My eyes were the worst mixture of bloodshot, purple and torture, my body in the worst state possible having gone seventy two hours without sleep, a meal and a proper shower and my mind, a complete mess. I was physically and mentally exhausted, my body and face displaying it all, yet I don't think I had ever came to know who I was more than at the very moment I saw myself completely shut down.
After a competitive brawl of a game with grass stains on my knees, jersey, and socks; with sweat drenching my hair and clothes, as if I just took a shower, I began to walk over to a table set up amongst the fans. They wait anxiously for my team to walk over after our big win. Each one of my teammates including myself are set at a table close to the bleachers, which set adjacent from the players bench across the pitch. I set down by my new set of teammates, as we got ready to sign posters for children with aspirations to play at collegiate level soccer one day, for parents and grand parents who couldn?t be more honored to be witnessing their little girls hard work finally paying off. It was recent that I experienced this
I was born in Bogota, Colombia. During my childhood schooling years I attended Gimnasio de Los Cerros in Bogota. Attending secondary schooling in Colombia prepared me well for my academic pursuits in the United States. Through my studies, my fondness of mathematics continued to grow. On my pursuit of scholastic success mathematical equations found its persuasive way to speak to me. It is for this reason I have chosen for my career to follow the pathway in relation to mathematics. But even more so, what would ultimately lay down the roots of my personal character was the death of my father at the age of three. As years passed by I came to understand I was now “the man of the house”. I do not reflect back at death of my father as being something
I have played basketball since 6th grade and I have always really enjoyed it. I was determined to do well and excel in it so I put a lot of extra time in it in the summer and on the weekends practicing. Well once I got up to the junior high level I was doing quite well and had improved tremendously after attending a couple of basketball camps over the summer, but I was not getting any playing time. Towards the end of the season my parents decided to transfer me to a new school for academic reasons and I finished the season off there earning a starting spot. I continued to enjoy the game and was very eager to learn new skills to become a better player, but once I entered the high school level, things changed. Usually in high school people start to find their place and figure out what they are good at and not and so did I.
The countless hours spent going over flashcards for my SAT words, pouring over AP notes, taking extra swings in the cages, and the airplane rides back east flashed before my mind as the phone rang. It seemed like my whole future would be decided in this one moment. I was confident that I had done everything I possibly could, and it was daunting to know that now the decision was not under my control. I knew I had worked my butt off to try and get this spot on the Harvard softball team, my biggest goal. Hands and voice shaking, I took a deep breath and pressed “Answer.”
Growing up in a small townhouse, I would see my father only once a week on Sundays because he was working long hours the rest of the week. When meeting him, I would become very emotional because I knew that the reason I could not see him other days of the week was because he was working. My father’s hard work and perseverance gave me the drive to become someone that he would be proud of. My goal is to become someone that he can say to himself it was worth the long and strenuous hours spent at work.
Many parents and peers would say it is a gift that he has-- intense concentration and endurance, but he likes to call it “strength under control.” The truth is, under each attempt to gain control, is a wavering risk taker who is humbled by each unlikely victory that would always bring him to tears. That person is me. I like to thinking innovatively and calculate at least seven moves deep into the most risky and daring variations. At the 2013 National Championships, first table, I was paired against my close friend and arch-rival Austin Yang, the Taiwan chess champion. Everyone knew Austin was a machine, he had destroyed his previous opponents and had barely lost any game that year. To have a winning chance, I had to play the unconventional--the
Before I was born, my father had been looked up upon his family, he aimed to be the best so he decided to leave Pakistan and start a new life in America and bring his family along. Money was limited to him and for 10 years he had worked non-stop just to form a living and also to bring his brother to Texas. My dad would not stop hustling even after he was able to bring his brother to Texas both of them had worked till they were able to bring the whole family from Pakistan. The following years he was able to open his first dry cleaning business and even after he still had plans on opening extra businesses. I was born in 1997 and that same year he had closed his dry cleaning business to pursue his dream of being an international entrepreneur in the used clothing business.
It is very hard to fit in when the odds are against you. I came to the United States from the land of wood and water, beautiful beaches, the world’s best jerk chicken and some of the friendliest people in the word; that are known for our warm smiles and welcoming personalities. If you have not already guessed this place by now, then please allow me to take you out of your misery. I am a proud black Jamaican single mother, who came here in search of a better future for myself and my daughter. I was blinded by the many advertisements that showcase the land of opportunities: filled with vigor and enthusiasm. I was ready to take on the world and leave my mark, but I was quickly stuffed into a small corner designed for people of color.
For years I had been hiking the same dull, barren trail. There was nothing to see besides the empty, looming trees on either side of the path and nothing to hear besides the constant crunch of dead leaves underfoot. Day after day, I marched aimlessly; however, I soon stumbled upon a divergent road. The contrast was astonishing. Where my current pathway was monotonous, the other was alive. Its trees were blazing with vibrant auburns and golds, and some of their leaves danced in the wind. Patches of daisies and dandelions peaked out from underneath piles of fallen leaves. I was entranced by the warm kiss of the sun, the rich smell of flowers, and the chatter of woodland creatures. It held a secret: the wondrous beauty of life. Although I was not sure what this trail would hold for me later on, I was eager to embark on this new journey.
Gowing up to spend the past 18 years of my life on the Chicago Westside has been an interesting journey. I currently live in the Austin community, where there is a population of 98,514 in 2010 and 85.1% is Black, 8.58% is Hispanic, and 4.43% is White. Growing up in an area of complete violence and poverty felt like a game. Making sure you stay on your side of the block, making sure you’re home before dark, and even making sure you never walk alone. Never. A lot of people get scared when they hear about a life like this, but it's reality for me, and I honestly feel pretty comfortable with the people surrounding me. They look like me, talk like me, and even dress like me. We all watch out for each other. It's a family beyond blood that was built in my community. I live on a block where it is 95% Black. Besides my family, there is only one other Hispanic family. I never really left my community or the type of people I surround myself with either. I honestly didn't feel comfortable leaving and going into a “White” community. But my comfort level was really tested when I left for the summer to the
My whole family enter the United States by my grandfather, he served as a military man in haiti, and enter her by a boat and year later when he became a resident brought all of us, my goal is to be successfully and make my parents and grandfather proud.
D3 is an international research program which utilizes undergraduate students to develop potential drug leads. As one of the first waves of undergraduate researchers, I synthesized potential drugs to help degrade and prevent the formation of biofilms. These drugs could potentially be used as a form of treatment for cystic fibrosis. During the initial stage of the program, Professor Denton introduced us to the concept of utilizing science to deal with global humanitarian challenges. One of the challenges Denton focused on was neglected diseases. Due to the high cost of drug research and development, large pharmaceutical companies have very little interest in diseases that affect poverty-stricken individuals living in developing nations due to the lack of profitability. Professor Denton and others’ aims to combat neglected diseases by breaking the large complicated process of drug discovery into smaller manageable pieces was awe-inspiring and has led to my interest in studying neglected diseases, particularly malaria.
Approximately nineteen million people are affected by fear. Facing fears can be tough to overcome. Although facing a fear can be beneficial, it can also have you gain confidence in your abilities. For example a little boy can be scared of the water, then after he had experienced, or
“Would you rather surf in Punta Cana or hike the Appalachian Trail?”, the anesthesiologist asked. To humor him, I replied “Hmm, I would probab—”.