College Admissions Essay: How Education Changed My Life

Life normally doesn’t go the way you plan when you’re young. When I was little, I figured that when I was at the age of graduation I would be totally prepared to go off my own. As I sit and think about the topic of how my life is going, several thoughts pour into my mind. First, I think of how lucky I am. The past two years could’ve changed my life because of bad health. Through weeks and months of hospitals stays and hours spent in the doctor’s office and in the emergency room, I’ve come out lucky and I have almost returned to good health. Second, I think of those friends who I thought would be there for my whole life that are no longer a part of my life. I also look to the people who I never thought would be there by my side and realize

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work." - Thomas Edison. An opportunity can change your life, but your attitude towards the opportunity will determine whether it will make your life better. I believe you should take the opportunity when you see it.

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.

I come from a family where no one has achieved a higher education. However, my family is thankful for my mother who always supported us. During my high school days, I had a great responsibility and role at home that allowed me to help my mother provide for my siblings and I. Now, I have begun my college journey with the responsibility that financially impacts my household while living with a kidney disease that can be a social barrier to fully focus on my academic endeavors.

What is education? According to Webster’s Dictionary education is defined as, (noun) 1: the action or process of being educating or of being educated, 2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools. What does education provide for us? How important is education in today’s society?

“You know Kwesi, I only came to this country with forty bucks in my pocket and the clothes on my back and look where I am today.” -- words from my father I thought to myself the first time I saw a rifle plummet down to my head.

Even though I gained admission to all the colleges I applied to after high school, my parents were not able to raise enough money to cover for my school expenses. I stayed home for some time trying to help my parents raise enough money for school. I’m the first generation student in my family and coming from a family living under low income and struggle to put food on the table, we knew the only way to come out of this situation is through college education and that is what I'm committed to do.

“I know how hard it is to lose someone,” said Mrs. Navaz, my boss, as I asked for a day off of work. This was just recently when my grandfather had two strokes within a period of two weeks. When she first told me this, I was frozen; I didn’t know how to respond. I gratefully thought back to all the experiences I shared with my grandfather growing up and how he shaped me into the person I am today.

From a young age, when not in school I was in and out of hospitals watching while my mother battled cancer three times. She finally lost her battle with cancer just after her 60’Th birthday. During this time helping her with treatments and care was something I did regularly and willingly. It was during the hospital stays and doctor appointments I viewed first-hand the tremendous positive impact nurses have on the lives of their patients and family members. The nurses that cared for my mother also cared for me. They showed me

Since I could remember my parents have been working hard to give me the best life they can. Although both of them never finished high school, they have always told me that education should always be my top priority. For many years both of my parents worked but after my little sister was born, my mom devoted herself to taking care of us. It came with positives and negative outcomes. My mom got the chance to help me through my elementary and middle school years with my schoolwork and I always felt like I could count at her at any given moment. But, it hurt our family financially. My dad was the only one working and he got laid off during the recession from his job. Eventually, he found a job, but it didn’t pay as much as his older job. To this day, he is still the only one that works and I thank him for teaching me always be a hard worker and that education is the path to a successful life. It has been hard, especially when you don’t have all the technology that is usually essential when doing schoolwork, but I am glad that I matriculated a way to defeat any of the obstacles that came my way whether it came to schoolwork or in other aspects of my life.

I undertook 2 years of volunteering at the local nursing home, which allowed me to experience a new side of healthcare. Feeding and talking to elderly patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s highlighted the importance of empathy in the profession allowing the patients to trust you , along with learning the art of caring whilst working alongside and speaking to the carers. I am grateful to have the opportunity to experience the hidden and less glamorous parts where I witnessed the residents I worked with deteriorate over the time of a year, yet seeing her smile when she looked at me outweighed any pain that would have been caused. Knowing just talking and feeding the patients can make such a big difference in a patient’s life allows me to be

Throughout my life, I have always struggled with school. No one thought college was the path for me, let alone a university college campus. With that being said, it didn’t come to a surprise to anyone when I was rejected by the University of Minnesota Duluth at first. However, I wouldn’t let that dissuade me from coming to my dream school. In fact, I became more motivated to prove why I should be allowed to attend the 2014 fall semester.  I have been diagnosed with a learning disability, which always made me work ten times harder in school than all my friends. My mother never went to college and my father just barely graduated, so they weren’t much help when it came to school.

Around the early weeks of March last year, my elderly neighbor had a series of horrible strokes, resulting in her having to stay in a hospital bed for a majority of her time with hardly any movement from the right side of her body. As someone who had always spent her time caring for others and helping provide for those around her, whether it be a place to stay for the night or a simple home cooked meal, watching these strokes take a toll on this compassionate lady lit a spark in me. I went to her house everyday, working with her in as many ways that I could think of. While she had her own therapists visiting her, our visits together is what I believe made me into the woman that I am today, with the heart of wanting to help and heal those all around me. Seeing how much our time together helped improve her, with the help of guidance from the therapists, she made almost a full recovery from the strokes and the damage they had seemed to have done to her health.

The walls are closing in. The rooms are filling with more people. The air is stained with illness and loneliness. Elderly persons are occupying the hallways doing nothing, while the nursing staff stay behind desks and counters. Pity and relief flood the faces of many families as they leave their relatives behind. Most people wouldn’t describe a nursing home as an ideal place to be, but I’ve grown fond of it. I spend some of my weekend free time here watching over my grandpa with my mom. When it’s not my turn feeding and talking to him, I focus on homework. Despite the sad vibe of the home, this is the place where I realized I wanted to go into the medical field. After witnessing how the staff barely treat the patients, and how, during the week, my family and I have to take turns coming in to feed my grandpa, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to become a doctor and help save lives.

These past four years have really been a life changing experience. From a childish freshmen not only at school but at home too, to a still sometimes childish senior, one who knows when and how to control himself. This school and its teachers have taught me so many lessons that will not be forgotten any time soon.