Personal Statement Sample #2Early in my high school years I
discovered a personal truth, that I have no limitations other than those I
choose to impose upon myself. Everyone brings to the world unique talents,
gifts, and abilities, and some of mine include my strong will and my
determination to be able to give something back to the communities in which
I was raised. My plans are to not only use education as a tool to prepare me
for a vocation, but also to help me become a self-sufficient individual who
is fully prepared for life.
No one is exempt from turmoil during their lives, and I can honestly say
that I am thankful for the adversities and challenges which have crossed my
path because they have strengthened my character and brought forth certain
virtues I might otherwise never have known. There are various personal
issues with which I have struggled and I have no doubt as to where their
foundations lie. Because my parents divorced when I was two, I did not grow
up with a secure sense of home. I was juggled around between different
family members, each taking part in raising me with their own set of
standards and values. I had different customs at each home and had to learn
how to be "politically correct" according to who I was with. For example,
with my father's family, I went to a Catholic church and studied the New
Testament and, while with my mother's family, who is Jewish, I attended
synagogue, studied the Torah and learned to pray in Hebrew.
One of the greatest challenges I have faced was growing up multi-ethnic
in a bilingual and multi-cultural environment. Even though the society in
which I live insists on categorizing me into one racial category, I consider
myself to be multi-ethnic. My mother's ethnic make-up is French, Polish and
Ukranian and my father's is Brazilian, Native American (Fulni-o), and
African. Some of the conflicts that I dealt with while growing up concerned
issues surrounding physical appearance, self-esteem, and questions such as
"where do I fit in?" and "to whom do I belong?" Fortunately, I have since
learned that being part of more than one ethnic group is anadvantage, not a
detriment, and I am proud to claim and take part in my diverse heritage.
Everyone and everything in my past has been my teacher, and I feel that my
history has inevitably led me to my major field of study, Ethnic Studies,
about which I am immensely passionate. It has been a wonderful rite of
passage for me to learn to accept all the parts of myself.
I am currently involved in various community activities and am
particularly proud of my involvement with the Shanti Project, a San
Francisco based organization dedicated to helping people who are HIV
positive. I also devote a great deal of my time to music, a tremendously
important part of my life. In addition to performing at local fund raisers,
I spend time practicing and recording. I have on occasion found myself
challenged to the maximum of my capabilities because of my high academic
standards, my volunteer work, my music, and my part-time jobs. But my strong
belief that I have no limitations and my will to succeed has kept me going.
One cannot always choose the circumstances one is dealt, but one does
have the choice as to how one chooses to deal with them. Some of my goals
include developing my spirituality, working with children to help them
maintain their sense of self by possibly teaching or counseling, and
graduing from university. I would like the opportunity to be able to pass
along the information I have learned, that no one person other than oneself
can keep one from achieving one's goals and that everyone has the potential
to share with the world their unique talents, gifts, and abilities. While
one may find motivation in one's hopes for the future, one must not devalue
the steps one takes to get there, because it is through one's past joys and
hardships that one comes to be who one is in the future. As Ursula le Guin
so aptly stated, "I is good to have an end to journey towards, but is the
journey that matters in the end."
