Hey, this is my first draft of the essay. I would appreciate any comments on how to improve it. Thanks!
Boarding school was the first time I had really had the opportunity to observe the lifestyle of someone other than my own family. It was the first time I noticed the delicate, yet sometimes painstaking decisions that my friends had to make to improve their lifestyle, from simple choices such as determining the most tranquil location to study to more complex and drastic actions like dividing the room in half (with red tape) to settle a dispute with their roommate. To be honest, while I was deeply concerned about the wellbeing of their friendship afterwards, I was equally, if not more intrigued with the extent they would go, even risking jeopardy to their friendship for the sake of a satisfying lifestyle.
It was a result of my experiences in hostel that I originally had, and even now still have, an interest in psychology. It was partially because of my desire to help people, but also because it satisfied my intellectual curiosity in equal part. The logic I had was that, if I wanted to help a person, I had to first understand the person. Yet a part of me was screaming out, saying that such was an inefficient way of helping people. Every individual can be said to be different, as have different experiences in life that change their perception, which in turn affects their behaviour. To study psychology, to learn how to understand individuals and groups behave is undoubtedly useful, yet through more recent experiences I believe that there is a more efficient way to reach my goal.
My inaugural introduction to business was in the year I enlisted. Youth for Causes was a social entrepreneurship project that I started with several friends which was successful as both a project and a learning experience. The idea of the project was to unify business principles with social ventures, manufacturing phone covers designed by beneficiaries which we sold for charity. Within a few months, we had tripled our initial capital. Yet my team and I were unsatisfied with the results, as we saw the potential in the concept to be a sustainable method of growth for the charity organization, which we had failed to implement.
Similar to Muhammad Yunus' Grameen Bank, which motivates their impoverished clients to tap into their potential and empowers them by offering them credit to change their lifestyles, the common trait among successful businesses is that they have the power to make a difference in the lifestyles of their clients. It was this power we wanted to help develop in the charity organization, invest in their human resources which were the artistic talents of their beneficiaries.
Currently, I see a business course as providing me with the widest set of opportunities, to arm myself with the ability to look at a set of factors or challenges and come up with a strategy and a clear direction. That, I would say would provide me the greatest depth and breath as a person and would allow me to reach closer to my idealistic goal to help as many people as I can.
Boarding school was the first time I had really had the opportunity to observe the lifestyle of someone other than my own family. It was the first time I noticed the delicate, yet sometimes painstaking decisions that my friends had to make to improve their lifestyle, from simple choices such as determining the most tranquil location to study to more complex and drastic actions like dividing the room in half (with red tape) to settle a dispute with their roommate. To be honest, while I was deeply concerned about the wellbeing of their friendship afterwards, I was equally, if not more intrigued with the extent they would go, even risking jeopardy to their friendship for the sake of a satisfying lifestyle.
It was a result of my experiences in hostel that I originally had, and even now still have, an interest in psychology. It was partially because of my desire to help people, but also because it satisfied my intellectual curiosity in equal part. The logic I had was that, if I wanted to help a person, I had to first understand the person. Yet a part of me was screaming out, saying that such was an inefficient way of helping people. Every individual can be said to be different, as have different experiences in life that change their perception, which in turn affects their behaviour. To study psychology, to learn how to understand individuals and groups behave is undoubtedly useful, yet through more recent experiences I believe that there is a more efficient way to reach my goal.
My inaugural introduction to business was in the year I enlisted. Youth for Causes was a social entrepreneurship project that I started with several friends which was successful as both a project and a learning experience. The idea of the project was to unify business principles with social ventures, manufacturing phone covers designed by beneficiaries which we sold for charity. Within a few months, we had tripled our initial capital. Yet my team and I were unsatisfied with the results, as we saw the potential in the concept to be a sustainable method of growth for the charity organization, which we had failed to implement.
Similar to Muhammad Yunus' Grameen Bank, which motivates their impoverished clients to tap into their potential and empowers them by offering them credit to change their lifestyles, the common trait among successful businesses is that they have the power to make a difference in the lifestyles of their clients. It was this power we wanted to help develop in the charity organization, invest in their human resources which were the artistic talents of their beneficiaries.
Currently, I see a business course as providing me with the widest set of opportunities, to arm myself with the ability to look at a set of factors or challenges and come up with a strategy and a clear direction. That, I would say would provide me the greatest depth and breath as a person and would allow me to reach closer to my idealistic goal to help as many people as I can.