Personal essay(College)

Limitations…do we have limits to our abilities? A while ago, I realized that we do not unless we accept them. Most of the time society projects limitations onto us, and once we do not meet its expectations, we are judged. I was judged.

From first grade to fifth, I was studying at gymnasium, a school which primarily serves the rich and smart kids, and I didn’t meet the requirements. My parents were poor then but I was able to pass the entrance examination, so I was accepted. But because of my financial difficulties, children, their parents and teachers judged me harshly. The administration of the school community told me that I had to leave. At the age of twelve, I did not understand the judgment, but I realized that I had to accept it and take responsibility. I moved to another school, where I immediately started improving myself….

By the time I turned 18, I had been working hard to pass final exams and get into the best Russian Universities. Simultaneously I was running a small business, acting as a president of the school, helping parents with my physically challenged sister and helping my father renovate flats. On Sunday mornings I would wake up, go to a BBQ with my family and then to the Theater with friends. While I was working as hard as I could, I heard the same phrases repeatedly.

“You will never be accepted into any of your dream schools,”

“You are doing everything wrong,”

I was being judged again.

However, at my graduation party, I received my high school diploma. That night I was the subject of many thanks for my presidential work from students and the school administration. Furthermore, I met all the requirements to be enrolled in the Moscow State University, which had long been my dream. However, more importantly, for the first time, I realized that it was not "my" dream; it was rather “theirs”. 

I felt that it was time for me to challenge myself and go toward my own dream, get an American Education. I went to the U.S. high school representatives in Moscow and was accepted into an EF Academy in New York.  I bought tickets to America, packed my clothes and in three days was standing at JFK, waiting for a cab. I was alone in an entirely alien country – a place I had never been. I knew a little English. It was the first step in pursuing my own dream and the start of my new challenge as 18 years old.

In July, I started attending language classes, searched for tips on how to live in America and tried to complete my paperwork in order to set myself up in the US. I was getting used to living in Thornwood, NY despite the fact that I was having trouble learning English quickly enough.

Now, at 19, when I walk through the financial district, knowing the area very well, I feel like I have been here for years. I look forward to my parents visiting me, one day, here, at my home, to show them that their efforts were not wasted and to thank them for everything they have done and are doing for me.

Currently, I am writing this essay because I want to be accepted into one of the strongest colleges in the USA. After the experience, living independently, I realized that this is my dream. Actually, it is my goal.