Personal Statement

I was born on February 14, 1993 in the city of La Vega, Dominican Republic and came to New York at the age of 10. The fact that my first language is Spanish placed me at a disadvantage from the minute I stepped a foot in the United States since even at the airport I was not able to communicate with the agent. My biggest struggle was school. I had a bilingual teacher, but the class was taught in English only and most of my classmates only spoke English.

My most rewarding accomplishment consists of my ability to overcome the fear and weakness that was conceived upon my arrival to the United States from Mexico, in addition to a newly evolved character which allowed me to achieve academic, professional, and personal success. Nearly seven years ago, my mother and I immigrated from a harsh economic climate in Mexico that was plagued with unemployment. Additionally, our family faced bankruptcy. While holding onto our faith, we left our hometown with only what we could carry and bought two one-way bus tickets. With nothing more than fear, two bags, and $50 in each of our pockets, we set out for what would be the most challenging journey of our lives.

My family has always been the center of my universe. They’ve taught me the importance of being united and taking care of one another—because in the end, all we truly have is each other. My parents have raised me to be a good daughter, sister, and citizen. They’ve shaped me to be respectful, responsible, and virtuous, knowing these values will last a lifetime. But above all, my parents have instilled in me an appreciation and eagerness for education.

At the beginning of my sophomore year, August 2015, I fractured my left ankle. My second season of cross country had just begun. The whole team had a Saturday practice at Atlanta Memorial Park. We came to this park for a time trial. Not being able to run was going to be a challenge for me. I loved running, and seeing myself not run was going to be hard for me.

I don’t recall having a hard time learning how to read. It was one of those things that just came easily to me for some reason. For the most part I enjoyed reading as well. The only time I didn’t enjoy reading was when I didn’t understand a certain word or a certain phrase. One of the strongest memories I have from learning to read was when I was unable to pronounce the word “the”.

Starting middle school challenges any kid transitioning into a teenager. Simple small changes like going from cubbies to lockers excite students. Bigger changes like transitioning from one all day class to six individual classes and pluses and minuses to letter grades can leave some students shell-shocked with new responsibilities. I remember the struggle I had keeping up with all of this in my first year. I found social studies homework especially difficult for me. I went to class and didn’t give the course work my best effort. As a result, my grades slipped to the point that I had failing grades in a few classes. I didn’t know what to do, and didn’t really want to do anything about it. I was drowning in a pool of laziness. One evening, I nearly began trembling when my mother decided she wanted to check my grades.

In my brief life, I have overcome a lot of adversity. My mom fled Mexico with her three young children to escape domestic violence. When we came to this country we had only a few personal belongings and the promise of a better future. We came to this country and lived in a small trailer with no toilet other than a bucket, and no shower except for the one that was lent to us from the kindness of a stranger, our new neighbor. As a single parent, my mother had to work day and night to support us. While she was working long hours cleaning people’s houses, as the oldest of three children, I had to quickly learn how to cook, how to clean and take care of my siblings. From getting the kids ready for school, helping them with their homework, and

Starting 7th grade in a secondary school can be a horrifying experience for any 12-year old. Going from a piddling elementary school to a voluminous secondary school can be tough to adjust to, especially if you have an IEP. Having an IEP has always made me insecure about how I perform in school. I feel as if I am not as smart at the other kids, and most people don’t understand. Many people don’t know what an IEP is and I fear that when I tell them they might think I’m dumb.

Malcom Gladwell, the author of The Outliers, analyzes the factors to success based on real-life example. Through statistical facts and logical reasoning, he attempts to prove how success is more than just hard work and being intelligent. He supports his arguments with accurately calculated statistical facts to gain the trust of his audience and to work towards 2proving his points. Gladwell determines the reasons of success by comparing well-known successful people and finding commonalities between those people.

Growing up in Indonesia, it was very tough because my parents did not have great jobs and couldn’t provide food to the table every day but they worked and tried their hardest. Everyone in Indonesia dreams of coming to America because it is the land of opportunities, however, coming to America is not an easy process. In Indonesia, there wasn’t a public school system so the only form of education was through private school, which was highly inaccessible to many due to the high costs. Luckily, I received the opportunity to come to the United States and I never took that for granted because I saw how bad conditions can really be in less fortunate countries. I arrived to the states when I was 5 and enrolled in elementary school. On my first day of school, I was terrified because I knew no English, everyone looked different, and I didn't know anyone. It was very hard to make friends because I didn't understand what they said and I couldn't communicate with them.

I was grown up in Vietnam, I 've had lived there for 13 years, and my family moved to the United States for better life and education. I went through a lot of challenges, but the most difficult one is a language barrier. I couldn 't speak English and couldn 't communicate with anybody in school. The school I went to doesn 't have Vietnamese and I couldn 't ask for help. I was struggling with school, and I didn 't learn anything for years. I tried my best to wake up early to learn new vocabulary and try to speak so people can understand. It was hard for me because people were laughing at me for having an accent and couldn 't speak well. I stand up and started to learn every day, finding a good friend, and fighting for the right that I must

The first half of this semester was swift and I can’t believe how fast it passed by. College is a whole new world for me that I had never imagined with a lot of new experiences that I hope will shift me into a better and smarter person. There are more things I can do in college that I would have never dared to do in high school and I am happy for these new freedoms. I am able to eat in class, leave class without asking and they don’t care if I pay attention or not. My high school teachers would always tell me to wait for the bell, sometimes would not let me leave and if I did not pay attention they would yell. However, I still feel trapped due to the immense academic stress. Academic stress is the worst as it defeats the “freedom”

Let’s go back to five years ago. Things happened during my high school period, really changed me a lot. When I was fifteen years old, my family move from China to America, and that was my first time came to America. To be honest, the first few months of my high school life is a torture for me. Why I describe that period time as a torture? The reason was I suffered school-bulling and teasing in the first month. At that time, my English was very poor, so I can barely write a few short paragraphs and read some short article. Also, I was shy, and very scared to talk to people. That was the first month in my high school, in a Language and Arts class. Our English teacher Mr. Peterson let us read an eight pages article and wrote three paragraphs journal about our opinions. It was easy for my classmates because they were all Americans, but it was hard for me. I was the only one who cannot finish that in-class assignment, so I just

In one person’s life, there can be many changes. Some of them are small and do not have a very big effect on your life. However, other events are very important and can completely change a person’s life, such as moving to a new country, joining the military, getting married, or buying a house. Two of the events that have changed my life the most was moving to the United States and the joining the military. When I first arrived in the United States, I was only twelve years old. I had to go to school even though I did not speak the English. I was in a special program called ESOL, this program help me to learn the language and be able to complete all my middle school and high school classes. When I graduated high school, I decided to join the military. This event had the most effect on my life, it lead me to be the person that I am today.

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be successful in life. I have always wanted to be the better version of my parents and achieve many things in life. During my freshman year in High school, I knew I was going to major in business. I come from a household of five, my father, mother, two younger sisters, and myself. I am the first in my family to go to college and with that being said, I have always felt the pressure to be the best role model and example for my younger sisters. Growing up, my parents have always been really strict on me, more than they have been with my younger sisters. I never really understood why, until now two months after my fathers’ death. My fathers’ dream was always to see his three daughters graduate with a college degree. Both of my parents, especially my father always expressed to me the importance my education, for my future. He always told me to never depend on anyone, to work hard for myself and with a diploma I could achieve lots of success.