<p>Hello world.</p>
<p>This is my first post on this website and I am seeking some advice for my upcoming transfer from a California community college to university (leaning towards UCI and UCSD). I am going to sum up a long and crazy story in an effort to get some advice. Here goes nothing...</p>
<p>I graduated high school in 2006 and quickly got into drugs soon after. I "went to school", and by that I mean signed up for community college courses, barely went, and received F after F, withdrawal after withdrawal. When I finally got clean, I went back and figured out my major (computer science), wiped out old bad grades through academic renewal and repeating courses, and all-around grew up. My GPA is pretty solid (3.75), and I am guaranteed entrance into UC Irvine through the Transfer Admission Guarantee program that California offers.</p>
<p>However, I am beginning the process of drafting my personal statement and have a simple question... how do I approach the following prompt?</p>
<p>Prompt :: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?</p>
<p>I am most certainly going to have to explain years and years of bad grades, the time I didn't go to school at all, and how I pulled myself out of it and started to get nothing but A's and B's. Should I directly mention that I was a drug addict? Should I summarize it a bit but not directly state that I was doing drugs? Really not sure how to approach this.</p>
<p>Any and all information will be appreciated. Thanks!</p>