Revised Personal Statement
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:47 pm
Based on feedback I have rewritten. Please provide comments. Thanks in advance.
I was 24 years old when I became a garbage man. I was a high school dropout and was barely able to muster the desire to obtain a GED. Looking back though, I do not believe that it was true desire; instead it was the encouragement from my parents that motivated me to obtain my GED. After all, no one in my family had a high school diploma and few had a GED. Needless to say, my parents were proud of that accomplishment and even more so after I obtained a job with my City’s trash department.
Working on the back of a garbage truck was the most physically demanding job that I ever had in my life. My daily route consisted of collecting about 20 tons of garbage every day. I always looked forward to the cooler months because that was the only time that the job seemed to be tolerable. However, when the summer months came, things would quickly change. The heat from the sun’s illuminating rays always seemed to be seeking me out. The heat would get so intense that my standard issue red uniform shirt would turn white because of the salt leaving my perspiring body. There was also the trash itself that I had to deal with. There were large heavy trash bags, couches, chairs, fence panels, concrete, and many other items that I had to load into the trash truck by hand. There were many days that I could not eat lunch because the rancid odor from the trash would get on my clothes and cause me to lose my appetite. With all that I had to deal with, I also had plenty of time throughout my days of riding on the back of that garbage truck to let my mind wonder. I would wonder about things that you or anyone else at the age of 24 might wonder about. But mostly, I would wonder about what I did or failed to do in my life that caused me to end up on the back of that garbage truck.
My step dad (my real dad died of pneumonia when I was 7) always told me that there was nothing shameful about being a garbage man; however, I knew that I wanted something more out of life. I do not know what caused me to have this new found motivation. It could have been simply the overall physical demand of being a garbage man, or it may have been a specific occurrence like the time that my leg had to be stitched up because one of my customers put a broken pane of glass into his plastic trash bag. Whatever the reason, I was determined to get off of the back of that garbage truck. I focused on thoroughness, customer satisfaction, and any specialized training that my supervisor would offer to me. It was not long before I began to consistently outperform my coworkers and was promoted into a supervisory position. My new responsibilities included supervising about 30 employees and managing a fleet of about 20 solid waste collection vehicles. Yet, I still found myself with time to wonder; only now I was in my own private office instead of on the rear of a garbage truck. Many times I would stare out of my office window and think of what I could have accomplished had I gone to college. After all, I would think to myself, look at what you have accomplished as a high school dropout. Suddenly I found myself with a desire to attend college.
I enrolled at the University of North Texas and began work on my bachelor degree in business. During my studies of business law I realized that I have a passion for law and I now know that my place in this world is not as a garbage man but as an attorney. I have researched the law schools in my area and have determined that [INSERT SCHOOL HERE] offers everything I will need to become a skillful and successful attorney. I am particularly interested in cases that involve people who have been falsely accused of a crime and I can further pursue that interest through the [INSERT PROGRAM HERE]. In addition, by being located close to my home and offering an evening program, [INSERT SCHOOL HERE] will enable me to obtain a law degree while I attend to both my family and work responsibilities. I have learned through my personal life experiences that one can achieve their goals if they truly put forth the effort and I believe that my background will aid in diversifying my class.
I was 24 years old when I became a garbage man. I was a high school dropout and was barely able to muster the desire to obtain a GED. Looking back though, I do not believe that it was true desire; instead it was the encouragement from my parents that motivated me to obtain my GED. After all, no one in my family had a high school diploma and few had a GED. Needless to say, my parents were proud of that accomplishment and even more so after I obtained a job with my City’s trash department.
Working on the back of a garbage truck was the most physically demanding job that I ever had in my life. My daily route consisted of collecting about 20 tons of garbage every day. I always looked forward to the cooler months because that was the only time that the job seemed to be tolerable. However, when the summer months came, things would quickly change. The heat from the sun’s illuminating rays always seemed to be seeking me out. The heat would get so intense that my standard issue red uniform shirt would turn white because of the salt leaving my perspiring body. There was also the trash itself that I had to deal with. There were large heavy trash bags, couches, chairs, fence panels, concrete, and many other items that I had to load into the trash truck by hand. There were many days that I could not eat lunch because the rancid odor from the trash would get on my clothes and cause me to lose my appetite. With all that I had to deal with, I also had plenty of time throughout my days of riding on the back of that garbage truck to let my mind wonder. I would wonder about things that you or anyone else at the age of 24 might wonder about. But mostly, I would wonder about what I did or failed to do in my life that caused me to end up on the back of that garbage truck.
My step dad (my real dad died of pneumonia when I was 7) always told me that there was nothing shameful about being a garbage man; however, I knew that I wanted something more out of life. I do not know what caused me to have this new found motivation. It could have been simply the overall physical demand of being a garbage man, or it may have been a specific occurrence like the time that my leg had to be stitched up because one of my customers put a broken pane of glass into his plastic trash bag. Whatever the reason, I was determined to get off of the back of that garbage truck. I focused on thoroughness, customer satisfaction, and any specialized training that my supervisor would offer to me. It was not long before I began to consistently outperform my coworkers and was promoted into a supervisory position. My new responsibilities included supervising about 30 employees and managing a fleet of about 20 solid waste collection vehicles. Yet, I still found myself with time to wonder; only now I was in my own private office instead of on the rear of a garbage truck. Many times I would stare out of my office window and think of what I could have accomplished had I gone to college. After all, I would think to myself, look at what you have accomplished as a high school dropout. Suddenly I found myself with a desire to attend college.
I enrolled at the University of North Texas and began work on my bachelor degree in business. During my studies of business law I realized that I have a passion for law and I now know that my place in this world is not as a garbage man but as an attorney. I have researched the law schools in my area and have determined that [INSERT SCHOOL HERE] offers everything I will need to become a skillful and successful attorney. I am particularly interested in cases that involve people who have been falsely accused of a crime and I can further pursue that interest through the [INSERT PROGRAM HERE]. In addition, by being located close to my home and offering an evening program, [INSERT SCHOOL HERE] will enable me to obtain a law degree while I attend to both my family and work responsibilities. I have learned through my personal life experiences that one can achieve their goals if they truly put forth the effort and I believe that my background will aid in diversifying my class.
