personal statement.

I had to write a personal statement for a scholarship I filled out today. The directions were to "describe someone or something which has been a major influence in your life". This is what I wrote:

As children we cling to our parents. We find comfort through the love of our mother and safety through the protection of our father. As we grow older the majority of what we learn comes first hand from our parents, and as time goes on, we learn from our experiences. As major influences in our lives, our parents and our experiences shape us into who we will be. I have come in contact with a multitude of people and situations that have been a major influence on me. Of these, my parents have definitely been the most critical one.

My parents did not start building a life together with the intention of it falling apart. Three months after they met I was conceived. To them, getting married after I was born and starting a family was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the circumstances would not allow for such a fulfilling future. I was two when my parents married, my mother pregnant with her third child. Seven years later they divorced and have both been struggling since. Their struggle can be attributed to a number of things, though lack of education seems to stand out the most to me: one graduated, however, neither pursued further education through college. Because of this they are both working low income jobs and neither of them receives adequate health care services nor do they have extra money to start a retirement fund. Despite what they do not have, they are happy with what they do have, and they do whatever they can to continue moving forward.

Sometimes the biggest influences in our lives are not what was said or done, but what was not said or done. My parents have taught me that education is very important without even meaning to. Their actions have been a major influence in my life and have made me realize that, if I want to be a successful, stable, thriving individual, education is a must. I have every intention of making my parents proud by pursuing a career through college education and by providing my children with advantages my parents could not provide me.