart and capable enough to help my family? Why is it that when everyone else gets to play or relax, I have to work and get yelled at? Why did I have to even to care about anything?
Fast forward to today, a student in high school with graduation and college looming ahead, I found the answers to those questions. That's who I am. I could not let my family down and it would not be me if I did. I found my passion for wanting to help others and being capable enough for others to lean on. Sure, my childhood was not as fun as others but because of it, I grew up to be someone who is understanding and considerate of others. From a kid who questioned her own intelligence, I became a young adult who learned that intelligence and the capability to help others is not something that everyone owns.
