Personal background starts off small, it changes and grows over time into something big, it grows into an identity. Walking down the hallway at school, seeing someone standing alone, my first instinct is to make conversation, compliment, or even just smile at him or her. This instinct came from someone once telling me an act so small could turn a person's entire life around. As a kid, reading encyclopedias about random topics, consumed my time. Many days were spent coming home to find an injured wild animal in my dad's arms waiting to be saved. My dad would sit outside and draw animals, trees, and anything else he saw. Nothing excited me more than trying to draw whatever my dad drew, and as good as he did. Any assignment that was handed to…
Throughout my life I have encountered many circumstances that have shaped me into the person I am today. I was born in Moroleon, Guanajuato, Mexico. I attended school in Mexico all the way to second grade. In the summer of 2006 I moved to Cumming, Georgia. It was the hardest thing to do because I left everything that I care the most about. We lived in a trailer which was not the nicest place and in the middle of the forest. I started school at the beginning of August. I had always loved school so I was so excited for the first day. I knew it was going to be hard because I would have to conquer so many obstacles on the way. At this time the only English I knew was probably counting from one to ten and some of the colors. My Father knew some…
I’m happy with who I am today, just as everyone should be. But if I could change anything about myself, I’d want to have more motivation to do things. In the mornings before school I can barely get out of bed because I’m so tired and don’t want to go to school. I’m exceedingly intelligent but I don’t have any drive. I procrastinate on most of my work, and sometimes I just don’t want to do the work. Right now I’m rank 14 in my class but I could’ve been higher if I had any drive my freshman year. I don’t think about how my decisions now will impact me later and when I do, I don’t really care. I also don’t have much motivation to do things in sports activities. Last year I played volleyball and I never had that much playing time. Never being able…
After I took the MCAT in June, my life became a little hectic. Besides for completing applications, my parents decided to move to Israel. I was the only child living at home, so they desperately needed my help. We had to empty the house, get rid of all the clutter, and pack the rest of it onto a container. The house needed to be sold, so while packing, we had contractors work on the house. Personally, I was moving to Brooklyn and had to find a job and a place to live. There were many challenges. For Example, the contractor painted the bathroom door, but would not take responsibility when it didn’t close. As of now, I am sleeping on my sister’s floor and trying to finalize a part-time teaching job. I have learned how to remain calm though stressful…
A young Islamic lady suffered from constant bullying, stereotyping, profiling and abuse from Americans after the crisis of 9/11. “They came to bully us, many, many times”. The quote portrays that she has suffered from significant bullying and it has affected her. “9/11 changed everything and 9/11 changed nothing at all. America – I'm not going anywhere”. Whilst this powerful quote confirms her struggle to belong despite the negative influence of others and that she is willing to fight for what she believes in no matter what people…
Since I came to live in the United States five years ago, I being in Hialeah all the time, this is my city and my neighborhood. I have found the place where I fell like home a large part of my family lives here and I have found the best people and friends here and full the space left empty when I left my country. In the future I may have to change the city, State or maybe just move to another city but I doesn’t matter where I am Hialeah will always be in my memories and I will never forget it.…
Taking into consideration my Libyan heritage, one might say I was able to experience the best of both worlds as a first generation Libyan-American. They wouldn’t be wrong, growing up, I was influenced by the cultural aspect of a Libyan as an American citizen. I partook in many common Libyan traditions, for instance, I would eat couscous most nights for dinner and learned how to play the darbuka, a Libyan drum held sideways and played with the fingers. I was convinced that everyone lived this way, and I knew nothing outside of my bubble of comfort. It wasn't until my first trip to Libya, during the reign of Dictator Mummar Gadafi, that I realized not everything in the world was perfect and that my childhood was more Americanized…
In my early childhood, my parents moved numerous times back and forth between the Untied States and Iran. Eventually, my family ended up settling in North Houston, where my father bought a traditional two-story home in a typical gated community. Throughout the years, the house preserved many struggles, and witnessed many successes between my family and I. However, not only did our home observe our experiences, but it also embraced our culture. Throughout my life, my home has had a revolution of its own; transforming from a dreadful and dull place to a home that I now look proudly upon. However, what I truly value in my home is the fact that it acts as a safe haven for my Persian culture, something that is as delicate and as priceless as my…
My greatest influences are my parents and my brother. My brother suffered from Guillain- Barre Syndrome when he was eight. He lived in the hospital on an artificial ventilation for 97 days and later he had to continue physical therapy for at least ten years as he was completely paralyzed. My parents and my brother devoted their few years completely for his treatment. Today, my brother is a successful engineer working in the bay area. I learned that with dedication, determination and diligence we can achieve our dream in life…
There has been many cases in which I have helped an outsider feel welcome. One time in particular is when I played tag with this little boy at church since he was new and no one else played with him. Originally, I was outside eating candy and talking to my friends at church. I noticed that this little boy was standing all alone watching all the other little kids play without him. I thought that maybe he was upset so I went over to him and asked if he wanted the rest of my gummy worms. He seemed nervous at first, but eventually he started talking to me. I learned that he was five years old and he was visiting his grandparents for the weekend. His older brother was outside playing basketball with some of the other older boys at the church, and…
I dislike being asked “Where are you from?” because I do not consider myself from any specific place. I have moved around several times as a child, which has given me the opportunity to meet different kinds of people each from distinct walks of life. Being faced with the challenge of meeting new people has taught how to come out of my comfort zone at any given moment. The experiences I have had in life has caused me to become an outgoing, hardworking, and very multicultural person.…
In 2013 I went to Israel with my family, cousins and some of the people who belong to our Temple to watch my cousin become bat mitzvahed in the middle of a dessert. It was the most wonderful experience that I had ever had and I will never forget about it. I was 11 years old at the time when I went.…
Growing up in a diverse city, the culture around me has always been different. Every person that I see always has a different type of belief than me. I’m a 17 year old Muslim student who lives in Southeast Texas. My father is from the Middle East, and my mother is from Western Europe. My parents migrated as refugees from Croatia to Houston in 1995 due to the ongoing war in Yugoslavia. After they’ve migrated they’ve lived in peace here ever since. However that has changed a lot since 9/11, one of the biggest terrorist attacks in history to ever happen in the United States. Now everyone who originates from the Middle East has been looked at as an abomination, and how we're judged for everything that we believe in. It just happens to be that I was born in the time of all of this monstrosity.…
time for me to begin my 10 minute warming up. I move my head side to side, stretch my legs, and I begin to walk briskly. I drank my water because I need to stay hydrated. When I was ready I sprinted out like a rocket. My brother began to time me. It took me 12 minutes to finish my one mile. Once I felt that my heart was pounding, my stomach started to develop painful cramps, and my My throat was as dry as a bone. I stopped and took deep breaths in and out. I took a five minute break and finished my 3 miles by walking. Once I finished my three miles I felt proud of myself and motivated for the next days to…
Everyday I yearn and look forward to the future. I have faith in myself to know that I can make my personal American Dream possible. As stated in my first American Dream paper, it is the government's responsibility to provide equality and security to each and every citizen. Thus allowing for every individual to be gifted various opportunities and experiences that will impact their life dream. However, after being apart of a government class that was focused upon learning the fundamental knowledge of America’s past and current federal system, the American Dream is seemingly more difficult to come by nowadays.…