Personal Reflective Essay: Overcoming Adversity

With 7 billion people currently living on this Earth, it’s easy to feel alone, especially if one is considered an “other” by their community. Being one of the only African-Americans in a predominately white and Asian community, I’m acutely familiar with this feeling. I also had to cope with being from a lower-middle class family in an overwhelmingly affluent neighborhood. While I have the same culture as my classmates, I’m still outwardly different, which has contributed to an overall feeling of otherness and solitude. However, it is this adversity that has allowed me to triumph and embrace myself completely. I now hope to bring that same feeling of self-acceptance to others who are facing similar struggles.

One way I have assisted those less fortunate is through my participation in Mending Kids International, an organization that seeks to provide medical care to children in third-world countries. I’m committed to helping these children because they don’t have the same privileges that I do; while I have been othered because of my skin color and economic standing, they lack access to basic medical care. Through my efforts I hope to elevate and empower them. I’ve also made an effort to enact change in surrounding communities. With my father, I spearheaded an initiative to provide supplies to homeless individuals in Los Angeles. As we passed out blankets and food to numerous people, their

gratitude further fueled my desire to aid others who are less fortunate.

In the future, I hope to impact others more deeply.

I want to go beyond creating care packages for children and handing out bottles of water; I want to influence people emotionally and help them realize their strengths. Because I was so lucky to discover and accept myself, I desire to inspire a similar change in others. I firmly believe otherness is a strength and not a weakness, and if people realize this, all individuals in our society will become more inclusive and fulfilled. As people embrace their individuality, our society will become healthier, happier, and

diversified.

This drive to inspire individual and societal change has led to my interest in pursuing Psychology. I want to hear people’s stories; I want to understand what external factors shape a person’s interior self. Psychology will help me understand the human mind and ultimately how to help people better; when we transform our internal realities, we usher in a positive wave of change. Thus, I hope to work in arenas that will allow me to make change on an individual level. Once I’ve learned about the human mind and gained the necessary skills to affect change, I hope to volunteer in an underserved community. Whether it is volunteering in a soup kitchen, working with children and families, or facilitating a community resource project, I’m committed to eradicating inequality and feelings of otherness. More than any personal or professional goal, I feel immensely captivated by and passionate for this goal. I know that receiving an education will allow me to pursue this aspiration with the necessary knowledge and compassion required to foster change; more than anything, I want to give back what I have been given.