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.
I have always grown up believing that it is the environment that defines a person's qualities and characteristics. A person's "environment" is does not limit to where that person lives, it can also be the people who have a defining influence in that person's life. These people, in one way or another, are role models that shape the way we think, act and make decisions. I like to think that my parents are huge contributors to my environment and they have a large role in raising me to be the person I am today. They are positive role models to me and they force me to think to think responsible to be a better person. They thaught me that I could achive anyting with a good education, a solid goal, and an unfaltering determination.
My parents want me to recieve the education they never had , and just like my parents with me, I want to be a good example for them. I will make sure I do good work making sure to challenge myself. When times comes , I will make my parents proud. I thank God and my parents for giving me the education that I have so far not only in school, but as a person with values, responsability, and honesty.
Prompt#2: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?
I grew up as an extremely shy person with very low self-confidence. I had trouble speaking to large crowds and interacting with unfamiliar people. All my life I have lived in a densely populated Chinese neighborhood in Oakland, California. I was raised with Chinese traditions and my parents expected me to earn good marks at school.
My parents applied me to both an American school and a Chinese school. I attended both schools and found it hard sometimes to balance the schoolwork that came with it. My American school was located in the center of Chinatown and was populated with mostly children from Chinese backgrounds. I always felt isolated attending this school because everyone had similar customs and interests. I did not grow up exposed to a very diverse environment. My Chinese school was only concerned with academic achievement. The teachers practiced strict discipline and expected nothing but the best. During school, I was too shy to raise my hand during class to respond to the teacher's questions. I began liking my American school even more because the teachers would make us present in front of the class. I was sometimes reluctant to present, but other times I found it fun and it really helped shed my fear of speaking to large crowds.
When it was time for me to advance to high school, my parents wanted me to transfer to a school in another city. They felt that this school would present me with better opportunities and a better education. I had to leave all my friends behind and move on to this strange and unfamiliar school. I immediately noticed that the people here were different and came from a diverse background. Everyone was unique and practiced a variety of customs that were strange to me and I was exposed to an entirely new environment. I made friends with some of these people and they have been a huge my part of my life ever since. They have helped me overcome my shyness by making me attend key club and attending their weekly meetings. We found delight in servicing our community; the gratifying feeling of helping people was our reward. A simple "thank you" was enough to make my day and my self-confidence grew knowing I made the community better even by just a little.
I admit I am still a little shy making friends and talking to large crowds, but I feel that I have improved with the help of my friends. I feel that my life is like a sidewalk and the people I perceive on this sidewalk make up a little part of me. My friends are walking with me on this sidewalk hand-in-hand helping me cross the unfamiliar intersection.
Need some last minute revisions before I turn it in...
I revised Prompt 1 a little. Try talking more about how the experience made YOU feel. Great job, though. and Good Luck! :D
(...) READ ABOVE (the first paragraph of the first essay)
My parents faced adversity growing up in China, their native-born country. My mother was raised along with her three sisters and two brothers. She struggled getting an adequate education due to tuition fees her family struggled to pay for. Her family managed to muster the money for her to get an education for seven years before she dropped out. She began working to make sure that there were better opportunities for her siblings. My father was more fortunate than my mother; his family was not as large as my mom's and his family had enough savings for tuition fees. He finished high school at the top of his class, but he could not manage to land a good job because he did not have the proper relations with those who had power. My parents want me to receive the education they never had and just like my parents with her siblings, I want my little sister to surpass me. I will make sure of this by helping my sister with her schoolwork making sure she takes harder classes to challenge herself. When the time comes, I will overlook and help her with college applications.
As I grew up, I watched my frustrated mother get rejected from job after job because she did not graduate from high school. My father recently had to accept a reduced wage due to financial problems at his restaurant. Despite all this, my parents try to involve themselves in all aspects of my life even though they have to work long hours. They always tell me to prioritize what is important. They always tell me to do my schoolwork and chores first before anything else. I wish I could say that I followed them obediently every time, but sometimes I would rebel and laze around. But as high school started, I began to prioritize what is important more and more until it became a natural process. Their words of advice will stay with me through my whole life. My parents are my motivation to be a hard-working, determined, and versatile student who is ready for college.
I attended both schools and found it hard sometimes to balance the schoolwork that came with that duel enrollment. My American school was located in the center of Chinatown and was populated mostly by children from Chinese backgrounds.
I began liking my American school even more, because the teachers would make us present in front of the class. I was sometimes reluctant to present, but other times I found it fun, and it has really helped shed my fear of speaking to large crowds.
Thanks for posting, good luck!!
Kevin
