College Admissions Essay: Turning Points Of My Life

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family I have learned to recognize since a very young age that because of the status that my parents are placed in they cannot pursue a better future like the one I want. I have been given the opportunity to challenge myself with obtaining a higher education than just high school itself. My parents have demonstrated to me through their hard work that I have to value this opportunity unless I want to end up with low paying job. My life long dedication comes from seeing my parents make sacrifices in order for my education to continue.

Throughout our lives, we make choices and decisions that change our lives and others in positive and/or negative ways. It is these decisions that determine how we will be remembered, our legacy. When I graduate high school, I want to be remembered by the qualities that define me as a person and the good I’ve done for others. Throughout the years, I’ve been often been described by my family and friends as bold, confident, outgoing, and hardworking. Not only are these characteristics important to me, but they are important to my family, as they want to leave a legacy in the name of our family. The qualities I have exhibited are the same qualities past family members have shown and are remembered for. Through always putting out my best effort when it comes to work and school, I have shown my dedication and discipline. Through doing what I can to help others, I have displayed my commitment to world peace, the betterment of the world as a whole, and the yearning to make a difference in someone’s life other than my

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

Coming from a Latino household, I’ve learned that anything is achievable – there are no walls nor boundaries to stop me from reaching my goals. Whenever it came to achieving something in school, I could hear my father’s words “si se puede” – meaning “you can do it” – playing in my head. So long as I believed I could excel and go beyond in my studies, I felt that I could open doors of opportunities for myself.

As a first-generation Mexican American, I am the product of two cultures merged into one. Like many immigrants, my parents left behind their homeland and came with just the clothes on their back. They were fish out of water when they first arrived in America. They came here with hopes of pursuing the American Dream but soon realized that they weren't going to be the ones to achieve the American Dream. They worked hard so that my younger brother and I could have a shot at it. So they’ve educated us and passed the Dream along to us. The hardships experienced by my parents have inspired me to take on my own challenges. Because of the sacrifices my parents made, I am where I am today. It's an unspoken responsibility that one day I will give back to those who gave me so much.

Ask my teachers, friends, coaches, and family, they’ll all tell you that I’m mature. The way I hold myself responsible for my life, my studies, and my activities through the good and bad is a unique quality about me that they admire, but also know little to nothing about.

Coming from Cuba to The United States of America was a dream; however, a nightmare as well. I came to live to Miami when I was nine years old during fourth grade. My family constantly told me to study hard to be able to graduate from high school and go to college. In addition, learning a new culture, language, and educational system was tough for me. High-school graduation was my main goal to reach since I came to this country; yet, I had a long pathway to walk and full of challenges.

I came to this point of my life through an untraditional path. I was born in the southern Mexican peninsula to a hard working single mother. From an early age I learned the value of work. I began cleaning windshields at stoplights and polishing shoes when I was seven, primarily to help my mother keep my older sister in school. At the age of twelve my father offered to bring me to the U.S. to learn English and one day return to Mexico having mastered this precious skill. Although life as an undocumented migrant was filled with obstacles, false starts and uncertainty, I remained steady and I never abandon my dreams.

As I have blossomed into the individual I am today I have developed a significantly different outlook from most of my peers. My mother migrated from Colombia to the United States because she wanted to create a better life for my older brother and me. Her journey inspires me and it a journey which many individuals with Latino backgrounds have to undergo to have the polity to give their children education possibilities. The sacrifice that my mother and those like her have bared have revealed to me the importance of what it means to work hard. As a family of immigrants I have developed an appreciation for those close to me. Living in the United States I see my grandparents and all of my siblings every two years, I understand what it is too mean

Born in the Dominican Republic, at the age of 10, my family and I migrated to this country to fulfill the American dream. As a girl from a small Spanish speaking island, I had to maneuver through the public school system in order to achieve the goals that I once never thought I would conquer. With language being the ultimate challenge, I fundamentally had to learn the English language on my own. Yet through the frustration of inequalities and lack of resources presented to children in inner-city communities, ambition grew inside me. My mother would say to me “Everyone deserves to have a fair share of what they loved to do.” However, at the same time, I was also taught that nothing is easily handed to you, and that “if you want it, then you have to work for it.” I live by the words of my mother, and when I receive the opportunity to continue my education at

Due to a few significant turning points in my life, I have learned to become an example of fortitude and endurance, realized the value of life itself, and now allow myself to experience more bliss and enjoyment through the presence of others; in effect, I have become a greater person and a contributor to those who are in vulnerable situations. I am content with the events I have experienced, even though some were difficult. These times have allowed me to become a person to exemplify fortitude and endurance, realize the value of life, and experience the bliss and enjoyment of others presence.

As a high school student, I knew I wanted to make my own mark someday. I wanted to better myself and take a different path than most of my friends. It is common in Mexico for those attending college to live at home. In the case of my graduating class, I was the only one out of 70 students to pursue my college degree in the United States. Transitioning from a Mexican education to an American one was not an easy task, but as my English improved I pushed myself academically to

As a baby, my mother immigrated to California from Mexico with her family. As you can probably guess, life as the fourth child of immigrant parents was difficult and paved with countless obstacles. Poverty always crept in the background and their foreign tongues could not always grasp the strange new English words. Despite these challenges, school offered a place to dream of more. Education beckoned with its visions of what life could be. Through these struggles, the biggest lesson that transmitted itself through the years was that through hard work and dedication, you can lift yourself up to wherever you want to be.

I would never have made that decision if asked, but in retrospect, I am glad that the opportunity came up, and that someone made the ultimate decision. If not, life would have been different. Totally different. Why? Because I would never have known that every end had a new beginning.

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