Very polished draft
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:54 am
Hello, I'm hoping that this is pretty close to my final draft. Any tips would be great.
I am not your typical law school applicant. I am 31, I've been working for several years, and I struggled through my undergraduate coursework. Ten years ago I was tossing pizzas and driving an 18 wheeler while trying to attain a biology degree. I've made mistakes in life, but the difficulties I overcame made me more steadfast, and gave me skills that will forever empower me to do better things.
I have learned education is much like other things in life; it is a marathon in which losing focus can lead to downfall, regardless of the physical capacity to finish. Entering college in 1998, I was moderately excited to begin the next step in my path towards liberation from my family. I had the qualifications to attend prestigious schools, however my father, an immigrant from Iraq, didn't understand the educational system and threatened to cut me off if I did not attend the local state university. Naturally I obliged my father in order to keep the peace. I had already been recruited by the state university soccer coach, and had a job working at a local pizza parlor. My first undergrad years were relatively smooth. A friend and I published an environmental magazine that we called Impact. Our initial issue featured an investigative report on campus recycling and a review of new electric cars being built by Honda. We were even able to convince Honda to bring several models to the campus to publicize the magazine's release. Between the magazine, playing for the university soccer team, and working part time both at a political office and a pizza parlor, I stayed busy.
In the fall of 2000 my father became enthralled with the idea of owning a business. I was faced with a daunting decision, drop my extra-curricular activities and begin driving trucks, or face immediate expulsion from the family home. I was young and lacked confidence in myself. I was already paying my own tuition and bills, and I felt I could not afford to continue my education without being able to live with my parents, so I went to truck driving school in the evenings.
I was juggling too many activities and eventually crashed, literally. It was spring 2001, and I was sleeping very little. After a three day sleepless stretch, I finally wrecked one of the 18 wheelers we had purchased and nearly killed myself. I think at this point, most people would find themselves re-evaluating their lives. While I did take pause and wonder why I wasn't sleeping, I did not really consider whether or not I was making the best choices for my future. I gave up driving trucks, kept my part time jobs, and increased my role in the family business. In exchange for an ownership stake in the company, I began to learn the internal workings of the trucking industry. Within six months of my accident, I was running the day-to-day operations of the company on my own, which was not too surprising. I always had an inherent ability to teach myself things quickly, to adapt to new situations, and to operate independently. I made my first $1,000 at age 15 by running a candy selling operation that nearly got me kicked out of school.
I found that I enjoyed business. Every day brought exciting challenges, complicated problems, and interesting people. My career path changed, and although I did not want to stay in trucking, I knew that the new entrepreneurship program at my university would be perfect for me, so I enrolled. Unfortunately, everything else in my life was in ruins. I had left my job at the political office, even though I thoroughly enjoyed it. I remained registered in school, however I never seemed to be able to attend classes. The pattern became routine. After an early rise, I would work a solid 6 hours before my scheduled classes. I would wait futilely in the office for my father to arrive and take over the daily responsibilities there. More often than not, he didn’t show up, leaving me no choice but to skip class and remain in the office. Before each new quarter, my father and I would have a serious discussion about my needs and priorities with regards to obtaining my degree. I would seem to have his support, but when it came time for me to go to school, I was alone.
This pattern led to severe problems. I began to notice that I wasn't where I wanted to be in life. My relationship with my father was ruined. I had not received the education that I coveted so greatly. I was still trying to balance a myriad of obligations and had very little time to fulfill my need to build my own future. Perhaps it should have hit me sooner, but finally in the winter of 2007 I found myself academically disqualified. At this point I decided to change my life and take control of my future. While the change in attitude was sudden, the skill set that I needed to go forward had been accumulating over the previous years. Running a company had taught me many things about planning, setting goals, and achievement. I sold my portion of the trucking company and informed my father that he would need to find a new business manager. We didn't speak for over a year.
At this point, I believe most of these stories would then go on to describe how difficult school was. I can't do that. Getting back into school was easy. Finishing my coursework was easy. After completing school, finding a corporate job was also fairly easy despite the terrible economic climate. It became apparent that when I could focus my effort into achieving a singular goal, I could accomplish great things. Of course I still worked several part time jobs while finishing school, but I didn't have the constant stress of running a business.
Law school wasn't always my primary goal in life but it has always represented a path to pursue justice. Justice has always been important to me, and has played a significant role in who I am today. As a young teenager I began officiating soccer games, a hobby that I still continue at the highest levels. I often find myself standing up for what I believe is right, whether it's through writing editorials, participating in organizations, or attending rallies. More and more I feel a burning desire to deepen my level of participation in the communal pursuit of justice. I can no longer imagine a future in which I am not a lawyer.
