Diversity Statement Critique
Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 10:59 pm
I'll post mine below and feel free to rip it to shreds, or give positive feedback. Thanks guys!
Outcast, immigrant, fob (i.e., fresh off the boat). Regrettably, these were the derogatory terms of discrimination utilized by my peers during my youth, including those who were of a similar ethnic background, but American –born. To this day, these three words elicit the same emotions as they did then, when I first moved to America. Before, it elicited a truculent and ornery emotion, an emotion I could not control. Today, those words, which elicit the same emotions, now serve as the incentive to prove those who doubted me wrong, those who doubted that I could succeed.
To them, I was another immigrant likely to be unsuccessful, an immigrant that embodied the negative connotations that still accompany the word today. Eventually, I myself became susceptible to these connotations, and individuals I looked up to validated those notions, because many members of my extended-family worked for the local Walmart or dead-end job. However, what separates me from them was that I was afforded an opportunity that they never received, an opportunity to break the stigma and be the first in my family to attend college. With this opportunity, I told myself that every choice I make forward will be of my own volition, and that I would only perform obligations that make me happy, regardless if it conforms to the general consensus.
Nevertheless, I have endured my share of troubles, some of which I circumvent, but none of which I resent. Each experience, regardless of its consequences, has contributed to a greater and more holistic understanding of what is important. Today, I have become the first college graduate in my family, first graduate level member of my family, and embody the dreams and desires that my mother imagined would come to fruition by moving to America. My graduate level coursework has enabled me the opportunity to become the example of the change I envision, which will further increase my capacity to pay this opportunity forward, to show immigrants like myself that they too can become greater than societal expectations.
These statements are not intended to elicit pity, be glorifications of the arduous situations I have experienced, nor are they intended to depict the grandiose ideas about myself. I am a true believer that everything is “grist to the mill” and that everything has the potential to be profitable, in spite of their negative effects. These experiences allow me the ability to depict a perspective dissimilar from those who were born in America, and advocate for the values immigrants.
I am proud to be an immigrant and I am proud to let others know that it is a part of my identity. Although my experiences during my youth were negative, they have bestowed upon me the determination to withstand adverse circumstances, and the ability to change. I have overcome many challenges, and even though my lack of proficiency in speaking English may have hindered me from accomplishing tasks in the past, I consider this deficiency to be a challenge waiting to be overcome, a challenge that will invoke greater feelings of accomplishment and appreciation when defeated.
Outcast, immigrant, fob (i.e., fresh off the boat). Regrettably, these were the derogatory terms of discrimination utilized by my peers during my youth, including those who were of a similar ethnic background, but American –born. To this day, these three words elicit the same emotions as they did then, when I first moved to America. Before, it elicited a truculent and ornery emotion, an emotion I could not control. Today, those words, which elicit the same emotions, now serve as the incentive to prove those who doubted me wrong, those who doubted that I could succeed.
To them, I was another immigrant likely to be unsuccessful, an immigrant that embodied the negative connotations that still accompany the word today. Eventually, I myself became susceptible to these connotations, and individuals I looked up to validated those notions, because many members of my extended-family worked for the local Walmart or dead-end job. However, what separates me from them was that I was afforded an opportunity that they never received, an opportunity to break the stigma and be the first in my family to attend college. With this opportunity, I told myself that every choice I make forward will be of my own volition, and that I would only perform obligations that make me happy, regardless if it conforms to the general consensus.
Nevertheless, I have endured my share of troubles, some of which I circumvent, but none of which I resent. Each experience, regardless of its consequences, has contributed to a greater and more holistic understanding of what is important. Today, I have become the first college graduate in my family, first graduate level member of my family, and embody the dreams and desires that my mother imagined would come to fruition by moving to America. My graduate level coursework has enabled me the opportunity to become the example of the change I envision, which will further increase my capacity to pay this opportunity forward, to show immigrants like myself that they too can become greater than societal expectations.
These statements are not intended to elicit pity, be glorifications of the arduous situations I have experienced, nor are they intended to depict the grandiose ideas about myself. I am a true believer that everything is “grist to the mill” and that everything has the potential to be profitable, in spite of their negative effects. These experiences allow me the ability to depict a perspective dissimilar from those who were born in America, and advocate for the values immigrants.
I am proud to be an immigrant and I am proud to let others know that it is a part of my identity. Although my experiences during my youth were negative, they have bestowed upon me the determination to withstand adverse circumstances, and the ability to change. I have overcome many challenges, and even though my lack of proficiency in speaking English may have hindered me from accomplishing tasks in the past, I consider this deficiency to be a challenge waiting to be overcome, a challenge that will invoke greater feelings of accomplishment and appreciation when defeated.