English Final V2

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

I had a grandpa that was very close to me. He raised me from when I was 2 years old until I was 13. He was someone that I looked up to immensely, and he influenced my life tremendously. One day, he was suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer, and he had to stay in the hospital. No longer could I wake up and see him as I walked to the bathroom, and no longer could I see him in my house, like always, a reassuring presence. Now, if I wanted to see him, I would have to visit the hospital and see him, because he was too weak to live with my family anymore. I watched as he slowly got weaker and weaker, as the cancer spread to his throat, so he could not eat solid foods anymore, instead, he had to get a hole in his stomach and had protein shakes through the tube because he could not swallow. Eventually, he weakened so much that his body could not handle it and he died. I was inspired to become a doctor or at least get into the medical field, so I could help others who either had family members, or they themselves were inflicted with a debilitating medical condition. I want to have the knowledge to ease their pains or to cure whatever they are inflicted with. I did not like seeing a once strong healthy person slowly become weaker and weaker and eventually die. It is painful to see something like that happen, and to watch the disease progress through the stages. A doctor or many people in the medical field have the knowledge to either ease the pain or to cure it, and I find it very inspiring to be able to help ease a person’s pain that way. I do not want others to go through what I have, because of the painful memories and emotions that I relate to those memories. I want to be able to help people, no matter what I have to do.  

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

There are many things that I have done throughout my high school career that are important to me. I have been part of an after school program that has helped me develop as a an individual. It was a program called McCulum Youth Court. It was the first extracurricular activity that I was a part of that that actually made me feel as if i was part of something bigger. I felt as if I made a difference in my society, and that I was doing something important, instead of wasting my time on frivolous unneeded activities.
McCulum Youth Court is a program that practices restorative justice. It is a real court system that is recognized by the law. Every 2 weeks, we have a court night where we hear the cases of real youth who have committed crimes. Each court night, I have had to help strangers that are new to the program find their way through their program, and help them through the program every step of the court night.
During court nights, I have to speak with all of the volunteers that go through the program to work as jurors for the court night. I also have to speak individually with each and every judge that comes into the courtroom, and explain to them what they have to do during the court nights.  I talk to the youth offenders and their parents and tell them where they have to go and what they have to do during the court nights, each and everyone of these people being strangers. I also have to help brief each and every judge on what they have to do in court nights, and each and ever one of the judges change from one court night to the next, always strangers to me.
I have had to improve my public speaking skills because I have had to constantly use those skills each and every court night, I could not just be some kind of wall flower and hang around in the background, never speaking.

I have developed a joy of helping others in my community, and I have earned skills that are necessary for having a job that is easily accessible by the public for information, such as pharmacists, where regular people can go up to them and ask for help. In this program, I have developed public speaking skills that I can use to communicate better with other people, and I have also earned experience that is necessary to help influence people’s lives in a positive direction. I have also grown less intimidated by others, because I have grown desensitized to it due to the multiple times that I have had to face my fear of meeting and talking to new people during my volunteer work at McCulum Youth Court.