College Admissions Essay: The Bus That Changed My Life

Growing up in one of the most neglected zip codes of Miami, I have faced challenging obstacles all my life. These challenges were not only limited to financial worries, they included peer issues as well as moral ones. Growing up in a neighborhood where police lights and drug dealing were the norm taught me valuable life lessons that most people could never understand. I believe this upbringing has molded me into the person I am today, a person who sees hardships as a way to grow and excel, a person who sees life through a producer mindset, rather than a consumer one.

From my birth, I assumed the role of the underdog. Born to a mother who was only fifteen years old, and later raised by my mother and grandmother along with six other siblings in an impoverished inner city neighborhood without the benefit of a father or any other familial male influence in my life, I have always been cognizant of what the statistics predicted would be the likely outcome of my life. Yet somehow, at an early age, I relished the role of the underdog and used it as a means for motivating myself, my siblings, and even my own mother, to pursue those things that appeared to be beyond our reach from a social and economic perspective. Chief among the motivating factors in my life was the idea of obtaining an education. For as

Growing up, I was a child who encountered many hardships. As I came to an age to begin realizing an underprivileged childhood I lived, I learned overlook it and live on. I began to ask myself “What does it take to live a lifestyle of true comfort financially?” This is a question which I reflect on every day and is one which motivates me to flourish. Raised by a single mother within a lower economic class, we often ran into very tough times. At one point we had to completely pack up and relocate and live in my grandfather’s house. Discomfort cannot describe the reality or feeling, however we were blessed to have Family, family that we could rely on. At the age of 14, I set a goal that would require my best work to become a successful financial advisor. I will not let my childhood define my future; rather I will control my destiny through my experiences and my accomplishments as a result of work ethic.

I grew up in Brownsville, one of the poorest cities in the Southern region of Texas. My parents didn’t get to go to college so they didn't earn much. Both my parents work for the school district I got to school in, my mother works as a lunch lady and my father works in the maintenance department changing air conditioning filters. Growing up there wasn’t enough money to buy extravagant items, but we always had what we needed. My family may not have all the riches in the world, but we do have each other. Sometimes my family may not handle things well, we may not be the picture of health, and we don’t have all the money in the world but we always have love. We always support each other and are always there no matter what.

.“Getting here from where I was as a child wasn’t just handed to me,” he explained, “It took a lot of hard work, dedication, and sacrificing not only time, but my energy, and everything that I lived for.” Growing up was one of the most difficult times of his life. On one hand, he had to deal with his alcoholic father. And on the the other, he had to manage never being able to see his mother, who worked 14 hour shifts daily. But, this absence of his mother actually became one of the biggest

I come from lower class family. The most important thing in my life is trying to survive and buy my mom's a house I believe in success through hard work & dedication. My motto in life is to ‘If you want something, work hard & you will achieve it. In the book Patterson Heights by Felicia Pride, the main character goes through the same challenges I go through on a everyday basis. Avery Washington once an A-plus student struggle to survive in his new neighborhood after the death of his brother Rashid. Avery has to overcome his problems without his brother for the first time in his life. Avery Washington, the protagonist of Patterson Heights by Felicia Pride and I are alike in many ways. We both share the same view of the world, are viewed by the

My mother’s favorite quote was “work hard for what you want because it will not come to you without a fight.” Growing up in the city of Columbus was pretty easy. The town was pretty decent. I was born to the parents of Termica J. Webber and Paul V. Roland on July 14, 1998. On September 18, 2002 my mother gave birth to my younger sister, Annie Rogina Deanes who is now 13 years old and lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her father. I am the oldest child of my mother and the youngest child of my father. When I turned 6 I instantly moved to a small town of Pheba, MS with my grandmother, Thelma Webber, where times were hard. No one hardly lived in the small town and I was the only child living with my grandmother besides my aunt

As soon as we passed through the front doors, I was hit with a wave of anxiety. The alley was packed from top to bottom with bowlers and spectators. I realized then and there that we had worked all season to get to this exact position. There was no going back now.

My young mind came to realize my only hope of overcoming poverty was by attending university, getting a good job and thus finally being free from poverty. However, just because a person understands they have a problem doesn’t mean it is easy to overcome. Having realized poverty is the Everest I had to climb helped me realize: poverty would either make me or break me. I knew deep in my heart that everything was possible, but there were days I felt utterly discouraged because of this massive obstacle in my way. For example, there were days my hungry stomach would rather have me focus on food rather than academics. Thus, I had days where I felt like maybe I was pushing myself too hard, and maybe I was setting myself up for defeat.

Asking for an outfit that I could wear for my 13th birthday, I saw my parents with a dreadful look, as if their backs were hard to uphold, as if their brown eyes were ripping apart with sadness and discontent, as if they were disappointed in themselves, not being able to provide me with a gift that I deserved. Growing up in a household with parents that only had high school diplomas, had low paying jobs, and five children running around the house, I encountered countless obstacles that threatened to set me back in life. Or, as Oprah Winfrey puts it, “The struggle of my life created empathy- I could relate to pain, being abandoned, having people not love me.” Each obstacle and failure that I encountered led me to be the person I am today, the

Every hardship is an opportunity to grow as a person, and every time I’ve faced a hardship, I’ve always come out stronger than I was before. Becoming the man of my house at an age when most people are going through their preteen and teenage years, which can be hard on many, molded me into a stronger, more confident person years before my

Martin Luther King once said “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, whatever you do, never stop moving”. When I first read this quote I wasn't able to comprehend it's meaning, after all I was in the third grade. One thing was clear, my admiration for his courage and tenacity to stand tall in the face of fear. That admiration transcended into my own life when I faced the departure of my father, the reality of the poverty my family lived in and my dark history with concussions.

Empathizing with those who were victims of bullying, inequality, and identity crisis, I knew precisely how it felt to question your purpose in life and wonder why you were not fortunate enough to life an “easy” life. Though, overcoming these obstacles built a steady foundation for my future. The countless hours of crying myself to sleep, fighting depression, and accepting my insecurities gave me the strength and the knowledge to help those who are not always aware of how to help themselves. If my experiences meant I could save and improve the lives of others, I would faithfully endure the unbearable pain each day, which makes me deserving of the People Helping People

Growing up in a family of two siblings and a single father, I learned to make my life less challenging by working hard with discipline. People always say life is unfair, but I don’t have an excused to stop trying harder to have a better life. Since I was little, I have been struggled to find my dream because my little silly dream to have a dinner with my parents seem impossible. When I was three, my parents fought and end up with a divorce. I got raised by my grandmother and my father when my mother left without a word. Getting raise from a poor family, I always build up the hope for a better life and better future. Suffering lonely, starving moment, I grew up bolder and stronger. I become more responsible and more passionate to have a better

As a child, I remember growing up in an area of Atlanta, Georgia called Mechanicsville. This area was very diverse with people from various socioeconomic backgrounds. Often, my mother would share valuable life lessons with my siblings and me. One, in particular, I remember even to this day is, “Life is only as challenging or motivating as you make it”. Originally, I did not quite understand the purpose of this aphorism; but as I got older, the meaning became quite clear. Although life for me has been both wholesome and unhealthy, in hindsight, it seemed better than my childhood friends. If you knew the real story, you would see that my life is not as perfect as it appears. Just to provide you with a little insight into my world, I had a