Please delete
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:36 am
I am reapplying to some schools and need a new PS. Last year I applied in early April, very late, so it did not go too well. Anyways, this bit me, and I am now working on a new PS. First will be my old one, and the next will be the new. Please, give me any advice on the old and new, as I will take your advice into account on which to use when applying to new schools, and what to change for the new.
Personal Statement 1
Looking into the future is a reality that every college student must face. The future can be a place of hope and inspiration, or anxiousness and fear. Four years of studying, stressing, money crunching and hard work have led to a degree in a chosen field. The future is now something that must be thought about. Some may feel inclined to enter the workforce. Others may think they have to further their education by entering graduate studies. For me though, I am ready to enter the challenging lifestyle of the law school student. Three additional years of more studying than ever before, greater stress, greater money crunching and harder work at school than I have ever faced is more appealing to me than anything has ever been thus far in my life.
My college experience starts similar to most, I would assume, but has not been an easy one. I began at Blue River Community College after declining the opportunity for a scholarship to play baseball. Choosing to give up baseball was not an easy decision, but one I stand by today. I wanted to focus on my studies without the hassle of dealing with a sport on top of my school work. I was forced to stay home for my first two years of college in order to save money as a result. This turned out to be a great choice, Blue River ended up being a great college that forced me to greatly improve my abilities to learn. Despite being a community college, it was anything but easy. The courses I took there prepared me well for these last two years at the University of Central Missouri, and helped me gain good study habits to benefit me in law school.
After leaving Blue River Community College it was now time to begin the next step in my academic journey, transferring to a university. I already knew I wanted to pursue a degree in Psychology, but where was the next issue. I had a friend who attended the University of Central Missouri and was in their Psychology program. She told me that it was a very good program. I researched their program, visited the campus and made my decision to finish out my undergraduate degree there.
I entered the University of Central Missouri in the fall of 2008. This would prove to be one of my most difficult semesters, and start of one of the hardest time of my life. In late April of 2008 my father had just finished a round of chemotherapy after having some cancer removed. He was declared cancer free soon after, but they made a mistake. In early November of that year he went in for a check up where they found a fast spreading cancer in his liver and spinal cord. They gave him six months to live. The first time he had gotten cancer it was anal cancer that could be easily removed, but this was not the case. I was devastated when I got the news. Despite the grim prognosis my father remained optimistic with full intentions of fighting the cancer, beating it even. His optimism was an inspiration, but the cancer was just too severe. He died on May, 31 2009 after fighting the cancer as hard as he could.
Through this experience it has made me realize a lot of things in my life, one being how important my plans for the future are. It has also made me realize how hard you need to work to get what you want in life. One of the last things my dad said to me was if I wanted to get what I wanted in life I would have to put in the work. These words have stuck with me in everything I do, including school, and will drive me to excel in law school, and as a lawyer.
New (started) Personal Statement
It is an early Sunday morning in December. The crisp winter air chills my face as I open my front door to join my father in his car to go to church. This is a familiar ritual, as this is part of the custody agreement decided on by my parents. Being born an only child brings many advantages in life, but being born an only child to a broken home can have its problems. Split Christmases, arguing parents, joint custody, and all these things join together to bring challenges to the life of an only child. My parents were never married. My father cheated on my mother before I was born, marrying the woman who he cheated on her with less than a month after my birth. This always created a sense of hostility between the two places I grew up.
Living a split life between two homes becomes second nature to a child who knows only that. My parents did their best to give me a good life, full of love and happiness. My father was a millwright for General Motors Company, and my mother was a nurse. They both made a respectable living and were both able to provide for me very well. My stepmother never allowed me to have a bedroom at my father’s house, so it never quite seemed like home, but a bedroom is not a necessity for every other weekend.
My childhood was filled with baseball and school. My mother never missed a single baseball game, my father rarely made it to one. He was always busy with work, or had something to do. The hostility from my parents’ past seemed to force them to be unable to be in the same location as each other. My mother made it to all my games, but was busy with work most of the week, and was gone a good majority of the time trying to date and be a single mother. Both parents attempted to make up for their flaws with providing me with gifts, spoiling me you could say. It was out of this spoiling that my first notions of becoming a lawyer came. Unlike most spoiled children, when I did not get my way I did not throw a temper tantrum, I simply calmly explained why having whatever I wanted would benefit me and my mother. The first time she told me I should be a lawyer was when I was seven and wanted a set of legos. She told me I already had too many, to which I told her that if she got me these legos I would be occupied for hours by building the set and she would have time to clean the house. (This paragraph needs work, and a good ending and transition)
(Enter bridging gap to this paragraph. Should a completely change these? I felt these were pretty pivotal paragraphs that could be kept the same in my PS)
I entered the University of Central Missouri in the fall of 2008. This would prove to be one of my most difficult semesters, and start of one of the hardest time of my life. In late April of 2008 my father had just finished a round of chemotherapy after having some cancer removed. He was declared cancer free soon after, but they made a mistake. In early November of that year he went in for a check up where they found a fast spreading cancer in his liver and spinal cord. They gave him six months to live. The first time he had gotten cancer it was anal cancer that could be easily removed, but this was not the case. I was devastated when I got the news. Despite the grim prognosis my father remained optimistic with full intentions of fighting the cancer, beating it even. His optimism was an inspiration, but the cancer was just too severe. He died on May, 31 2009 after fighting the cancer as hard as he could.
