THE PROMPT IS: Please provide a statement (250 words minimum) that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve.
THIS IS ONLY MY FIRST DRAFT. PLEASE BE BRUTALLY HONEST BECAUSE IT WILL HELP ME A LOT! REVISING WHOLE PARAGRAPHS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED TOO. THANK YOU =)
During the last few months of my senior year in high school, my parents signed our family up for a church activity called 'Vision School', a 9-week intensive program in which we were going to be introduced to the VISION of the Middle East. We were going to be trained to be the next generation of Christian missionaries for the Middle East.
I did not have a choice in the matter and I dreaded attending. I did not want to add another day of being at church to my already exciting schedule in the second semester of my senior year. As much as I tried to escape from it, I just could not and ended up following my parents to church every Saturday. From 6-9 pm, 15 other students and I sat in a lecture room setting and listened to various speakers talk about their journey in the Middle East, what they have experienced so far and what they wished from us. I found the lectures to be extremely boring and repetitive. All they talked about was what God wanted from human beings. God wanted us to reach out to the unreached. I already knew that! I could not wait until the program ended. I began marking off each Saturday section in a calendar count-down manner.
Halfway through the 9 week program, the program switched gear and we plunged into learning about the culture, history, and modern conflicts of the Middle East. Though the religious aspect of the program bored me, I found myself genuinely interested in the modern issues of the Middle East. We learned about the conflict between the Copts and the Muslims in Egypt, the Israeli-Palestine Conflict, and the suppression of women's rights. Now this was more like it!
While I cannot say that there was a definite turning point in my view of the program, I did realize by the end of the 9 weeks that my perspectives on my life and my world changed. The world seemed so much smaller when I did not have to concern myself with the rest of the globe. But learning about the suffering countries in the Middle East built a sense of compassion in my heart. And slowly but surely, over the period of 9 weeks, I became a girl who wanted to make an impact on the Middle East.
I had my class scheduling appointment in mid-July for UC Berkeley and I did not have a clue on which classes I wanted to take. Prior to attending Vision School, I wanted to study law or political science for my undergraduate studies. But Vision School helped me recognize that there was so much more, or something so different from the norm that I could involve myself in. So, after much consideration, I chose three core classes for my first semester Freshmen year; Political Science 5 - International Relations, Near Eastern Studies 10 - Intro the Middle East, and Arabic 1A - Elementary Arabic.
Looking back I never would have even considered Middle Eastern Studies as a potential major for myself. After taking Arabic and Intro to Near Eastern Studies first semester, I was determined to take more classes related to the Middle East. However, much to my dismay, I discovered that the emphasis held by UC Berkeley is not on Modern Middle East, but rather on Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations. So while UC Berkeley is great in the fact that they have a strong focus on ancient civilizations and literature, I want more than the past. This is why I am applying to other schools. I finally received the vision for my future!
well written! however, when i was reading, i got the vibe that you were anti-religious..like your experience made you turn that way..unless that's what you want your reader to sense, then it'd be fine! other than that, great story! :)
