Prompt #1: Describe the world you come from—for example, your family, community or school—and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Thousands of haphazard events, no matter how miniscule, shape who we are. No two people have gone through the same things and came out the same. At a young age my family was blessed with the circumstance of divorce. At a point where my life was critical, rejection had burned itself into my head and put me through a depression that no person deserves to experience. But at the end of all that, at a point where most would cut away and fall through the cracks of society, I held strong and forced myself ahead of everyone else, overcoming my adversity. Allow me to share with you the deck of cards dealt to me and what I made of them.
At the age of four, my parents divorced. This left my two brothers, one younger, the other older, in a split situation. From that point until much later in my life, every week I had to switch settings. At my father’s home, life was stable, even on a construction worker’s salary, but at my mother’s on the other hand, food wasn’t always on the table. Even through rough times, however, I was very advanced intellectually for my age and progressed well in school, but my teachers would have never guessed that their little star student was going through chaos and abuse almost daily at home.
Upon departure of my elementary school, I was one of few who held straight A’s the entire span of my enrollment. At the start of the fifth grade, my world was being heavily shaped by the unbending support my father provided, but outside of that safe haven, things were becoming rough. My mother had failed me as a provider and as a rock to rely on. On top of this, I had begun receiving great criticism for my cheap, Wal-Mart clothing and appearance at school. This is where I learned that being smart didn’t make you popular, as I had once felt; it made you a person to copy off of. This led to a downward spiral that continued for years until halfway through high school.
After years of gathering distrust toward anyone’s motives, high school came. My intelligence made me look like I was doing fine, even though every day was a war. In sophomore year I began AP classes because I wanted to avoid the immaturity of normal classes; but during the course of my enrollment in these, my problems with my mother had escalated. As a result, I achieved C’s for the first time. This effectively destroyed any hope I had had for college or a brighter future that is promised to those who work hard. I was infuriated with myself, having no hope left for a brighter future, I considered suicide, but then I realized that I needed to fix how I let people treat me. I found that I alone could change how things are, so, deciding to seek a more positive environment, I left my mother’s home. Being in the stable environment my dad was a master at creating, I finished up the year with great grades and passed all of my AP exams, where I previously assumed I had no hope in achieving. Suddenly things opened up and I was able to excel, as well as confidence that imbued me with many friends and undying hope.
Through great suffering, I became something strong. I believe that having gone through all of this has given me a sense of humility that no one around me possesses. I believe that it has also determined what I aspire to accomplish in my career. Because my father was there for me in my times of need, I want to be there for people who do not have anyone who can help them. I also hope to find ways to express what I feel is the right way to think about life, and how we can grow by doing what we think is right, not by what is popular or easy. Growing up in a world accompanied by experiences with divorce, a sense of abandonment, and the unforgiving social attitude of peers, one would think it impossible to come out of the grinder on top. However, as you can see, impossible is just the line where you decide to stop and give up. (720 Words)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