Through this experience it has made me realize a lot of things in my life, one being how important my plans for the future are. It has also made me realize how hard you need to work to get what you want in life. One of the last things my dad said to me was if I wanted to get what I wanted in life I would have to put in the work. These words have stuck with me in everything I do, including school, and will drive me to excel in law school, and as a lawyer.
Personal Statement 1
Looking into the future is a reality that every college student must face. The future can be a place of hope and inspiration, or anxiousness and fear. Four years of studying, stressing, money crunching and hard work have led to a degree in a chosen field. The future is now something that must be thought about. Some may feel inclined to enter the workforce. Others may think they have to further their education by entering graduate studies. For me though, I am ready to enter the challenging lifestyle of the law school student. Three additional years of more studying than ever before, greater stress, greater money crunching and harder work at school than I have ever faced is more appealing to me than anything has ever been thus far in my life.
My college experience starts similar to most, I would assume, but has not been an easy one. I began at Blue River Community College after declining the opportunity for a scholarship to play baseball. Choosing to give up baseball was not an easy decision, but one I stand by today. I wanted to focus on my studies without the hassle of dealing with a sport on top of my school work. I was forced to stay home for my first two years of college in order to save money as a result. This turned out to be a great choice, Blue River ended up being a great college that forced me to greatly improve my abilities to learn. Despite being a community college, it was anything but easy. The courses I took there prepared me well for these last two years at the University of Central Missouri, and helped me gain good study habits to benefit me in law school.
After leaving Blue River Community College it was now time to begin the next step in my academic journey, transferring to a university. I already knew I wanted to pursue a degree in Psychology, but where was the next issue. I had a friend who attended the University of Central Missouri and was in their Psychology program. She told me that it was a very good program. I researched their program, visited the campus and made my decision to finish out my undergraduate degree there.
I entered the University of Central Missouri in the fall of 2008. This would prove to be one of my most difficult semesters, and start of one of the hardest time of my life. In late April of 2008 my father had just finished a round of chemotherapy after having some cancer removed. He was declared cancer free soon after, but they made a mistake. In early November of that year he went in for a check up where they found a fast spreading cancer in his liver and spinal cord. They gave him six months to live. The first time he had gotten cancer it was anal cancer that could be easily removed, but this was not the case. I was devastated when I got the news. Despite the grim prognosis my father remained optimistic with full intentions of fighting the cancer, beating it even. His optimism was an inspiration, but the cancer was just too severe. He died on May, 31 2009 after fighting the cancer as hard as he could.
Through this experience it has made me realize a lot of things in my life, one being how important my plans for the future are. It has also made me realize how hard you need to work to get what you want in life. One of the last things my dad said to me was if I wanted to get what I wanted in life I would have to put in the work. These words have stuck with me in everything I do, including school, and will drive me to excel in law school, and as a lawyer.
New (started) Personal Statement
It is an early Sunday morning in December. The crisp winter air chills my face as I open my front door to join my father in his car to go to church. This is a familiar ritual, as this is part of the custody agreement decided on by my parents. Being born an only child brings many advantages in life, but being born an only child to a broken home can have its problems. Split Christmases, arguing parents, joint custody, and all these things join together to bring challenges to the life of an only child. My parents were never married. My father cheated on my mother before I was born, marrying the woman who he cheated on her with less than a month after my birth. This always created a sense of hostility between the two places I grew up.
Living a split life between two homes becomes second nature to a child who knows only that. My parents did their best to give me a good life, full of love and happiness. My father was a millwright for General Motors Company, and my mother was a nurse. They both made a respectable living and were both able to provide for me very well. My stepmother never allowed me to have a bedroom at my father’s house, so it never quite seemed like home, but a bedroom is not a necessity for every other weekend.
My childhood was filled with baseball and school. My mother never missed a single baseball game, my father rarely made it to one. He was always busy with work, or had something to do. The hostility from my parents’ past seemed to force them to be unable to be in the same location as each other. My mother made it to all my games, but was busy with work most of the week, and was gone a good majority of the time trying to date and be a single mother. Both parents attempted to make up for their flaws with providing me with gifts, spoiling me you could say. It was out of this spoiling that my first notions of becoming a lawyer came. Unlike most spoiled children, when I did not get my way I did not throw a temper tantrum, I simply calmly explained why having whatever I wanted would benefit me and my mother. The first time she told me I should be a lawyer was when I was seven and wanted a set of legos. She told me I already had too many, to which I told her that if she got me these legos I would be occupied for hours by building the set and she would have time to clean the house. (This paragraph needs work, and a good ending and transition)
(Enter bridging gap to this paragraph. Should a completely change these? I felt these were pretty pivotal paragraphs that could be kept the same in my PS)
I entered the University of Central Missouri in the fall of 2008. This would prove to be one of my most difficult semesters, and start of one of the hardest time of my life. In late April of 2008 my father had just finished a round of chemotherapy after having some cancer removed. He was declared cancer free soon after, but they made a mistake. In early November of that year he went in for a check up where they found a fast spreading cancer in his liver and spinal cord. They gave him six months to live. The first time he had gotten cancer it was anal cancer that could be easily removed, but this was not the case. I was devastated when I got the news. Despite the grim prognosis my father remained optimistic with full intentions of fighting the cancer, beating it even. His optimism was an inspiration, but the cancer was just too severe. He died on May, 31 2009 after fighting the cancer as hard as he could.
Through this experience it has made me realize a lot of things in my life, one being how important my plans for the future are. It has also made me realize how hard you need to work to get what you want in life. One of the last things my dad said to me was if I wanted to get what I wanted in life I would have to put in the work. These words have stuck with me in everything I do, including school, and will drive me to excel in law school, and as a lawyer.