Essay 1: Biographical Essay (650 word limit) We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations, and accomplished your academic successes. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors helped you to grow? Most finalists' essays show evidence of strong writing ability, as well as intellectual spark, determination, and altruism. I quietly stood alone with my cello next to the wall in my school’s commons area as everyone else laughed and talked with each other. As the new kid, I didn’t know anyone and hadn’t made friends yet. So as everyone left, I hid so no one would notice me while I waited for my parents …show more content…
That’s how we ended up in Upper Arlington, a city that was known for being whitewashed, stuck up, and filled with old money and legacies. It was hard, trying to fit in with the children of wealthy families because everything was related to money. But with a lot of time and effort, I made friends and lived a happy life until my dad’s research kept getting pushed back because of his health. The doctors couldn’t figure out why, but my dad kept forming liver stones. Since he was constantly hospitalized, it was tough financially and emotionally because our family was relying on him to find a job and receive a greencard. But we made it to 2012 when he found a well-paid job, but a few months later during Christmas dinner, he suffered a heart attack and the doctors couldn’t save him. The next few years formed the most difficult time of our lives. My mom had to attend graduate school and work all day at a grocery store half an hour away so we could remain in America. Since both of our parents were absent, my brother and I had to grow up quickly so we could take care of each other and raise my sister. Although it was a bleak period, we still had happy moments like the day Christine was able to recite the ABCs for the first time after I had spent months teaching her after
Almost two years ago I was that suffering junkie and was in a treatment facility where I was then introduced to the program of Narcotics Anonymous. By working this program I have been able to stay clean for almost a year and a half now. I support this organization because I believe in what it stands for, anyone can stop using and find a new way to live. They don’t treat the dirty, homeless, junkie like a hopeless lost cause. They see that junkie as a man or women in pain who needs help. I come from a long line of addicts and have seen family and friends lost to the disease of addiction. They’ve ended up dead by overdose or taking a gun to their head. It’s tragic but these losses remind me that I could be next. Narcotics Anonymous taught me that I never have to use again, even if I want to. I am no longer ashamed of my past and the decisions of the people around me because this fellowship gave me the courage and support I needed to change. I can't change what I did while I was using, but I am responsible for my recovery and what I do
“While we all did some things that were in poor taste, not all of us resorted to such desperate measures. Sure, some did, but not all of us. This has made society view drug addicts virtually as lesser beings. The effect it has had in my life is a loss of trust by others who are aware of my past addiction issues” (treatment4addiction.com) Many people see drug addicts as lowlifes who need to stop doing drugs and believe that it is easy to do so. They believe that all drug addicts are scum, that they are not people like everybody else. They do not see it as a disease and because of this they tend to completely shut out the family member or friend suffering from this. In an interview with PocosPeroLocos.FM Williams
Being a young teenager myself, I was exposed to marijuana by the time I reached junior high. I would see my friends smoking pot behind the school and wonder to myself “What is so great about this drug”? I was so afraid to try it because of the stories that my mother would tell me or what the teachers would say during health class. Once I reached high school, I had several friends getting “high” every day. My first period was computer class and I could see how many of my friends didn’t want to do the assignments because they were completely zoned out. Nevertheless, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So I decided to smoke pot one day at my friend’s house, and to my surprise I fell asleep. I was disappointed because I was told by my friends, how it will make you laugh and have a good time. Instead I ended up being paranoid and anxious and afraid my parents would notice my glazed look once I came home from school. I eventually stop smoking pot because of the affect it had on my ability to function in school and at home. Plus, I was looking for a part-time job and wanted to make sure I could pass a drug test.
My best friend used to smoke marijuana on a regular basis. Over time, he developed many obvious bad habits and changed his life style tremendously. He started getting lazy with schoolwork, and did not show much interest in anything at all. His parents noticed all these side effects that had been occurring but were unaware that their son smoked marijuana. After the grades fell so much, they decided to take him to get checked out because they were afraid he had developed some sort of ADD. They come to find out that because of him smoking so much marijuana it had led to brain problems, memory problems and affected his thinking skills. He was unable to stay concentrated on something and constantly was out of breath when any physical activity took place. My friend finally quit smoking marijuana because he saw what it was doing to his life. Many teens try marijuana not knowing all the side effects that come with this drug. This drug has many misconceptions from when it is really legal to what marijuana will actually do to your body. People think that marijuana is the most harmless drug because one never hears of people dying from it or getting deathly ill. This is false because marijuana does things to the body that can not be seen from the outside. The majority of the damage is in the brain and lungs which can get extremely dangerous. All the bad side effects from this drug will really harm people’s bodies and ruin their futures and lives.
