No matter what time zone I am in, my phone buzzes most frequently when I am asleep. Whether a missed call from a friend in Kenya, an email from a musical collaborator in Canada, or a LinkedIn message from a U.K. investor in my educational startup, I eagerly wake each morning to many new notifications. Growing up, I traveled extensively, living on three different continents. In fact, my passport looked like my coloring book. Learning five languages and adapting to foreign environments while maintaining my identity, has taught me to value different skills, including networking.
In my four years of high school, I have been very active in everything the school has to offer. I have filled up my after school hours playing sports, performing in plays and choral concerts, and working at the school to help teach the younger generations Language Arts. During my summers, I volunteer at summer school to assist in the math classes for middle school and high schoolers while I also have a job being a lifeguard. Basketball, softball, and golf are the sports that I’ve played over my high school career. I’ve participated in four years of basketball and softball, and three years in golf.
High school is one of the greatest pivotal times in a human's life. It is where young adults are able to form their own opinions on the world, find activities they are passionate about, and learn to create fruitful relationships with their peers and teachers. However, I did not initially view high school as a period of time for growth and development. Instead, I saw it simply as another task to complete before I entered the real world. I did not take advantage of all the opportunities around me and I began to find school to be institutionalized or meaningless.
Growing up as a kid, I felt as though I didn’t really fit into the lifestyle of my hometown city. My parents worked overtime, my sister had school to deal with, so I didn’t really get the amount of education that I deserved. I was always the type of talkative student that needed to be disciplined in many various ways; I was either ignoring what I was being taught, annoying my fellow classmates, or doing something that I’m not supposed to do. My life processed drastically through my elementary school years, even when it came to a point where I needed to stop slacking and earn the right amount of education that I’ve missed so far. My parents happened to hire a tutor to help me through all the lost amount of subject homework that I’ve postponed so far, to get my grades up in order to promote me to middle school.
I have always wanted to make a huge impact on society. I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to change the world for the better, in some shape or form. It is a goal that has been on the back of my mind for the past month or so. It would be such a great privilege to take an opportunity and be a part of a scientific research that studies different topics and issues that are crucial to find the needed answers.
Attaining a higher education as a student that comes from a low-income family has been one of my greatest achievements as an individual. I am a first-year student as well as first generation in my family to go to college. Where I grew up opportunities of studying abroad is merely unheard of. Harlingen, Texas is where I have lived my entire life and is today considered the poorest city in the nation. On many occasions we are predominantly Latino and don’t come from much.
I would like to start with a confession, I am the prime example of a jack of all trades. I am interested in, and participate in anything that can help change the world for the best. I am however currently in love with climate responsive architecture design and the importance of education to young people. Why am I interested in empowering the education of young people?
The shoulders of the giants I’m born and raised up in Taiwan, a small country next to China. Since we were in our young age, we had already have a sense to compete each other in our academic. We had to study day and night, spending most of our time diving in the textbooks and getting good grades. It was a world that only use grade to value a person. Our home is right across an elementary school and also a junior high school nearby.
High school has impacted my life in so many ways. High School taught me so many things, from personal relationships to creating a relationship with my education. As a freshman, I made a huge amount of mistakes and I regret doing foolish things, but I’ve realized, I was only maturing into the young adult I am today. Freshman year, I was out of focus and I was only trying to find myself. I would also prioritize other things and ignore my parent’s advice, where they would tell me to focus in school and give it my full attention.
Throughout the 18-years of my life, I have developed high standards for myself. I am realizing that I should have unwavering courses of action of how I will begin, and further, my financial future. My parents have been two fundamental aspects in my life because, even though they struggled in the beginning, they turned their mountain of debt and turned it into a beautiful life lesson. They in turn taught me a monumental lesson that I will apply throughout my life. Managing money, budgeting, and not relying on plastic are, in my opinion, key mechanisms to a financially stable environment.
My Junior Year Born and raised in Mississippi, I grew up playing tennis when my father introduced the sport to me at age four. It was a slow process in the beginning while I played several other sports including basketball, soccer, and swimming. At some point, I chose to give up the other activities to put all of my focus on one sport: the sport I enjoyed the most, tennis. I played around the city with everyone up until my junior year, when I realized my resources in Mississippi were limited compared to other people living in different states. I elected to give up my life, friends, and family to jump out of my comfort zone and see if I could reach my full potential at a tennis academy called Randy Pate Tennis Academy in Winston-Salem, North
Personal Narrative Essay Believe it or not, sometimes a gracious action can bring a huge influence on a person. When I read the introduction that instructor Heller wrote, there is a sentence she wrote: “Sometimes the most influential moments in our lives are smaller moments, events that we may not recognize as influential until years after the experience.” For some reason, I related to it strongly. My story is about my high school experience. Also, I will share some significant moments in my life, and how these smaller moments changed my personality.
“My Greatest Two Years” I am Kyla Aeisha Tan, a student of Uno High School from the Philippines. If I were to describe myself in one word, it would be spontaneous. Why? It is because I always strive to exceed others’ expectations. I try to not fit in any specific stereotype and just be my weird and unique self.
If you really knew me, you would know I’m an honest individual, so I’m going to say what’s on my mind and not hold back. The life of a high schooler is rough. Depressing, distressing and straight-up woeful. It is often said the time spent in high school is the greatest time of someone’s life. I’m four years into the high school experience, and I still can’t comprehend that statement considering all the fatigue and stress involved.
High school grows you into the person you are. I have great memories, good and bad, some learning experiences and some that I’ll take with me the rest of my life. My high school experience has influenced my development as a person inside and outside of the class by making me more independent, choosing friends wisely and teachers motivating me to attend college and accomplish goals I have set for myself. I have gained my independence slowly throughout high school. The importance of being independent is being secure with who you are and what you believe in.
