Personal Statement - Please critique

[k1448317]

This is the first draft.


“A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.” – Fidel Castro
While for many this quote may inspire feelings of anger, for me, this quote fuels my desire to fight for justice. This desire can be traced back to my family fighting for their right to leave Cuba for freedom.

My grandfather attended law school in Cuba and upon graduating, accomplished many feats, such as becoming Public Defender, a law professor and head of the Catholic Youth in Havana, making the ideals that he promoted well respected. Knowing how influential my grandfather was, Che Guevara and Fidel Castro began to ask for his support of the revolution, to which he agreed. Once the revolution was over, my grandfather continued to support the communist regime.

Two years after the revolution ended my grandmother began to fight for the right to leave Cuba. At first, this seemed impossible; my grandfather did not want them to leave. Finally, he was persuaded by his own father to allow his family to leave. So, in 1962 my grandmother began the long process of beginning a new life for herself and her children. For allowing this, my grandfather was punished. Castro stripped him of his rank, and put him to work in the sugar cane fields for fifteen years.

All through out my life I have slowly learned, piece by piece the story of my family’s history. I knew from a young age that my father was born in Cuba and immigrated here, however it took me many years to realize how that had, and would continue to effect my life. Overtime, I began to recognize the injustice that was done to so many Cubans during the revolution. The lives and families that were torn apart were not just a story in a history book; it was a reality that my family lived through. This realization motivated me to change the things that I see as unjust. This is the foundation for my desire to attend law school at “law school name.”

My family’s struggles, especially those of my grandmother, inspired me in such a way that their battles push me to succeed everyday. My grandmother made the decision to leave everything she knew because she did not believe in the Communist world surrounding her. She still to this day tells me almost every time I speak with her to “Never change who I am.” I may sound green, or inexperienced by saying this, but I believe that a person can make a difference, and law school is a powerful tool that will enable that. Through law school I can attain the ability to become an advocate for justice, and help those people that cannot help themselves.

While I have not settled on one area of law that appeals to me the most, when thinking about my ambitions, I tend to focus on human rights, not necessarily human rights law, but the inalienable rights that all people should be awarded. Whether those are awarded by prosecuting a defendant that caused victims hardship; or they are made certain by defending an individual to ensure the fairness of the justice system, everyone should be afforded the same liberties. There will always be people in this world who strive to take away justice; I plan to stop those people by rising up to meet the challenge of learning the law and our legal system.

Looking at my life leading up to this point, I don’t believe there was ever a question that my ultimate goal would be to help people, the question was always how. The study of law is a paramount tool, one that, when wielded correctly, can do powerful things. While to some the future and the past may struggle with each other, I believe that the past is something we must learn from in order to shape our futures into something astounding. With this in mind, I plan to conquer the enormous task of law school by applying all that I have learned from my family’s past and their fight for freedom.

[kublaikahn]

This is not a personal statement. This is a grandfather statement which may serve as a diversity statement.