FINAL DRAFT!! ...maybe? let me know what you think.
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:06 pm
“Sinne Fianna Fáil, Atá fá gheall ag Éirin…” Every hurling match starts the same way. The people in the crowd rise to their feet and sing loudly in a language that they seldom speak, but hold close to their heart. I count myself lucky to stand with them, in Croke Park, a stadium packed with eighty thousand supporters facing the Irish flag.
I am a first generation Irish-American, and a citizen of both the United States and Ireland. Both of my parents grew up in a small countryside town in County Waterford, in the southeast of Ireland. It is there that I spent virtually every summer of my childhood, absorbing a culture and set of values very different from my homegrown Jersey Shore scene. Instead of playing baseball, I played Gaelic football and hurling. Instead of going to Yankees games, I stood with the roaring crowd in Dublin watching sports my friends from home had never heard of. I spent many years practicing my Irish step dancing and practicing the tin-whistle. These distinctive experiences helped shape my outgoing personality and expand the array of cultural interests that I embody today.
In the countryside at a young age I also learned the value of hard work, which was instilled upon me by my family. I learned how to drive a tractor and how to herd sheep up through the rolling green countryside, or how to dig up potatoes and pick strawberries all day in a field. The lessons I learned about hard work and perseverance are ones I have never forgotten. At age fifteen, I started my first job back in New Jersey, bussing tables in a small Italian restaurant, moving up to a server and then an assistant manager. It’s a job I have held all throughout high school and college. Around that age I first learned how to lay tile floors and walls, a trade acquired by observing my father work and helping him diligently. At age eighteen, I joined the Tile, Marble, and Terrazzo Union of New York and New Jersey. I worked at different jobsites all over New York City during the summer and whatever days I had free from my college workload, thus steadily increasing my vocational trade skills. I found that hard work and savings could pay off and help me achieve my goals such as backpacking Europe, which I was finally able to do for two months this past summer.
Moreover, I have found that my hard-working attitude could also translate into success academically. I pushed myself hard in high school, pursuing challenging elective classes such as business and law. I was fortunate enough to be presented with such opportunities, especially because it sparked an interest in law at an early age.
Nearing graduation, I reached a point in my life where I had to answer an important question: Should I continue my education and go on to college? I knew that I could have a well paying and stable career in the marble union, doing work that I was immensely proud of. However, I ultimately decided that furthering my education was what was most important to me. I became part of the first generation of my family to go on to college. Luckily, my hard work paid off, and I received multiple scholarships, making my goal of attending college a fiscal reality. Majoring in Law and Society and completing an internship with the Family Law Division of Rockland County solidified my growing desire to further my education and attend law school.
I want to attend law school because I know it is where I can finally combine my varied interests, hard working attitude, and academic pursuits. I am interested in pursuing international law and labor law, and was immediately drawn to xyz Law due to its prestigious co-op program. I know gaining real world experience in addition to a classroom setting is the type of education that best suits me. I am also confident that I can contribute to xyz in a positive and meaningful way. I know that I will be able to utilize my unique experiences, determined attitude, and leadership skills, and become successful at your law school.
I am a first generation Irish-American, and a citizen of both the United States and Ireland. Both of my parents grew up in a small countryside town in County Waterford, in the southeast of Ireland. It is there that I spent virtually every summer of my childhood, absorbing a culture and set of values very different from my homegrown Jersey Shore scene. Instead of playing baseball, I played Gaelic football and hurling. Instead of going to Yankees games, I stood with the roaring crowd in Dublin watching sports my friends from home had never heard of. I spent many years practicing my Irish step dancing and practicing the tin-whistle. These distinctive experiences helped shape my outgoing personality and expand the array of cultural interests that I embody today.
In the countryside at a young age I also learned the value of hard work, which was instilled upon me by my family. I learned how to drive a tractor and how to herd sheep up through the rolling green countryside, or how to dig up potatoes and pick strawberries all day in a field. The lessons I learned about hard work and perseverance are ones I have never forgotten. At age fifteen, I started my first job back in New Jersey, bussing tables in a small Italian restaurant, moving up to a server and then an assistant manager. It’s a job I have held all throughout high school and college. Around that age I first learned how to lay tile floors and walls, a trade acquired by observing my father work and helping him diligently. At age eighteen, I joined the Tile, Marble, and Terrazzo Union of New York and New Jersey. I worked at different jobsites all over New York City during the summer and whatever days I had free from my college workload, thus steadily increasing my vocational trade skills. I found that hard work and savings could pay off and help me achieve my goals such as backpacking Europe, which I was finally able to do for two months this past summer.
Moreover, I have found that my hard-working attitude could also translate into success academically. I pushed myself hard in high school, pursuing challenging elective classes such as business and law. I was fortunate enough to be presented with such opportunities, especially because it sparked an interest in law at an early age.
Nearing graduation, I reached a point in my life where I had to answer an important question: Should I continue my education and go on to college? I knew that I could have a well paying and stable career in the marble union, doing work that I was immensely proud of. However, I ultimately decided that furthering my education was what was most important to me. I became part of the first generation of my family to go on to college. Luckily, my hard work paid off, and I received multiple scholarships, making my goal of attending college a fiscal reality. Majoring in Law and Society and completing an internship with the Family Law Division of Rockland County solidified my growing desire to further my education and attend law school.
I want to attend law school because I know it is where I can finally combine my varied interests, hard working attitude, and academic pursuits. I am interested in pursuing international law and labor law, and was immediately drawn to xyz Law due to its prestigious co-op program. I know gaining real world experience in addition to a classroom setting is the type of education that best suits me. I am also confident that I can contribute to xyz in a positive and meaningful way. I know that I will be able to utilize my unique experiences, determined attitude, and leadership skills, and become successful at your law school.