College Admissions Essay: How Education Changed My Life

My whole life I have been invested in doing what I love, focusing on my true passions, as well as finding new ones. I have been very involved in my high school, and have been lucky enough to be a part of multiple clubs and activities. Without these activities, my high school experience and life would be a lot different. I have been an active drama club member, a part of ‘Bottlecappers,’ a club advocating anti-drug, alcohol, and bullying to younger students in my district, and many other community service opportunities. I am lucky to have the opportunity to be in these activities, as they have shaped me to be the young adult I am today.

Growing up, I never had the warm pleasures of bedtime stories; instead, I would hear about the unimaginable impoverishment my parents faced in their childhood. The immediate reality of poverty obscured their investment in their brighter futures; both were forced both to sell lottery tickets on the streets or trade vegetables for portions of meat: just to help sustain their families. Looking back at those nights, I can only be grateful. As one of the first in my family to attend college, I am piloting a new future, one where I hope to lift not only my family out of their struggles but also the community that has always supported me and global communities today.

Every day, every one, in the world goes through a challenge, big or small. They affect and impact us significantly. They change the way we think, love, act, and approach or do things. Challenges either frighten or motivate us, but they are what make us the person we are today.

Being the product of immigrant parents, I’ve never taken education for granted. When my father was younger, he grew up in the countryside of Fuzhou. It was separate from the rest of China in that laws, such as those limiting the number of children a family could have, and an a proper education system didn’t apply. Where he was from, they grew what they ate and ate what they grew, living day to day. When he came to America, he didn’t speak a lick of English and struggled to receive the education needed for many careers. So, he started as a restaurant worker, and saved up the money to be a co-owner, and then a manager. My parents worked tireless nights for over twenty years, from 10 am to 11 pm, never taking a day off. They sent me to school

Have you ever wished that you could wake up with not a worry in the world? I know I have but life hits hard doesn’t it? As a young child in elementary school or even not in school yet life is easy I would say. The kids don’t have too much on their plate, all they are worried about is nap time, snack time, recess time you know fun thing. Then suddenly you grow up! Remember all the fun times you had? Now it’s all about work time, class time, dinner time heck half the time we don’t even know what bed time is. Although it all may seem scary and hard there are ways to balance school, work and family.

In fall of 2017, I will be attending college. I’m not quite sure where precisely, but when I do arrive on campus, I will not be alone. I will carry the weight of my mother’s ambitions with me.

You’ve seen the courses I take, the grades I earn, and the test scores I’ve accomplished, and yes that’s all important, but I want you to know what kind of person I really am. I don’t aim for perfection on tests or assignments in the sense of a grade; I aim for perfection only as reaching my full potential and for what I can show. One night I was lucky enough to be in the company of my father’s college friends (he went to the University of Notre Dame). Inquisitive and curious as I am, I asked them for any kind of career advice that they could muster up for me, or anything that they would do differently in their own careers if they could change anything. After conversations of boring statistics I had heard all before, one of them gave me the best advice I had ever been given.

To do all these things that I plan to do in life, it’s a necessity for me to go to college to further my education. I strive to learn something new each day and I don’t think a high school education teaches me enough to achieve the goals I have set for my life; such as my career, traveling the world, and having an impact on not only my family but also my

When I was growing up all I had was an education, I had no friends, activities, or even family to look to for support, strength, or a role model. I only had myself, my soul, and my mind, a body to work, a soul to express, and a mind to what? I didn’t know and with no one around me to ask I began to realize, around fourth grade, during school mental capacity is meant to expand. A person’s mentality and intellect are traits not from my religious deity, but in turn from education and progression in studies from our school systems taught by qualified educators. This thought sparked me to start realizing what my mind can acquire in literature, so I began reading in my abundant time expanding my previous vocabulary exponentially. In fifth grade I

During our teenage years, we often become confused and lose track of who we are and what we are passionate of. Although I acknowledge that I am losing certain things in life, I am also gaining a variety of opportunities to make up my losses. I believe that I should be the winner of this scholarship because I have rediscovered what I can am zealous about and my first step to accomplishing my goal is to attend the college of my dreams. With this scholarship, I can lift a bit of the burden of tuition off of my family and can thoroughly keep my concentration on my studies in order to achieve my goal of becoming a successful financial adviser and help others improve their living situations. If I were to be awarded this scholarship, I can then reach

When you are young, you start out as a carefree spirit, not burdened with any type of sinful emotion. As this blissfully happy child, you see the world revolve around only you, thinking that real pain is only a story that will never come true. Some have the luxury of easing into the ocean of pain, while others are thrown in and drown. Life is a maze of twisted paths that decide your final fate and determine where you end up. The paths that I have explored, led me to the point where I am now in my journey.

During debates, I am often criticized for being too idealistic and childish. Although meant to be derogatory, being compared to the infinitely inquisitive, eager, and fearless minds of our world is not an insult. In fact, my most precious quality is my inner three-year-old. Not the runny nose, tantrum-ridden nightmare of grocery stores, but the curious, enthusiastic, open perspective of the young. The philosophy of seeing the world with clarity, wonder, and imagination, rather than being fogged by preconceived ideas, introduces endless possibilities. In the past two years of preserving my inner three-year-old, consistently presenting the question of why, anticipating where my curiosity takes me, and looking at the world with the objective perspective of a fresh judgment, I am now prosperous. Not physically, definitely not economically, but I am mentally.

In second grade I started reading anything I could get my hands on. The power of knowledge allowed me to

Death swiftly swooped in, grabbing my aunt as she lay heavily sedated due to her medicine, which she had to reduce her abdominal pain; colon cancer is usually highly treatable and curable, but unfortunately the cancer had spread to other parts of her body. A year later, Death returned, this time taking my grandfather, three days after his surgery to drain blood around his brain from his stroke. Soon, the beginning of my adolescent years became filled with woes, and due to this I spent years in darkness. Unfortunately, keeping myself in the dark led to sorrowful thoughts. These thoughts manifested themselves in me, although there were times where the sweet, seductive dreams were tempting me to make it a reality; a stalemate war being fought

I admit I did not take school seriously the last time I was enrolled. I know I should not make excuses about my lack of commitment, but I would like to explain my circumstances at the time. I thought I was wonder woman and could do it all. I was attempting to raise two children, working, and going to school. I know that there are many individuals in the same situation who do it all and succeed. The difference is that at the time I did not know how prioritize and organize my life efficiently, and my grades suffered as a result. My circumstances still may be the same. However, since 2011 I have grown and learned a tremendous amount. I now understand more than ever the importance of a college education and degree. With a degree and hard work the