College Admissions Essay: Waking Up

I remember waking up that day and that feeling in my stomach, knowing what was about to happen. Growing up I knew about my father's sickness. My family, I recall, was always supportive. No one ever thinks about how one day, everyone you’re around for years, can just vanish. I cherished my friends as I was growing up. I lived there for a majority of my life, up until fourth grade. I remember sitting at a neighbor's house and having the mother come into the room and inform me that I need to be home swiftly. As I ran home, my head was crowded with thoughts to the point where I could not even think about why I was supposed to be home quickly. That day marked the transition of what would be the biggest change in my life. As by dad became sicker,

A fork in the road only appears as such when both paths are seen as viable options; yet, once one path becomes seen as the only one, the other devolves into a deviation. Where the aberration would require justification to travel down, the perceived correct course would require justification to not travel down. This is precisely how the false question of attending college was presented to me: it was a matter of when not if. Upon inheriting white looking skin, a middle class family, and a pat on the back for bringing home white sheets of papers with little red “A”s written in the top right corner, it was ascertained that I was to be a productive and successful engineer after paying for college with hard-won scholarship money. In short, there were several socio-economic factors that contributed to my eventual position in college.

I believe the turning point of my life began with the separation of my parents. I had always imagined myself living in my native homeland of the Dominican Republic. Yet, my life would drastically change as a consequence of my parents divorce. A few weeks after my parent’s divorce, my mother and I arrived undocumented in Boston, Massachusetts. Thus, at the age of fourteen, I found myself in a new country with few family and friends. The following chapter of my life would require me to not only make sacrifices but also become more independent. The meaning and value for me becoming independent at a young age was twofold: (1) I was able to help my mother financially and (2) I learned the meaning of hard work and perseverance. I recognize that my tangible core values cannot be measured by test scores—though I have done well academically—but by my desire and perseverance to become a successful Latina.

Junior year of high school was by far the most strenuous year of school I have completed.Though it was an arduous,stressful time it is also one of the best school years so far. One of the greatest accomplishments of that year was passing the AP Calculus exam. That test meant more to me than just a number on a screen. It signified that I can do whatever I set my mind to. As cliché as that sounds it is very true. To see hard work pay off makes every struggle worth it.

It was halfway through my sophomore year when my mom and two older sisters sprints down the stairs and storms out the house. Confused and worried, continuing to curl my hair. My mom walks back in towards me with a gruesome look in her eyes. With so many ideas already running through my head, I was notified that my grandmother was killed by my uncle. I cannot even describe my sense of emotion at the time. Confusion, hatred, and hopelessness all merged into one. And all I could think about was just giving up on everything. That is until my pastor said these words that I will always remember; “You're going to get through this, just have faith.” I took in those words and began to put his words into action

I was born on September the 7th of 1994 in the San Francisco Bay area, not very far from Silicon Valley. The year I was born President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade agreement with Mexico and Canada which helped to stimulate economic growth about twenty years ago. Living in California made my Dad the open-minded liberal that he is today, and because of his love for discussing politics I was raised listening to him have friendly debates with my very republican grandpa over every economic issue from climate change to healthcare. For about a year and a half after I was born my parents, older brother Daniel, golden retriever sandy, and I all lived in a classic colonial style home just south of Santa Clara Valley. My father was the breadwinner in our family working as an engineer for Portola Packaging. A job he was offered not long after graduation from a small private engineering school in upstate New York called Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. My mother also worked full time but as a loan underwriter. After being offered a great relocation package by Portola to the east coast my parents quickly decided to pack up our house and move to Pittsburg Pennsylvania. In addition to being closer to our extended families they also believed that raising a family in Pennsylvania was far

Who am I personally, after 50 years of being me, I am still a work in progress. I grew up in a tiny ski resort town, on the Appalachian Mountains, in New Jersey. My father grew up in New Jersey, but my mother is from Havana Cuba. My father never graduated from High School, but my mother did. They did not believe in higher education, especial for girls. They wanted us to get married and start a family, I always knew that was not for me. So I followed my dreams and traveled the world. Meeting exciting, educated people all along the way, my travels showed me all the things that I had been missing out on living in a tiny town. By traveling, I learned how to live independently, be frugal, and enjoy life, that is what made me a strong woman. My weakness is, that I wear my heart on my sleeve, I am temperamental, and no confidant.

I remember waking up that morning feeling rather pleasant. That was until I remembered it was Monday. I really didn’t want to go to school that day. I was in second grade and already wanted to graduate. I thought I was done. Nothing was ever fun at school it seemed. There was a girl in my class named Vanessa that always seemed like to make my life miserable, her hair was absolutely gorgeous. Ringlets of chocolate brown that shined down her back. It made me sick . She’d always glare at me and make rude comments that got on my nerves. However, there was something that wasn’t all bad at school and that was my teacher. She handed out candy to everyone just about everyday. And she always had a big smile on her face. She was my “protector.” Mrs.Armstrong

A river has the opportunity to lead to great things; even though, each one begins the same way with a fresh spring. It then, pools into a body of water, and starts flowing. It will keep gaining speed, as it continues to travel downstream until it reaches a lake or an ocean. A river is just like me; I have a spring at my home, a life that is gaining speed, and I have ended up at the great Lake Michigan.

“Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.”

From the very first moment I sat on the piano bench and touched the black-and-white keys, I instantly felt in my heart that my future would be irretrievably bonded to this magical instrument.

Working as hard as I could to succeed at what was set out to accomplish. The first day back for my final semester in high school was amazing. I was a high school student yet again and I could relax and not have to worry about leaving. My day went by fast, but it was worth it because I didn’t have to rush through my lunch and hurry out the door. The college classes that I had signed up for was well worth it because they are helping me for what I want to do with my life after high school. Overall now that my senior year is almost over I look back on it and I have enjoyed every moment of it. Not one part of it I would want to take back because every part of it was a learning experience for me. Even though I am growing up and almost out of high school, this year is definitely the best year in my

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.

“Why are you so shy?” people always asked me. ”Shy”. It’s a word that followed me for as long as I can remember. In elementary school, all the kids would play sports during recess, but I’d stand by the side and look at them. At most of my parent-teacher conferences, teachers would use words like shy and quiet. But I was totally sick of it. ”I have to make some changes,” I said to myself.

My life has endured many changes at a personal level. As a young boy with a loving family and a solid formation, any person who knew me was aware of the type of respectful and mature boy i was. In contrast to the type of person i am, my academic maturity at that time proved otherwise. Throughout my life i have been known to be very open minded and respectful, but at the same time hard-headed. After many years of doing things with no specific purpose or goal, my father taught me my most important lesson that will never escape my thoughts. After a rough argument over my report card, he used the word mediocre to explain the type of person he thought I was becoming. At only 13 years of age I felt utter disappointment in myself and knew it was time for a change.