College Admissions Essay: How I Moved Myself

Initially after high school I decided to move across the country in order to find myself, my passions, and my career goals. I attended WW-P South in Princeton Junction where many of my friends chose TCNJ. I always loved TCNJ but I knew I wasn't academically ready to be part of the community just yet. I started at a private university in California which turned out to be an amazing experience but also a lesson learned that it was not for me. Everything was new and overwhelming and it was the first time being completely on my own. After completing my freshmen year, I moved to a community college to do better academically and work a little on the side. My passion for pursing a degree boosted during my second community college that I attended.

I am a first-generation, Chicano and will soon finish my last semester before I transfer to a four year university in the upcoming fall. Coming from a first-generation household, I have had to overcome many obstacles to be in the position that I am now in. Community college has been a valuable resource that has allowed me to pursue an amazing education at a low price which has eased the burden of high tuition on my parents. Sometimes it is the cost of education that impedes those that seek it and scholarships are one avenue in which they become easier to travel down the path to success. Coming out of Gilroy High School years ago, I was unsure of what I wanted to major in and devote myself to but I had the amazing opportunity of enrolling in University of California, Merced.

I have always wanted to get an advanced degree. I was late in getting my undergraduate degree due to working while in high school. Once I started making money, I found it difficult to quit work to go back to school. Then, several years later after becoming a single parent, I had the chance to move back in with my parents.

As a little girl, I dreamed of attending college and having a career. Others my age were preoccupied with dreams of the perfect wedding or husband, but I was busy envisioning myself attending a prestigious university, acing my classes and becoming a successful woman. Along the way, the profession I aspired to be has changed, the desire to go to an ivy league school has changed, but the dream to attend college has never faltered. I have overcome many challenges and setbacks on this journey, but at 28 years old I am finally ready to take the leap and fulfill my dreams. Growing up there was no one in my life that told me I could be whatever I wanted to be.

What Shaped my Life School has not always been the best experienced for me. I have faced many challenges that sometimes made me think I would never succeed. I had teachers put me down and say that I was never going to make it through school. It is like the good and bad angel on my shoulder when it came to school. I had one telling me I was dumb and not capable of passing my classes and then there was my angels telling me I could.

At the age of 39, I decided to return to school and finish my undergraduate degree. Being a single mother I wanted my kids to see how hard work and dedication can really pay off if you commit yourself and push through any adversities, you will win. I received my degree in Healthcare Management and I have been working in health insurance for over fifteen years. Working with people and helping others is my passion. I love to see a smiling happy face.

Next, I made a commitment to nurture and treat myself more often. I’ve learned to forgive myself for my mistakes because those mistakes do not define who I

In today’s society the human race judges off of what people have accomplished throughout their life. Studies show that people that do not further their education right after high school have a hard time finding a good paying job. Going into the military right after high school was the ideal plan, but unfortunately that did not work out too well for me. The goal was to be exactly what you saw on television with the Military Swat Team. Growing up all I watched was crime shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, and my favorite NCIS.

Ever since I was able to reach the sink, I have helped to clean the dishes. My family takes longer to wash dishes than most because we wash every recyclable before putting it in the bin. I always threw a fit because I did not understand why we had to wash our garbage, and it was not until later that I learned it was so that everything we put in our bin would be accepted by the recycling plant.

My college application would be incomplete without me explaining how I got to where I am today. See there for awhile there was a pretty good chance I wasn’t going to graduate. I have a brain condition called Chiari Malformation, which means that I was born with my brain to low in my head and while I was growing it was slowly squeezing my brain. This caused me to have debilitating migraines that made me lose all control of my body. I couldn’t talk, couldn’t move, every muscle in my body tensed up as tight as they can be, and there was nothing I could do to communicate what was going on with me. For awhile doctors had no idea why it was happening just that we had to get it under control soon because the pain was so bad I would almost have a stroke. I still remember how scared I was every time because I never knew if this would be the end for me.

In short, the move to college was rough. Transition into college is an experience unlike any other and one that I had to find resources for on my own. Being the first generation in my family to attend college, I didn’t not have much by way off aid in order to help guide me through the process of applications and subsequently the process of entering the university academic world. Having no knowledge of how to write an essay or what college would require of me, I attempted to take it head on, and spent my junior year working; spending all of the money I made in order to hire a college counselor who could help me, first, even get into college. This turned out to be a poor choice on my part; I made it through the application process but never learned the why to the choices we made for my essays and applications or how they would relate to other applications in the future.

Moving away from home has been one of the biggest challenges that I have had to face so far in the eighteen years of my life. Moving from my home town to the collge dorm was a difficult transition that was necessary for growing up both mentally and physically as an individual. The little more than five hundred miles that separates me from my friends and family has allowed me to become the person I am today, and the distance allows me to grow and become more familiar with things that are a whole new experience for me. One of the many new things that I have had to deal with was making new friends in my environment.

During our teenage years, we often become confused and lose track of who we are and what we are passionate of. Although I acknowledge that I am losing certain things in life, I am also gaining a variety of opportunities to make up my losses. I believe that I should be the winner of this scholarship because I have rediscovered what I can am zealous about and my first step to accomplishing my goal is to attend the college of my dreams. With this scholarship, I can lift a bit of the burden of tuition off of my family and can thoroughly keep my concentration on my studies in order to achieve my goal of becoming a successful financial adviser and help others improve their living situations. If I were to be awarded this scholarship, I can then reach

This is so crazy. So, so, so crazy. My hearts beating, my hands are sweaty, and I’m not even sure if I can get everything I want to say into words, let alone into this little and compressed word document. I can’t help chuckle, close my eyes, and shake my head in disbelief when I try to imagine the smaller version of myself wandering through Juanita’s hall. I’ve changed so much as a person, both physically and mentally.

I never thought of turning back even though I knew that re-entering society to start a new life and living life well seemed very challenging then. On the other hand that watershed brought hope of a new beginning that became my inspirational impetus. It endowed me with true courage to take on and pursue that intimidating endeavour. When I re-entered society I had nothing else except a promise to myself that I must be determined and disciplined in whatever I do in my life. Then I was poor (monetary), had no qualification, poor in the English language and had a contaminated mind-set with warped attitudes. I had to put in place a strategy to guide me in my learning and growing in order to achieve a distinct transformation of me.