Personal Statement - Essay Example

Every parent is proud of their child and I am no exception. However, I do not believe I am in error in feeling my child Alinah is particularly deserving of praise. Alinah was born on October 8th, 1994 to a teenage mother from the projects. A high school dropout, I gave birth to her one week before my 16th birthday. Unfortunately, it was necessary for me to sever our relationship with her father when she was only 2 years old as a result of his recurring drug and alcohol problems and hasn’t taken part in her life in any respect since.

Alinah has been raised in a single-parent family for the past 11 years. During this time, her assistance in the home, taking care of the house and her younger sister, has been indispensable as I was a full-time student, studying Economics at San Diego State University, while juggling a full-time job for The Hilton Resort. While her support drew the deep respect and admiration of my contemporaries, it was Alinah’s consistency and excellence that got me through college, and through the many obstacles of life we’ve always faced together.

She has also gone beyond the boundaries of the home to try to help others as well. As a youth, she was actively involved in The Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco. Alinah was easily one of the most affable children at the club, with great communication and personal interaction skills. Notably, she had a fantastic ability to make friends and develop long lasting relationships. She always treated her peers and the staff with dignity and always showed respect for authority. In addition, she brought a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to the center, showing her natural leadership ability and infectious personality.

Not only did these personality traits draw respect and admiration from her peers, it also won her the position of Class President of her 6th grade class in 2006 and she has worked in the capacity of a safety patrol officer for her school. Also in 2006, she entered herself in a local beauty pageant and brought home the crown. Unfortunately, 2006 wasn’t the brilliant year it started out. In April, toward the end of her school year, she was diagnosed with severe Polyarcticular Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

In the beginning of her illness, she lost more than 25 pounds and could not walk with ease; she spent most of her afternoons and evenings in bed and could not eat without pain due to the inflammation in her jaw. All of her joints were affected and her condition worsened during the following six months. Also during this period, we moved into the Bay Area, our eighth move, making it necessary to leave all her friends behind, which was quite difficult for her. We have spent much of the past year monitoring her condition and treating it with medication and therapy.

To do this, it was necessary for her to go to the doctor’s office twice per week for injections, an occupational therapist one or two times per week and a physical therapist once or twice per week. It is also her responsibility to ensure she takes her medications at home, three oral medications and two injections. Her condition has improved as a result of these efforts, but even through all this adversity, her grades never fell below a 3.2 GPA. With her condition under control, her last report card reflected a 4.0. Alinah knows what it means to overcome adversity.

She has done it and she has the example of her mother to follow. Despite the ominous predictions of my adolescence, I have managed to graduate high school, obtain a college degree and attain a well-paid career, improving my income from $6000 when I was on welfare in 1994 to $60,000 in 2002. My successes had to do with the fact that I promised myself that I would never use my kids as an excuse not to excel. With that said, I have raised Alinah to never settle for less and to give 120% of herself at all times.

She has proven she has learned these lessons well. She is one of the most self-motivated, determined and interesting young ladies I know. She is a great student, an active member of her community, a natural leader and a good moral example to her peers. She will be an asset to any school she attends, but her first choice is San Francisco University High School because of the solid comprehensive education it offers. She feels it is only here, with the school’s unique program and initiative, can she explore new interests within music and theater while still acquiring a solid education toward her long-term goal of pursuing a criminal justice degree from UCSD, her mother’s alma mater.