Topic A (Transfer, Transient, Readmit) Statement of Purpose:
My Story So Far
Being the youngest of four really held me back. I was babied, pampered, and everything was done for me. I was constantly being mentored by older family and friends of family. My choices were always pre-determined at times and I had trouble thinking for myself. Being the youngest child is a heavy burden when going into adulthood. You're supposed to grow up, be independent, and have goals. My mother set my goals; she set the bar for me with no way to get there. I had no motivation, no drive to do well and become something. I had to make a choice; live life blaming others for my problems/excuses or do something about it.
High school was a breeze for me as I slept in most of my classes and was a C average student. Before then, I remember having A's and B's that slowly slipped away. I couldn't wait to finish high school and when I did, college didn't seem so bad until I started taking the same boring classes. My first and second semester was a disaster; I got mostly W's and a D and an F. I was unmotivated; I didn't pay for my classes and wanted to take a break from it all. Working part-time was already strenuous in my mind and I just wanted to get away from equations and essays for once in my life.
I became a bum. I slept in on most days, took one class a semester for a year and did nothing for another. This didn't help my motivation at all until I hit rock bottom. I stopped looking for answers in others. I stopped blaming, complaining and practicing all the negative rituals that would hold my mind back. The second I started taking accountability for my actions and decisions, I felt a surge in motivation and self-control. This whole time I was taking the "easy way out" by putting my problems on everyone else. I realized that were all humans, we were all once young and we have our reasons for why we are the way we are. This doesn't mean I got to abide by these reasons; instead I must embrace them and figure out what I want my life to become.
My next step in life was Hawaii. My mother, who moved to California from Hawaii when she was eighteen, has almost all her family living in the islands of Hawaii. I knew that having family support and a new atmosphere would help me begin a new chapter. I came over with seven transferable units, and completed forty more in my stay in Hawaii. The classes no longer seemed as boring as before because I was more involved and felt interested in the subjects. Though most of my friends didn't take the path I have chosen, I still feel that my path has taught me things that some of them might have not experienced yet. I got the opportunity to live independently, manage work/school and budget my expenses with rent and bills. I've created a foundation to excel in and now I have the tools of experience to do so.
The next chapter of my life may bring happiness and or misery, but none-the-less new opportunity. Being the baby of my family taught me to respect my older peers because knowledge is what helps us grow. Hitting rock bottom taught me to appreciate what I have today and motivates me for a better tomorrow. In my experiences of living on my own, I have higher empathy for others, especially the ones that are having a tough time in their life. Though my path may not be looked best upon by others, it's still the path I've taken and must work off it as best I can. I remember my mom telling me that she used to work as a waitress while in college. I used to think that was impossible and that I could never do that without going insane. Here I am today, a waiter in college living independently. That's one accomplishment/goal I didn't expect to accomplish but with time, I've learned that anything is possible if you're heading in the right direction.
Thoughts, revisions? My grammar isnt perfect.
Thanks
Topic E (transfer/transient/readmit)
Choose an issue of importance to you - the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope - and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.
Life's Surprise
If I were to look back four to five years, I'd see a lost teenager who had no idea what he wanted to do in his life after high school. Back then I was thinking of majoring in graphic design because I used to do video editing and Photo-shop work as a hobby. Though I still think I have a talent in creating unique and abstract art. I still didn't feel the full passion or inspiration of going all the way with it. So I was left with the lack of motivation and the unknown. This lingered over me for a couple years as I searched for something to push me forward.
My ten year old nephew, who has a cognitive level of a five or six year old, had an unfortunate accident when he was born. I never knew exactly what happened as my oldest sister Melissa never spoke much about it. She gave birth to CJ (Christopher Jackson) back in 1999 when she was only twenty years old. I never cared to ask what happened because it wouldn't change his outcome or love that we all have for him. During his development you knew that he was behind. He didn't start walking until he was almost two; speaking was a big struggle for him and he mainly used emotions behind his wants and needs. It was hard to have him around other family/friends because CJ went through a period of head-butting and face-scratching. I started to look at CJ as a normal child after a while. People would stare in public and act weird around him but for us he was as normal as they come. It was almost like other children with no disabilities became the odd ones in my eyes. Of course I was still young and didn't know the full extent of psychology or child-development; nor have I ever seen a child grow up through the cognitive stages properly.
