<p>Hey, I'm really bad at judging my own work (especially writing & personal stuff), could someone tell me what they think of my essay? Btw, this is the Common App essay, not the supplemental one.</p>
<p>Its a nervous wait until April :S...</p>
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<p>My mother recently declared bankruptcy. I knew we had financial difficulties but I was oblivious as to the severity of the situation, perhaps because my mother, in an attempt to avoid worrying me, didnt tell me anything I didnt need to know. This unexpected piece of news was almost like a reality check and it got me thinking.</p>
<p>It got me thinking about my father, and how irresponsible, even callous, he was. Since my parents separation in 1999, I havent seen or heard from him. In the last few years, my mother has tried, on several occasions, to contact him to ask for some financial support, and each time, my father has replied by saying that it isnt his problem before hanging up. I barely know him, but I do feel some animosity towards my father. I just resent the kind of man he is. From what I can recall, he was abusive towards my mother and he was perennially unemployed, leaving my mother to earn all the money. I just cant understand how a man can be aware of the fact that somewhere in the world he has two children, and not feel a shred of responsibility. Watching my mother struggle alone has made me determined to do whatever it takes to avoid becoming the man my father is.</p>
<p>Currently, I feel powerless. Before Id assumed that eventually, everything would be fine, but the bankruptcy has, in a sense, opened my eyes to the bleakness of our current situation. I know for a fact that my mother is intelligent, but the fact is that she is a single mother of two who, to UK employers, has no recognisable qualifications and as a result is self-employed. I also feel guilty as my mother would have a masters degree in German Literature were it not for my birth (which persuaded her to focus on motherhood instead), and perhaps, in that case, shed be securely employed. In Korea, my mother was in a stable job and our family was financially secure; the fact that my mother sacrificed not just family and friends but also wealth to the point of bankruptcy all in the pursuit of a greater education, here in England, has strengthened my resolve to ensure that all of this wasnt just in vain and has convinced me that I must do everything to seize any opportunities I may receive.</p>
<p>Some people are ambitious by nature, others, by choice. Im ambitious by circumstance. My mother has raised me and my brother alone for 12 years, and the bankruptcy has made my mothers sacrifice abundantly clear to me. Rather than responding with despondence, I feel I have to view this event in my life as something to galvanise me into action. I wont be able to stop the banks closing my mothers account next month but in the long-term, through education, I hope I can improve the situation and I hope I can repay my mother for everything shes done.</p>