Describe The Factors And Challenges That Have Most Shaped Your Personal Life

We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations, and accomplished your academic successes. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors helped you to grow? (800 word limit) (772 Words)

To make a pizza, the dough has to be kneaded evenly, the sauce spread sparingly, and the toppings placed perfectly. As an elementary school kid, listening to my dad tell me stories of his childhood became an afterschool pastime. His stories consisted of how he made pizzas at Domino’s for customers, how he grew up engineering his own toys, and how the bond between him and his siblings grew. He told me about his fishing
trips, the warmth of homemade Vietnamese food, and his adventures in the tranquil city of My Tho. He painted this picture that life was a green meadow with warm suns to frolic on happily until we die. But it was all a facade.

As I continued to grow older, I became more aware of the actualities of my family.
I became envious of my friends living in multiple story houses filled with rooms adorned with family pictures and elaborate furnishings. Unlike everyone else, I didn’t have those typical family pictures because I grew up with my mom and seldom saw my dad. The elaborate furniture had ceased to exist in my household because we consistently moved from apartment to apartment. I wouldn't say I was angry about my family situation. I knew that the time my parents didn’t spend with me at home was spent working multiple jobs in order to support my family, but I couldn’t help but feel
suppressed.

I continuously questioned my family background, which led me to research the atrocities of the Vietnam War and how it affected my family.
Learning about the war forced me to rekindle my childhood memories and replace the deceptive picture my dad painted with the actual occurrences of the time period. During a difficult period in my life, I confided in my aunt, which in turn led to her relaying her own stories from a more factual point of view. My dad, who is from a large family, was left behind as his siblings escaped the war torn country by boat. As a result, he waited ten years until they had raised money to send him to America. Despite the difficulties, all he could do was move forward, which resonates with why my dad avoided talking about his unfortunate circumstances. This was when I realized that he engineered his own toys because he couldn’t afford any, and that the strong bonds among him and his siblings existed because some of them were also left behind. Everything else was just his positive mindset.

At first, I was disappointed that my dad hid his childhood from me, but I understood why he did it. When people look at my academic achievements, they don’t see the entirety of my background. Instead they see who I am and what I aim to achieve. Within the past few years, my dad has left working at Domino's to became a taxi driver, but is now aiming to create his own transportation company. His drive to push himself beyond his circumstances have taught me that the extent
of our adversities are set in the past, and what is important are the opportunities we grasp.

I typically don’t tell people how difficult it was to have a mom who had me at 19, or how often I had to move to new apartments when I was young, or the complicated relationships that have separated me from my mom and dad because I believe that those things don’t limit me. The basis of my life, the dough, became the foundation upon which I have built my life. It exists from the pain of the adversities that my parents inflicted onto me, but that isn’t definitive of the whole picture. What hides the dough is the sauce. The persona I present is not a false representation of who I am, but rather my choice to take the foundation upon which I was built and I expand it through cultivating an academic drive which is further garnished by toppings. The toppings are the opportunities I choose to take. Garnishing my life were both ASB and cheer, each teaching me the value of leadership and teamwork. Specifically ASB, has allowed me to wield my creative ideas into reality. Whether it was planning a rally, organizing a toy drive, or simply selling merchandise, I’ve learned that my strong minded character has enabled me to pursue the path of being an entrepreneur. Although the path forward still reigns unclear, I know for certain that I have the power to rebel against my adversities. I will repaint a picture where my future successes manifest from my passion to instill change.