<p>Please be honest with your feedbacks. I am doing option number 5, which is any topic I want. I don't have a prompt to go with my essay unless I am presesd to invent one. (Also, Chicago is my first choice, should I add a message on my additional info section stating that on my word of honor I will go if accepted? sounds corny i know...)</p>
<p>Being the third child born to the family, I am evidence of a severe violation of Chinas One Child Policy. Though I surmise that I could be an unwanted accident, my mother resisted it all to bring me to the world alive. After I was born, what awaited my parents was a big fine that they could not pay. Fortunately my grandfather, an accomplished engineer in America, acted as our bridge to the States.</p>
<p>Unable to bear with the sudden increased level of noises and bothering, my step grandmother and grandfather decided to move to California from New Jersey, cutting all contact and support. Our family faced a dilemma; alone and muted in this new world, my father insisted that we return to China immediately; but my mother said she was staying with the children with or without him. My father was a lost soul. He lost his courage and was troubled in his sleep. My mother, in a sense, became the new man of the house when she marched out and got a job in a windows manufacturing factory. She walked five miles to work everyday until we found an apartment that was closer. Eventually my mom convinced the manager to bring my father on board too. </p>
<p>To me, my mother is the epitome of selflessness. Though my father has worked hard, my mother seemed to be always working. They worked in the factory for at least ten hours a day, six days a week. After they came home, my mother would take care of housework as well. Every time somebody would call her to go to sleep, she would say, Ill just finish up this one last bit. Due to his illnesses, my father was laid off two years ago and he has been unemployed ever since. Mom has become our sole provider. I remember when I was a little boy, I had asked mom if she had super powers, and she said, Of course I do. I still believe her.</p>
<p>I started first grade in September, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do in school. Without much guidance, I got Cs in almost every class; Fs were averted by my high test scores while As were averted by my truancy when it comes to homework. My ESL teacher had an insultingly low expectation of me as an unguided child, telling my parents that if I loved school as much as other Asian students, I might be able to go to college. But what hurt mothers feelings even more was the fact that I got into frequent playground fist fights. Why? she asked. I told her that I could not take insults, and I had to defend myself. Mom inquired about transferring me to another school, and realized we could only do so if we moved. So we moved.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I failed my mother and myself by continually being a trouble maker and a slacker. One day soon after my sophomore year started, Mom became very sick at night and we had to rush her to the hospital she had developed a bad kidney infection and other illnesses. I stayed all night with her in the hospital. When she awoke, the first thing she said to me was, Son, why are you here? Go to school, and after the interruption of several coughs she said, and do well. At that precise moment, I felt that I was the most deplorable infidel that had ever had the liberty to breathe. I nodded with conviction. </p>
<p>I achieved honor roll for the first time in my sophomore year. It was a spark in the dark night that became a conflagration. Today, even though I still feel that I must catch up to the better man that is certainly out there, there is darkness no more; I have new ambitions, new goals, and an ever greater thirst for knowledge. </p>
<p>After dinner, my family gathers around the living room table. My mother seems happy just watching me do my work. From time to time, she asks if I am hungry or if I need anything. Mom has sacrificed so much for this family because she has never let go of her dreams, and I know she has a dream for me. Sitting next to mom and seeing her smile gives me comfort. I promise myself from the bottom of my heart that I will not let her down. But I do not say anything; I only write this essay, with extra effort.</p>