<p>Hi. I was wondering if I could get some feedback on my UC personal statement? Is it even a good topic? I tried to stay away from the 'tragedy' type stuff. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>I was born in suburbia. Houses on my street had white picket fences surrounding immaculately kept lawns. Growing up I had a life that seemed to be the epitome of the American dream - big house, working father, stay-at-home mother, no siblings. I was part of playgroups, Gymboree and the local elementary school. It was a picture perfect scene.
The perfect image of my family was just that: an image. My dad drank too much, my mom slept all day and they fought constantly. I usually went outside to play, smiling and waving to neighbors as soon as the yelling started. This dysfunctional dynamic led to divorce when I was nine years old. It was the first crack in my comfortable suburban foundation.
My dad moved out and my mom had to go back to work. I was nine but I had a cell phone and house keys, neatly packed next to my favorite stuffed animal, Sally. I told myself to make the best of the unsteady circumstances. And that worked, for a while.
About a year after the divorce my mom had to move into an apartment because her two minimum wage retail jobs could no longer support our quarter acre property. She found a small rundown place in the next town over. The move brought me completely out of the life I had always know. It terrified me. I was definitely not in suburbia anymore.
Nevertheless I came to discover that I did not mind moving. In fact, I enjoyed it. I looked forward to a brand new experience. As my mom was moving, my dad did too. I went from living in the same house for nine years, to having two new surroundings. I loved exploring the streams and fountains that ran through both complexes; loved watching the water move along the sturdy rocks. I no longer associated moving with fear and unknown. It now carried with it an air of excitement and mystique.
As time went on, moving became something I was good at. Between both my parents I moved eight times in less than six years, due to issues with money. Not only that, but I was switching from house to house midweek thanks to 50/50 joint custody. I often found myself refusing to unpack, preferring to live out of a suitcase. I knew where everything was in the case, unlike in my life where I was lucky if the right parent picked me up from gymnastics practice.
I could not seem to get settled. I felt lost and confused. The moving and switching continued as I became a teenager; a teenager who was just trying to find her own place in the world.
But that’s the thing. As I grew up and matured, I realized that your ‘world’ does not have to mean what surrounds you. Your world is your thoughts, your feelings and your experiences. You make your world what it is. When I was little, my whole world was my surroundings: the house, the neighborhood parks, the school. That was all I had and all I knew. But then I discovered that there is so much more out there to see and experience, so many more things that I wanted to be a part of . I want to explore, to gain knowledge, to understand and to feel everything. Growing up with a world that was always changing taught me about freedom and independence. It taught me the value of curiosity and imagination. It showed me flexibility and acceptance. I now know not to fear the unknown, but to embrace it. </p>