"a person's environment, Father's choices" - my family, community, school

Prompt #1
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 am a firm believer that a person's environment can have a pretty big impact on who they become. I am blessed to have a Father who has always been intent in making sure I turn out well. I know that my Father's pursuit stems from his own life. When my Father was a child he was by no means the best student, he barely graduated from High School and a Four Year University was the farthest thing from his mind. However a few years later he became a Father. It was then that he received some perspective, he went back to school and worked so hard to get his degree, ironically as soon as he graduated he became a High School teacher.

It was my Father that taught me the true value of hard work and the true price that is paid when you put short sighted desires over long term goals. My Father's choices had left him with so much regret and he was intent in making sure that I did not make the same mistakes. He has always taught me work hard, to never waste an opportunity and that I should work hard for satisfaction and not petty things like money.

School has always played a big part in my life. It has always been a place where I can expand my imagination and be challenged in new ways. I remember not liking school very much until I reaching High school, the subjects were usually very boring and the teachers did not seem very interested in their students, but as soon as I reached High school that all changed. That was my first experience with Advanced Placement. In AP courses the subject matter felt relevant and I could honestly see an effort being made by the teachers to help us succeed. My teachers for the first time cared enough to remember my name and when I struggled they took the time to see how they could help. The point of AP was not to simply watch a film and memorize some facts then regurgitate them back out onto a work sheet but to teach us critical thinking and a new ways to think about the problems and topics presented in front of us. We are taught things we can actually see in the real world; not the area of a rhombus but how to take statistical measurements of a population, or the adverse effects of landfill on ground water. We learn real tangible things that we do not have to be convinced will somehow be useful to us.

It is the people around me that helped me become who I am today. It was my Father that gave me the tools and the will to become a good student and it was my actual education that taught me how I could apply what I have learned for the rest of my life.

I would avoid the excessive use of capitalization such as father, high school, and four year university.

Make sure to properly answer the UC question. I read that the question was tricky because it is mainly asking you what your goals and aspirations are. The environment part is more like evidence of how they were shaped. I like the idea of your father and school being inspiration, but elaborate on your goals. If you aren't sure then mention something like you are undecided, but willing to try new things.