We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations and accomplished your academic success. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors caused you to grow? (800 word limit)
"Magsumikap ka, anak," my mother spoke softly.
These indelible words echo through the recesses of my mind in moments of trial and doubt. Roughly, they translate to "work hard, my son."
My parents have worked tirelessly their entire lives and raised me and my sister to embody their work ethic and learn to adapt to our surroundings. They would often tell us countless stories of their youth in poverty-stricken areas of the Philippines and impart venerable Filipino adages hoping to bestow the wisdom that their parents had passed down to them. We would listen intently. It was if my parents' main goal was to teach us how to fly before we had even spread our wings. Much of my adolescence became grounded on pillars of industry, discipline, frugality, and common sense. I remember countless trips across town doing coin-fed laundry, earnestly starting homework on mastered bus routes from Champaign, IL to Providence, RI, and waking up on weekend mornings to watch my mother's face light up before indulging in her guilty pleasure: yard sales.
Scrimping and saving became skills of only second importance to walking and breathing. My father is a sushi chef. My mother-despite her anxiety troubles-has worked to support my family through dishwashing, house cleaning, and working as a cashier. Although my parents are the hardest workers I know, combined, they earned just about enough to get us by. The paranoia of expecting to run into financial instability hung over my head like the Sword of Damocles. Little things like being accustomed to living without heating or air conditioning escalated into larger lifestyle changes like walking home from school hoping to expect dinner that night. Bullied and alienated by peers who were quick to judge me by the cheap clothes I wore or the one-bedroom apartment that housed my family, I would often find solace through retreating into books and schoolwork. The pangs of economic deprivation had reached a crescendo when I witnessed my mother tearfully apologize for not being able to afford Christmas presents. Crestfallen and broken at times, I persistently brushed off my chagrin and grew stronger.
Aside from financial struggles, the process of filing for my parents' citizenship has become an ongoing 10-year endeavor for my family. As a result of having to reapply for their citizenship, we have undergone several nationwide moves. In the span of 10 years I had cycled through 12 schools-including homeschooling and schools in different nations. Although at times I lamented this itinerant lifestyle, my understanding of the world auspiciously widened. I met thousands of friends, became a part of many families, and explored unconventional ways of life. Through places I've lived, from the Micronesian island of Saipan to the bustling metropolis of New York City, analyzing and seeking to understand different people has always piqued my interest. My passion for the social sciences evolved from years of exposure to a vast spectrum of cultures, mindsets, and pedagogies. International relations, political science, and social entrepreneurship top the long list of academic fields that I find intellectually stimulating.
Whether I became absorbed in a passing concept or turned to academics as a temporary escape from my reality, my intellectual curiosity blossomed limitlessly. Having an irrepressible penchant for asking why things are, I realized early on that academics would be my outlet. I foresaw an impending fork approaching in the direction of my future: I could either allow my circumstances to define me-let them be the blame for my apathy, or I could refuse to let my surroundings suppress me and strive to achieve my ultimate potential. I realized that challenges were never new to me.
Growing up fettered to restraints of tightening purse strings, I understood what existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre meant when he said that "freedom is what you do with what's been done to you." While my circumstances have filled my life with tests and challenges, they have also made me a stronger, more adaptable, and eternally open-minded person. I push myself. I pushed past the disparaging voices, statistics, and labels in order to escape a world of "no." I will push myself to no end by flourishing in any rigorous course or task I choose to brave. Drawing from experiences I have had and the people I have met, I pledged to become a life-long student in a classroom of over six billion teachers. With what I have accomplished and overcome, I have found freedom in living my life day by day, taking steps closer to reaching my full potential. Amidst the sea of voices that tell me that I should not, that I cannot, and that I will not, I hear the soft spoken voice of my mother reminding me of my boundless capabilities.
I can because I know I can.
"Magsumikap ka, anak," my mother spoke softly.
These indelible words echo through the recesses of my mind in moments of trial and doubt. Roughly, they translate to "work hard, my son."
My parents have worked tirelessly their entire lives and raised me and my sister to embody their work ethic and learn to adapt to our surroundings. They would often tell us countless stories of their youth in poverty-stricken areas of the Philippines and impart venerable Filipino adages hoping to bestow the wisdom that their parents had passed down to them. We would listen intently. It was if my parents' main goal was to teach us how to fly before we had even spread our wings. Much of my adolescence became grounded on pillars of industry, discipline, frugality, and common sense. I remember countless trips across town doing coin-fed laundry, earnestly starting homework on mastered bus routes from Champaign, IL to Providence, RI, and waking up on weekend mornings to watch my mother's face light up before indulging in her guilty pleasure: yard sales.
Scrimping and saving became skills of only second importance to walking and breathing. My father is a sushi chef. My mother-despite her anxiety troubles-has worked to support my family through dishwashing, house cleaning, and working as a cashier. Although my parents are the hardest workers I know, combined, they earned just about enough to get us by. The paranoia of expecting to run into financial instability hung over my head like the Sword of Damocles. Little things like being accustomed to living without heating or air conditioning escalated into larger lifestyle changes like walking home from school hoping to expect dinner that night. Bullied and alienated by peers who were quick to judge me by the cheap clothes I wore or the one-bedroom apartment that housed my family, I would often find solace through retreating into books and schoolwork. The pangs of economic deprivation had reached a crescendo when I witnessed my mother tearfully apologize for not being able to afford Christmas presents. Crestfallen and broken at times, I persistently brushed off my chagrin and grew stronger.
Aside from financial struggles, the process of filing for my parents' citizenship has become an ongoing 10-year endeavor for my family. As a result of having to reapply for their citizenship, we have undergone several nationwide moves. In the span of 10 years I had cycled through 12 schools-including homeschooling and schools in different nations. Although at times I lamented this itinerant lifestyle, my understanding of the world auspiciously widened. I met thousands of friends, became a part of many families, and explored unconventional ways of life. Through places I've lived, from the Micronesian island of Saipan to the bustling metropolis of New York City, analyzing and seeking to understand different people has always piqued my interest. My passion for the social sciences evolved from years of exposure to a vast spectrum of cultures, mindsets, and pedagogies. International relations, political science, and social entrepreneurship top the long list of academic fields that I find intellectually stimulating.
Whether I became absorbed in a passing concept or turned to academics as a temporary escape from my reality, my intellectual curiosity blossomed limitlessly. Having an irrepressible penchant for asking why things are, I realized early on that academics would be my outlet. I foresaw an impending fork approaching in the direction of my future: I could either allow my circumstances to define me-let them be the blame for my apathy, or I could refuse to let my surroundings suppress me and strive to achieve my ultimate potential. I realized that challenges were never new to me.
Growing up fettered to restraints of tightening purse strings, I understood what existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre meant when he said that "freedom is what you do with what's been done to you." While my circumstances have filled my life with tests and challenges, they have also made me a stronger, more adaptable, and eternally open-minded person. I push myself. I pushed past the disparaging voices, statistics, and labels in order to escape a world of "no." I will push myself to no end by flourishing in any rigorous course or task I choose to brave. Drawing from experiences I have had and the people I have met, I pledged to become a life-long student in a classroom of over six billion teachers. With what I have accomplished and overcome, I have found freedom in living my life day by day, taking steps closer to reaching my full potential. Amidst the sea of voices that tell me that I should not, that I cannot, and that I will not, I hear the soft spoken voice of my mother reminding me of my boundless capabilities.
I can because I know I can.