I am not your typical law school applicant. I am 31, I've been working for several years, and I struggled through my undergraduate coursework. Ten years ago I was tossing pizzas and driving an 18 wheeler while trying to attain a biology degree. I've made mistakes in life, but the difficulties I overcame made me more steadfast, and gave me skills that will forever empower me to do better things.
I have learned education is much like other things in life; it is a marathon in which losing focus can lead to downfall, regardless of the physical capacity to finish. Entering college in 1998, I was moderately excited to begin the next step in my path towards liberation from my family. I had the qualifications to attend prestigious schools, however my father, an immigrant from Iraq, didn't understand the educational system and threatened to cut me off if I did not attend the local state university. Naturally I obliged my father in order to keep the peace. I had already been recruited by the state university soccer coach, and had a job working at a local pizza parlor. My first undergrad years were relatively smooth. A friend and I published an environmental magazine that we called Impact. Our initial issue featured an investigative report on campus recycling and a review of new electric cars being built by Honda. We were even able to convince Honda to bring several models to the campus to publicize the magazine's release. Between the magazine, playing for the university soccer team, and working part time both at a political office and a pizza parlor, I stayed busy.
In the fall of 2000 my father became enthralled with the idea of owning a business. I was faced with a daunting decision, drop my extra-curricular activities and begin driving trucks, or face immediate expulsion from the family home. I was young and lacked confidence in myself. I was already paying my own tuition and bills, and I felt I could not afford to continue my education without being able to live with my parents, so I went to truck driving school in the evenings.
I was juggling too many activities and eventually crashed, literally. It was spring 2001, and I was sleeping very little. After a three day sleepless stretch, I finally wrecked one of the 18 wheelers we had purchased and nearly killed myself. I think at this point, most people would find themselves re-evaluating their lives. While I did take pause and wonder why I wasn't sleeping, I did not really consider whether or not I was making the best choices for my future. I gave up driving trucks, kept my part time jobs, and increased my role in the family business. In exchange for an ownership stake in the company, I began to learn the internal workings of the trucking industry. Within six months of my accident, I was running the day-to-day operations of the company on my own, which was not too surprising. I always had an inherent ability to teach myself things quickly, to adapt to new situations, and to operate independently. I made my first $1,000 at age 15 by running a candy selling operation that nearly got me kicked out of school.
I found that I enjoyed business. Every day brought exciting challenges, complicated problems, and interesting people. My career path changed, and although I did not want to stay in trucking, I knew that the new entrepreneurship program at my university would be perfect for me, so I enrolled. Unfortunately, everything else in my life was in ruins. I had left my job at the political office, even though I thoroughly enjoyed it. I remained registered in school, however I never seemed to be able to attend classes. The pattern became routine. After an early rise, I would work a solid 6 hours before my scheduled classes. I would wait futilely in the office for my father to arrive and take over the daily responsibilities there. More often than not, he didn’t show up, leaving me no choice but to skip class and remain in the office. Before each new quarter, my father and I would have a serious discussion about my needs and priorities with regards to obtaining my degree. I would seem to have his support, but when it came time for me to go to school, I was alone.
This pattern led to severe problems. I began to notice that I wasn't where I wanted to be in life. My relationship with my father was ruined. I had not received the education that I coveted so greatly. I was still trying to balance a myriad of obligations and had very little time to fulfill my need to build my own future. Perhaps it should have hit me sooner, but finally in the winter of 2007 I found myself academically disqualified. At this point I decided to change my life and take control of my future. While the change in attitude was sudden, the skill set that I needed to go forward had been accumulating over the previous years. Running a company had taught me many things about planning, setting goals, and achievement. I sold my portion of the trucking company and informed my father that he would need to find a new business manager. We didn't speak for over a year.
At this point, I believe most of these stories would then go on to describe how difficult school was. I can't do that. Getting back into school was easy. Finishing my coursework was easy. After completing school, finding a corporate job was also fairly easy despite the terrible economic climate. It became apparent that when I could focus my effort into achieving a singular goal, I could accomplish great things. Of course I still worked several part time jobs while finishing school, but I didn't have the constant stress of running a business.
Law school wasn't always my primary goal in life but it has always represented a path to pursue justice. Justice has always been important to me, and has played a significant role in who I am today. As a young teenager I began officiating soccer games, a hobby that I still continue at the highest levels. I often find myself standing up for what I believe is right, whether it's through writing editorials, participating in organizations, or attending rallies. More and more I feel a burning desire to deepen my level of participation in the communal pursuit of justice. I can no longer imagine a future in which I am not a lawyer.