College Admissions Essay: The Value Of Education And Social Life

As I began elementary school I was in ESL and in regular classes. My first language was Spanish but I also spoke the minimum of English. However, my speaking and understanding of English weren't sufficient enough to comprehend in class. Elementary school was hard for me because I was still not comprehending a lot even though my English improved. My parents tried their best to help me with schoolwork. It was until middle school my mother started to work. Without both my parents being there to help me I didn't know what to do. I knew that they would not always be able to help me. In order to take care of my

Everyone has to make choices in their life. Some are everyday choices, like what to eat or drink. Others are more critical, like choosing a job. Important decisions take time to comprehend. Like with me, the decision to go to college was the most critical choice in my life and for my future, and I will never regret it. Going to college is important because it helps me find a job, it expands my knowledge, and it is a wonderful experience.

During the summer after I turned thirteen, I went on a vacation that changed my entire perspective on life. “Americans are so spoiled.” I remember hearing my mother proclaim this numerous times growing up. I would shake my head or roll my eyes every time, since I never quite understood what it meant. Of course, I had nothing to compare it to. I grew up in the suburbs in a middle class family. I never wanted for anything. I heard the stories of my mother and her siblings growing up; they lived in filth, they occasionally skipped meals, all seven kids slept huddled together on concrete floors. I heard those stories as if she was saying, “…I walked a mile to school, uphill both ways…” I never could have imagined the reality of what the stories truly meant until I visited my birthplace, the Philippines, for the first time.

Coming from a foreign country where english is a second language, I didn’t know how to communicate. How was I going understand the information in school? How will I create new friendships without speaking? All these questions plagued me. As I sat quietly everyday trying to avoid making a sound, hoping not to get called on to answer a question or speak out loud in the class, I was trying to make clear of what these people were saying. I realized that just sitting there and listening wouldn't help me better speak English; I had begun trying to speak english with my father so I can become more fluent. After months of dedication, I was understanding and speaking a language completely different to mine. That was by far the most difficult

My parents sent me to China soon after I was born to be in the care of my grandparents due to financial circumstances. For five years, I regarded my grandparents as my parental figures, and I always questioned why my “parents” were so old compared to my friends’ parents. I realized the truth the first time my mom called me and my grandparents told me who she was. After that phone call, my parents started to call me more frequently, and I always asked them questions about their life, as I was curious. Usually, I would forget these conversations, but sometimes, after a call, I wondered how different their lives were from mine’s; I imagined them as being wealthy and living in a big house. While I enjoyed talking to them, I never imagined the day that I would receive the shocking news that I was going to move to America to live with my

As a first generation immigrant, everything is new here; new culture, new language, and a new society . I think the most difficult thing I have faced in the United States is the language. Learning a new language is not that easy, but language is the most vital key of being success, and it is also an important key factor for communication. I was afraid of speaking English because I am afraid of making mistakes, which had made me to become introverted or even feeling depressed during the first year in the United States. But after a year long study in high school, I have realized that, making mistakes is fine as long as I am able to express what I want to say, as mistakes and failures are also the keys to success.

In today’s society, the words “education” and a “better life” fit hand and hand with the other. The desire to create a higher quality lifestyle and the thirst for knowledge is a recurring theme in The Achievement of Desire. Much like Richard Rodriguez, my parents were not native to America and therefore, learning a new language and adapting to the culture was an indefinite struggle. Growing up, many Americans perceived my family and I as “too Chinese” and in the eyes of the Chinese, I was “too American”; this concept was only intensified after my trip to China in 2011. The addition of Western-style education in the household of a second generation American family unintentionally alienates the family members who participate in the schooling

I was born to a teenaged Chinese-American mother in 1997. At the time, my parents lived in Concord, California, but I was raised mostly by my mother’s parents in Sacramento. My mother wanted to continue her education at UC Berkeley, the university she had gotten into, and did not want having a child to limit her education. Unfortunately, as my grandmother’s mental health deteriorated and my grandfather’s career shifted, they eventually had to move away to Utah because my grandfather, who worked in the air force, was placed at a military base there. The sole responsibility of raising a child then fell on my mother, who was focused on getting her degree. Due to financial issues, she eventually dropped out and moved to Sacramento with my father.

Their mentality constantly fueled them to escape the hole of poverty that relentlessly sucked us in. They imparted the persistence of Chinese ethos to me and encouraged me to apply it to my academic endeavors. I began to ask for help from teachers after school and toiled each evening to master the language. By the end of the year, I was deemed advanced. I had tasted the rewards of hard work. I finally understood why my parents had clutched the persistent beacon of hope in the darkness of poverty and

I immigrated to America with my family five years ago and received an education that is impossible to gain in China. Some may not know this, but access to college is very competitive and one’s social status plays a significant role to China’s economy. Therefore, my parents made an very important decision, which was to leave my mother country and step in a foreign country that is America. Here, I am able to experience mountains of obstacles and learn how to solve these complex life cases.

Since my understanding of the English language improved I obtained better grades and participated in club sports outside of school. Although, I didn't have the time to enjoy it for long since I was forced to move again to a nearby town because of a financial situation. I was heartbroken about leaving behind all the friendships and achievements that I took so long to obtain. I quickly realized I had bigger problems to worry about. At that age, I was more innocent and clueless as to what really goes on within my family. Also, I didn't stop to think how difficult it is to raise 6 kids as a single mother. As our situation became worse my older brothers had no choice but to drop out of school in order help my Mother put food on the table. To this day I continue to remind them how thankful and appreciative I am for

Language barrier was a major problem when adapting to new culture. I was very ecstatic when I first found out that my family and I are going to America. Elizabeth Warren says, “A good education is a foundation for a better future.” My parents always wanted my sister and I to have a better education and a successful life. Therefore, they made the decision to come to the USA. After arriving in USA, I was very scared. Everything looked completely different from Bangladesh such as the buildings, different kinds of people, and etc. Out of everything the main problem was the English language. Nobody spoke English

Generational Differences and The American Dream As our parents and grandparents who enjoyed the American experience before us, we have been told that with hard work and determination anything is possible. Yet the older children get, the more they have to define their own identity and explore what this elusive “American Dream” might hold for them. Amy Tan who grew up in San Francisco enables her readers to understand what it was like to grow up in-between American and Chinese culture. She shows them that children do not have to sacrifice their own identity in the process of reconciling hard work with the expectations of parents and society.

Community involvement and education are important to me, and as I make my way in the world, I never forget about where I came from. I realized early in life that attending college would be my greatest opportunity to beat the odds for a young man coming up in this era of crime, drugs and violence. It’s a well-known fact; the African-American male incarceration rate is much higher than our college graduation rate, so the odds are against young men who look like me. This reality is what inspires me to do more to help African-Americans and specifically young people in my community.

For years, I convinced myself that the story of my life began when I arrived in America at eleven months old. I tumbled through the clichéd white-picket-fence childhood, never realizing how impossible it was to completely discard the first year of my infancy. While I had always known about being adopted from China, I did not fully comprehend the weight of this detail until my late teenage years.