FINAL ESSAY DRAFT

University of Washington-
Discuss how your family’s experience or cultural history enriched you or presented you with opportunities or challenges in pursuing your educational goals.


It has always been my dream to live up to my families expectations. Many of my relatives have failed to live up to the expectations of going to college and having a great career. I will be that one person in my family that will do the opposite and go off to college and prove everyone wrong. My dream is to go off to Washington University, attend their nursing program, graduate college and become successful.

To become a nurse was what the women in my family wanted to be, but many things stopped them from pursing that career. My own mother and aunt became mothers at a very young age in high school. I’m not saying that it was a bad thing for them to have a baby, but it just wasn’t the right time. Being only 16 and in two years they would graduate and go off to college would change because of a baby. They had much more responsibilities and they weren’t able to do the things that they enjoyed anymore, most importantly they weren’t going to college. This has disappointed my grandparents so much, they thought very highly about their daughters and then this happens.

My grandparents now look at me as if it’s my duty to make up for what my mother and aunt didn’t get to do. I get “the talk” once in a while when I’m not doing too well in school. I get this really long lecture about focusing on school, getting good grades and absolutely no boyfriends till I graduate. I always tell them “yeah grandma, don’t worry I’m going to do fine”. Hearing the stories really touched me. The sound of disappointment in my grandparent’s voice and the sound of regret in my mother’s voice really got to me. I don’t want to be a disappointment to anyone, but mostly not a disappointment to myself. Coming from a Filipino family really makes it tough; they all want their kids to become successful and to go to college.

At first I felt as if it was my duty to live that dream for my family since my mother couldn’t do it for them. Now I’m not doing it because they didn’t get to do it, but I am doing it for myself. I’m going straight to college right after I graduate high school. I want to become a pediatric nurse, so I can be able to help kids and keep them healthy. Being a nurse will make happy because socializing and helping people makes me feel good about myself. Being involved in clubs and extra curricular activities at school like HOSA will keep me focused on my career and school. My family’s faults has made my mind and choices a lot stronger, and I am thankful for the opportunity that I still have to do things differently and make my own self proud.