Out of all my other siblings, I was the youngest and lived with my nephew the most. My sister had financial problems and ended up living with my mother for most of CJ's life. A year or two after high school I ended up asking my sister what really happened with CJ. I was going to do a presentation on him and just wanted to know his story. My sister was a little hesitant but she explained to me that CJ was born a healthy child. His APGAR scale (a measure of a baby's activity, pulse, grimace, appearance, and respiration) was a nine out of ten in which ten is perfect and very rare. CJ only ended up having a low blood sugar count which could be easily corrected with some baby formula. They were busy that night and my sister felt something was wrong with CJ because he wasn't breast feeding. The nurse would keep telling my sister to try different techniques every few hours until she became enraged and screamed at the nurse that something was wrong. CJ's blood sugar had dropped so low that he was determined to die that night. He made it through and the doctor thought that CJ had a bacterial infection and nothing else. After three of the same ten day treatments that didn't work and kept making CJ worst, my sister asked for an MRI which the doctor refused. She was so fed up that she ended up transferring CJ and getting an MRI at a new hospital which determined that most of CJ's large intestines had died off and that the formula given by the previous doctor was leaking throughout his body. He was once again determined to die that night of and made it through once again.
Knowing CJ's two-month struggle to survive really changed my outlook on life. Most of CJ's early years I thought he was developing some form of autism and many doctors told my sister that he has many symptoms of autism such as head-butting, face-scratching, random outburst and constant stemming. Turns out CJ suffers from partial mental retardation alone. This doesn't mean that he cannot excel through life and his achievements mean less. On the contrary his achievements mean much more.
A mix of hitting rock bottom in my life and wanting independence while gaining much needed inspiration from my nephew; I decided to major in psychology so that I can one day use my experience that I've had with CJ to work with other children who suffer from cognitive and social disabilities. CJ has taught me patience, persistence, and that anything is possible with time. I want to be able to educate others on the subject and help parents deal with the early burdens of having a disabled child. Taking psychology and family resource development classes really helped my interest grow more and reassure my decision on my major. A friend who graduated with a BA in psychology at UT Austin told me great things about the school and faculty. My brother has been living in Austin for six years and I had a great time there on my visits. I couldn't think of two better referrals to push me to apply. Though in the end I know tough decisions need to be made and I am ready to accept whatever outcome I am given. I am just blessed that I have the opportunity to apply to such a prestige college.
I was constantly being mentored by older family members and friends of family.
My choices were always pre-determined, and at times I had trouble thinking for myself.
I had no motivation, no drive to do well and become something. I had to make a choice; live life blaming others for my problems/excuses or do something about it.
High school was a breeze for me, as I slept through most of my classes and was a C average student.
My first and second semester weredisasters ; I ...
got mostly W's and a D and an F.
I was unmotivated; I didn't pay for my classes and wanted to take a break from it all. Working part-time was already strenuous in my mind and I just wanted to get away from equations and essays for once in my life.
I became a bum. I slept in on most days, took one class a semester for a year and did nothing for another. I think all these details are not necessary. I think it is not good to tell all the details of your lack of motivation. Although it feels great to be honest, I think you can scratch that stuff and make more room for discussing your plan for the future.
This part is great, very impressive: This didn't help my motivation at all until I hit rock bottom. I stopped looking for answers in others. I stopped blaming, complaining and practicing all the negative rituals that would hold my mind back. The second I started taking accountability responsibility for my actions and decisions, I felt a surge in motivation and self-control. This whole time I was had been taking the "easy way out" by putting my problems on everyone else. I realized that were we are all humans; we were all once young, and we have our reasons for why we are the way we are. This doesn't mean...
I like this sentence, too:
The next chapter of my life may bring happiness and or misery, but none-the-less new opportunity. --- I don't think you need the hyphens in nonetheless, though. It can be all one word: nonetheless
This essay seems very authentic and sincere.
