Prompt:
We often hear the phrase 'the good life'. In fact, the University of Florida's common course required of all undergraduate students is titled "What is the Good Life?". The concept of 'the good life' can be interpreted in many different ways depending upon the experiences, values and aspirations of each individual.
In a concise narrative, describe your notion of 'the good life'. How will your undergraduate experience at the University of Florida prepare you to live 'the good life'?
Essay:
Usually, when someone describes "the good life", the first thing that comes to mind is money. We live in a society that is very materialistic and many people believe that money is equal to happiness. I have never associated wealth with happiness because my family taught me that in order to be happy I just had to follow my dreams.
When I was younger, living "the good life" meant playing with my friends, visiting my family, and just enjoying every single moment of my life. I had everything a child could need, even though my family was not wealthy. My parents always said that providing me with a good education was the most important thing for them, because it would help me to achieve whatever I wanted in the future. This, and the worsening situation in my home country, Venezuela, made us move to the United States. Moving to this country has made me realize that what I have considered "the good life" can only get better.
In Venezuela, the chances I had to be able to follow my dreams were very narrow. My father was an engineering teacher at a university close to our city. One day, he had to pick me up early from school, so he took me to the university with him. I had never been to one of his classes before, and seeing all the computers, the size of the classroom and listening to all the interesting things my father explained to his class made me want to know more. After his class ended I had so many questions for him, and, as always, he sat with me and answered everything. I immediately decided I wanted to be like him, and know all the things he knew. He took me to his classes many times after that because he knew I was very interested in it. Many teachers were fascinated by the fact that there was a 9 year old girl listening to the classes and understanding most of them at such a young age. However, as the situation in the country got worse, I realized that becoming a computer engineer wasn't going to be very neither easy nor helpful.
On August 4th, 2011, my life took a new turn, and my dream of becoming a computer engineer seemed closer than ever. I had to learn a new language and acclimate to a new culture and a better life. All of my experiences and the situations I have been through have helped me realize that being persistent and positive about what I want can really help me to achieve it, no matter how difficult or impossible it might seem.
My experience at the University of Florida will not only help me continue living "the good life" but also help me get the most out of it and make it "the best life" by helping me pursue my dream of becoming a computer engineer.
Mariana , I am not sure about how the story about attending the class your father taught helped add to your definition of the good life. You let us know about how attending the class helped you bond with him and decide about what you wanted to study in college and be in life but how did that improve or change the definition of the good life for you? Perhaps you should rethink that paragraph and decide how you can make it more connected and relevant to the essay prompt. Unless you make that connection, the statement becomes misplaced and irrelevant to the prompt.
Your definition of the good life as a child is solid and relevant. You should just develop that further based upon the changing our evolving definition of the good life for you as you have come to learn more about our world and the lives we lead. This will align more with your introductory statement about what the good life meant to you as a child.
