Here is a personal statement that I drafted for the UC topic- Describe the world and your environment and how it has impacted your dreams and aspirations. Please read and tell me about what I need to fix.
The world is a complicated place and is ever so full of inequalities that we don’t seem to understand. Our concept of the world is typically very shallow and is full of the material wealth and greed that tends to plague today’s society. You see, I find very little meaning to talk about what I don’t have but rather to focus on the things I have and how they build me up as a person. I was born in China in 1998 and immigrated to the US when I was four. My parents, like all immigrants, worked hard for their buck and tried their best to etch out a living in what seemed liked the unforgiving environment we called the United States. Until recently, however, I have never really appreciated the process and the story behind what I am today. You see, the achievements and the immigration is only a mask above the true story; the story that completely describes the person that I have become. My dad is the central piece of this story as he is the most inspirational character in my life. Born in 1960s rural china to a family of six, my dad and his family worked very hard to produce the bare minimum needed to sustain life. He went to school, but had terrible grades and was never a really good student. Nevertheless, he realized how much education was a necessity if he wanted to amount to anything more than just a field worker. It was through his persistence that he was able to improve his grades and go to college in China. Persistence would be a frequented quality as he met hurdles at every step in his career. Going to college at 30, solving immigration issues, and dealing with me, his now 6 year old son would be three of his main obstacles. Fast forward just 11 years, and I can look back on my life and feel proud of the success that my father has in his field, and how he’s able to help others just like him succeed as well. His story may be very common, but to me, he’s the role model of what I want to become: to dream big, think big, and always have the future in sight. Many times he’d tell me how no one would ever guess or dare to think that a naïve little boy from the village could grow up to become an internationally recognized professor at one of the most prestigious universities in America. In some ways, you can say he achieved the impossible because he dared to think. And he thought big. He learned English at 30, went to class with people nearly half his age, and most importantly, pushed forward when everything told him to fall back. I see numerous people who have more than me, who are more wealthy, talented, intelligent (and I’m sure my dad has seen those as well), but I always remember to focus on the things I have and to remember that there are many more people who are not as fortunate as me. It’s because life is not black and white and not everyone starts at the same line. Life is a staggered race, and because of my dad, I can open my eyes and realize that I run my own race to fulfill my own dreams and inspirations. The journey to success is one of a million miles but with some fuel called persistence and a navigation system called inspiration, we can find our way to light. That is why I want to be like my dad; become successful not because of how talented or how wealthy you are, not because of where you start in the beginning, but where you end up in the end, and be the humble and compassionate person that he is: fulfilling life by helping others, one step at a time.
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