I am responding to question number 3. As people start to grow older many aspects of their lives change. As I learned in previous chapters, elderly people have many diseases to worry about. They also might have some trouble doing tasks that they once could do easily by themselves, and now may need help with. It is hard to give up this independence they once had. The elderly population are also dealing with death of friends and loved ones along with new challenges every day. This where informal social supports and other social supports come in.
I hope that by sharing my personal statement, I have been able to give you an insight into the person I am and what I hope to achieve. I have included what I have felt to be the most significant influences on my career choice. I expect undergraduate school to continue to be a journey which I embark upon with great
Highlighting a few points of my childhood that have molded me into the man that I am today are the fact that I come from a Lower Middle-Class family. This plays a major factor on the manner that I process information. I grew up with a Father who was distant at best, working long hour’s day in and day out in a cannery factory, a mother who suffered from multiple health issues to the tune of diabetes, depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and an older sister that in my youth I idolized. These factors are the foundation for the future that was to come. My parents had a very unhealthy relationship and had separated at one point and my mother continually threated to leave my father over the years. (TCO 3 & 5)
1.Tell us about yourself, your family, community and why you have decided to pursue a post-secondary education and your field of study?
"C'mon, Chris, you get in the shower first," Taylor ordered from the other bed. "You're already up." Chris conceded and worked his way to the shower. Everyone in the room knew it too, due to his grunting and whining under his breath. Soon enough he was out of the shower and so were Taylor, Anders, and I. We ate breakfast with the rest of the team downstairs in the hotel in silence. It was too early to talk or chat. Everyone knew that one thing was going to be on their minds: winning. It was not worth discussing, either. Everyone knew that our varsity eight was possibly the strongest that McCallie had ever had, and that we had a good chance of winning some gold medals that day, if not a great chance. We loaded on the bus like ants, noiselessly flowing into one little opening. The bus ride was silent all of the way over as well. Everyone's heads, looking intently forward, were slightly jostling along with the bumps in the road. Some tried to sleep, but the tension and excitement was too much for most of them to be successful.
Drugs of all forms have become a standard sight in modern day society; a well-known one being marijuana. What most people choose to ignore, myself included, is that it is illegal for a reason. I was caught selling it, and it ruined a lot of good in my life. I had a caring foster family, who took me in and treated me like I was no different from their own flesh and blood. Looking back now, I should have cherished it more, knowing I could lose it over something I did. There is not one day that does not pass by that I deeply regret what I did. Not only did it affect me, it affected so many others as well. I was forced to take leave from my job, I threw away the trust and respect of my peers. If there was ever a chance to go back and change my choices, to tell myself what I lost, I would never go near marijuana again.
The abilities God gave us are truly remarkable. God gave us these wonderful gifts to spread the grace of the lord. People often forget that we are borrowing our bodies from God. Our body is a temple that we need to treat with respect to glorify God. There are many ways that we can glorify god with are personal wellness. When thinking about personal wellness it is important to consider, mental, physical and spiritual health. There are a couple pieces within each of those three main points. It is crucial to maintain a healthy personal wellness in order to serve the lord.
“Because I am female I am expected to aspire to marriage, I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that, Marriage is the most important”. This is a series of lyrics from Beyoncé’s song Flawless. This quote is important because I feel this pressure when I am supposed to talk about ‘a rich and fulfilling life’. I almost feel obligated to mention ‘a family’ as one of my requirements to a rich and fulfilling life. As a woman, society expects me to mention children and a husband to complete my life. However, I don 't want to take the traditional route. To me, a rich and fulfilling life can mean different things. Important values to me revolve around my goals and dreams in life. I think a rich and fulfilling life to me includes
Please describe as specifically as possible your intellectual and professional interests, accomplishments, and goals. Your essay should address each of the following questions in order (please number your answers) and should not exceed five (5) pages, double-spaced, 12pt. font.
I am imperfect, but I try and lead a more engaged life today – Live simple and not simply live, Lead with Spirit Always try to do the right things right and Take time to reboot the soul.
Throughout the 1980's we moved around a lot. First we moved to Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania in 1985, and then we moved to Stafford, Virginia in 1987. In Sinking Spring we finally owned our own house, and we lived in a wealthier neighborhood than before. We were now neither the richest, nor the poorest, people on the block. The richest people living in the neighborhood worked as engineers, and the poorest were factory workers. In Virginia, it was about the same as it was in Sinking Spring. My father was no longer running his own retail establishment, he was now working in the sales and marketing field for a company named AMP.