Personal Economic Hardships in College - Admission/Application Essay Example

Personal Economic Hardships in College Description of Personal Economic Hardships and how the Hardships affected by ability to successful in college The main economic hardship that I have personally experienced was the lack of school fees when I was in High School. I was thirteen years old by then and my father and my mother were in serious financial problems to the extent that they were unable to pay my High School fees for a whole term. For that reason, I had to stay at home for the whole of the term. Despite this economic hardship, however, I did not blame my parents because I felt that my parents actually did their best to ensure that I remain in school and I get all the basic needs of life. My father is actually a very hardworking man and, were it not for is efforts in life, it could not have been possible for me to complete even High School studies. My father has gone through severe economic challenges in his life. My father grew up in a family of ten children and his parents were poor and were, therefore, unable to meet their basic needs in life. For that reason, my father had to find a way to earn money and to pay for his education. Through his efforts in life, my father was able to pay his tuition from High School until he got his bachelor degree in Economics by working as a newspaper deliveryman. From all his hard work, he was able to open a grocery store. That’s how my father earns his living besides working on a credit committee in a bank. This fact, therefore, shows that I grew up in a middle class family in which my parents struggled so much to educate me. But despite the hard economic situation of my parents, my parents managed to save enough money for my college education. For that reason, I am now certain of completing my college studies without any financial constraint. The financial crisis that I went through when I was thirteen due to lack of school fees really affected my ability to be successful in college. This is because the hard experience challenged me to work harder in school, so as not to face similar economic challenge in future; also, my father’s efforts in life and his determination to overcome economic challenges challenged me to work hard in college and to be successful in my studies; my father is my greatest role model in working hard in life so as to be successful. My Understanding of Cultural Differences Before I left my country Indonesia for the United States, I had a rather vague understanding of cultural differences; it was not until I arrived in the United States of America that I acquired full understanding of cultural differences. Before I left Indonesia for USA, I felt uneasy because normally, it isn’t easy stepping out from your comfort zone. Two years ago, when I came to the USA, I thought that life would be easier, but I was not true. I never really imagined that Indonesian culture and American culture are so different. When I arrived in USA, however, I experienced a real culture-shock. This is because of the fundamental differences between Indonesian culture and the American culture. The main cultural difference between Indonesia and American cultures is on food; in Indonesia, the staple diet is rice, in America, however, rice is not the main food; Americans eat a variety of foods daily, and I had hard time trying to adjust to the US diets. The other major cultural difference that I experienced in America was on fashion; I found the American fashion and dressing quite different from the fashion in my country. This is because I found the American fashion and dressing to be more revealing than the Indonesian fashion. These experiences made me to have an acute awareness of cultural differences. My awareness of cultural differences have made me to realize that no culture is better than the other one; this is because through my effort to adjust and to embrace the American culture, I have found out that American way of life and culture is just different from the Indonesian culture, but it is not a bad culture or a bad way of life. These experiences, therefore, have made me to be culturally tolerant and I respect people of other cultures. For this reason, therefore, I will be able to fit in the Foster School community and I will be able to relate well with people of different cultures. A Description of Experiences that Demonstrate Leadership or Initiative in a group or organization. The main experience that demonstrates leadership or initiative in my life relates with one experience that I had when I was young. When I was seven, my father requested me to accompany him as he was going to visit some orphans in a nearby orphanage. When we visited the orphanage with my father, I was really touched by what I experienced- although we didn’t give the kids in the orphanage much, the kids, however, were so appreciative of what we gave them and they were very happy for our generosity. Following this event, I resolved that when I grow up I would initiate a program or an organization to help the less fortunate members of the society. After completing my High School studies, in keeping with my childhood resolution to found an organization to help the less fortunate members of the society, I decided to form a small non-profit youth organization dedicated to serving the less fortunate members of the society. At first I thought that it would be quite difficult to find young people who were ready to support my idea and to dedicate their time and even resources to serve the less fortunate members of the society. To my surprise, however, many of the young people with whom I shared my idea fully supported my idea and resolved to join me in establishing a charity program dedicated to the unfortunate members of the society. With the support of friends, therefore, I founded a non-profit youth organization that I named Caritas Youth and I became the chairman of the organization. Within a period of two months Caritas Youth organization had over fifty members; under my leadership, the charity youth group accomplished much and we were able to help many young people including orphans and physically challenged people. The Caritas Youth group still exists, although I relinquished the chairmanship position due to other commitments in life. Influences of my parents’ educational background on my own education and on my decision to go to college My father has a bachelor’s degree in economics. My father loves business and he has a green grocery store. When I was twelve years old, my father used to ask me to help him in his store; He said that the experience of helping him in the business would help me discover what I want to do in my life. My father’s educational background and his love for business has actually influenced my decision to join college to do a business course. Just like my father, I really love business and I believe that business course is the ideal course for me. When I informed my father that I want to do a business course, my father fully supported my idea and told me that he would give me all the support that I need in my studies. My father told me that he is the first generation in his family to go to college, and he said that he is ready to support me, as a member of the second generation of his family, to go to college. Read More