What Was The Environment In Which You Were Raised?

Topic A: REQUIRED (no essay on file)
What was the environment in which you were raised? Describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person. My family consists of me, my mother and father, and my three sisters, two older and one younger. Growing up, our house was always bustling with friends and family as me and my sisters attended private school and later public school. Constantly being surrounded by people and animals created a hectic lifestyle for my family and me which has encouraged us to manage our time better as we got older. After we left private school for public school, I experienced the most difficult year of my life. In addition to being “the new kid,” I was bullied. At the time, I did not realize what it was because the bullies acted like my friends, but after they attacked me during lunch—pouring milk all over my hair—the janitor told a teacher who intervened. The principal interrogated me, making it appear as though it was my fault for being bullied,
and I was sent to lunch detention for a week when I had done nothing wrong. This shaped my mentality throughout middle school by making me skeptical of both teachers and students. Upon entering high school however, I was gratefully introduced to teachers and students who are supportive and encourage me in my studies; they inspire me to try harder than I would otherwise. They provide friendly competition and help me to learn through group study sessions. This friendly school community has shaped my learning and helped me to strive to be a better student. Before entering public school however, my eldest sister was a handful for my parents, so me and my sisters were quite often ignored while they dealt with her.
She used to fight my parents and sneak out at night—more so once she began attending high school—which caused immense strain on our family. During this, I held the responsibility of raising my little sister. I helped her get ready in the mornings and comforted her when the arguments got heated among the rest of the family. After much encouragement and bickering, we convinced my eldest sister to go to college which she dropped out of after a year and a half. I had to be a parental figure for my little sister; I had to “grow up” and move out of my childhood faster than most to support and protect her. I developed protective instincts at a very young age because of this. I am also determined not to follow in my sister’s footsteps, and instead successfully graduate college where she had given
up. A few years ago, my father lost his job which was a hard blow against the family. My father typically worked from seven in the morning until midnight so we rarely saw him. After losing his job, I was able to experience life with two parents rather than one. While it negatively impacted the family finances, it allowed me to bond with my father and he taught me that I be anything I set my mind to. This encouragement helped me to decide on a STEM career when previously I had been discouraged from it because it is not a typical “female job.” Without my dad, I would never have been able to work up the courage to take classes that were predominantly male and I would never have fallen in love with engineering and science. Around the time my father lost his job, my second eldest sister began attending St. Edward’s University. She provided a good role model for me when it came to college since she tries her best and always goes out of her way for school. With her guidance, I was able to narrow down which colleges I wanted to go to until I was left with A&M. She has also taught me how to better manage my time which has proven invaluable to me. Overall, my past experiences with my family and school community have drastically influenced who I am today. Whether it was growing up in a hectic environment that taught me to deal with stress and emotions or learning to deal with adversity, I learned a lot from my family and community. I would not be who I am today if not for my family, peers, and teachers who taught me how to be a successful student and how to function within society.

Topic B: REQUIRED (no essay on file)
Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself. While most students have an identity, interest, or talent, I do not have any one aspect that defines me. Back in middle school, I was interested in writing and drawing and in high school I became interested in photography. Even though I am interested in the fine arts, I also classify myself as a “nerd” which means that I love reading and researching interesting topics in addition to overall learning. During high school, my passions changed as the years passed. As a freshman, I was devoted to drawing and sophomore year I fell in love with writing. As I entered my junior and senior years of high school, I fell in love with photography and I have won several awards for my photos over these past two years. Like most artists, photography is an outlet for me to express my creativity and emotions. Currently, I am working on my AP photography project which is an in depth exploration of any subject or theme of my choosing. I decided to photograph my high school experience and the feelings I went through during these past four years. This project provides me a creative and productive outlet for me to express emotions that I have been struggling with such as the stress of exams and college in addition to the emotional pain that relationships have caused me. Through my art, I am able to freely express myself and come to peace with both my past and my future. In addition to classifying myself as a photographer, I also view myself as an intellectual. I have a passion for learning that extends beyond the classroom. If a topic intrigues me, I will spend a significant amount of time pursuing more information about it. I have always been passionate about learning and as I move up in the education system, I find myself increasingly challenged and enjoying the courses I take. Unlike most high school students, I look forward to the challenges that my teachers and peers present to me, especially when they involved coming up with creative solutions to problems. Back in 2015, I was offered a chance to attend a program through ACC to learn programming. Although I barely knew what programming was, I decided to join the academy and while it is not my passion, I am glad that I decided to join the IT Academy. In this program, I left campus twice a week during my high school classes and went to ACC where I took courses alongside other college students. I enjoyed the exposure to a real college courses and the professors that I met, who inspired me to pursue the program further even though it presented a challenge that was unlike any I had faced before. My passion for learning has motivated me through high school and the dual credit courses I have taken. While they are difficult, the challenge is fun and entertaining. I am also involved in the Aviary and Book Club which are both literary organizations that focus on writing and reading respectively. These clubs are both interesting and expand my knowledge of obscure books and ideas as well as allowing me to help others to better their writing. For these reasons, I do not fit into one particular category since I have a large variety of interests. However, I will always find interest in knowledge and art since they have given my life structure throughout these past fourteen years of my life. Whenever I am faced with adversity, I always seek solace in a good book or through a camera lens and this is what defines me as both an artist and a “nerd” even though they are usually two vastly different categories