I am a sophomore in high school. Recently, I realized that I need to go to Harvard. My whole family escaped genocide in Cambodia and came to America for a better life. However, this “better life” has long been forgotten with survival. My family opened a donut shop when they came to America to make ends meet. They believed that once they were on their feet, they would be able to go to college and expand their reaches. They have been working in the same business just trying to survive for 40 years, and have forgotten the once unbreakable American facade of “freedom and opportunity”.
Now, why exactly do I need to go to Harvard? There are so many other colleges which offer the same opportunities, and I could achieve the same credentials at almost any place. I need to attend Harvard for two reasons: the ethical appeal and the proximity from my family. Although my family has been in America for decades, it has sort of secluded itself from Western influence. My family barely knows anything about Western traditions, and the only college they have EVER heard of is Harvard. They know it is the “best college” in America. If I went there, if I got into the “best college” in America, I feel like my family would begin to realize what they forgot. I believe that if I get accepted into Harvard, my family will remember their true intentions for coming to America and that our family is destined for greatness. Furthermore, since my family escaped mass murder together, you would think that my aunts and uncles would be extremely close. However, my family is plagued with internal strife. I will list them and possible ways that Harvard may impact the situation. My grandmother and uncle gamble every day of the week, to the point where I never see them anymore. However, there have been numerous attempts by my mom and aunt to dissuade them from this horrible habit. If I go to Harvard, I feel as if they could reassess the situation and compare themselves to me and wish to change. With Harvard, I will start with my family then change the world. I wish to major in neuroscience. Sure, I will make a decent amount of money but I am not one of those people who becomes president of an organization just to put it on my resume. I will win a nobel prize from my developments in addiction, Alzheimers, and Tourette’s syndrome. (I have minor tourette’s syndrome and have already done a lot of research into it, but I will not go into this because many people have it much worse than I do. Why complain when I can fix it?) Next, I have two amazing cousins who have indecent parents. When I was in 5th grade, my reading level was barely at 9th grade standards. One of my cousin’s, however, was at an 11th grade level. They have amazing potential!!! Their parents are horrible, and neglect them and such. I recently saw one of their report cards and there were C’s! And the worst part: I volunteered to help them, and the parents got defensive and said they could raise their own children! I’ve found a small hole in their stubbornness. The stigma of all Asian parents: “who was the best child?”. If I get into Harvard, I am absolutely sure my mom will brag to her about it (even though the 4th paragraph… #joyluckclub). When she does, I believe that the little cousins and the parents will have competition and strive for greatness. The last one I will talk about are my two poor uncles. They are severely depressed, one is a gambling addict and one works in his donut shop just sitting 17 hours a day watching movies. As if this weren’t already bad enough, both are unmarried and have major gingivitis. One of them uncles can barely eat, and has lost 50 pounds in the past year. However, they are so depressed that they refuse to get new teeth and just wait inevitably until their death. If I get into Harvard, they will realize that they were a part of something great. They helped raise me (minimally) to get to the “best school” in the country. They will realize that they, too, are worth something. Even further, I think that they will want to raise a child and attempt to feel the opportunities of America through that child. My family suffers through a lot more, from alcoholic egotistical uncles to having absolutely not friends, but if you want to hear about that maybe we can talk later. I will, however, talk about myself in the next paragraph.