Personal Statement Of Purpose: A Personal Experience

I have spent much of my life in two entirely different worlds. Born and raised in America, I spent many of my summers visiting my grandmother in Cheonan, South Korea. During the long summer visits, I attended art academy, Taekwondo classes, and Korean language school. I met and befriended many people as I immersed myself in the city and its culture.
Despite the differences between us, my friends and I were unified by one commonality – we were all academically invested. We constantly worried about school and our grades, and it became the central topic of many of our discussions. As my friends talked about school, I learned that the vastly different Korean school system (infamous for its highly rigorous schedules) promotes students to the next
Although these facts came as a shock to me, they also piqued my interest. Because much of my growth can be attributed to the extracurricular activities I have invested myself in, I cannot imagine myself without the demanding cross country practices, or the baked goods I sell to raise funds for Relay for Life, or the Gwinnett Student Leadership Team seminars that my peers and I plan for our school. Although, at times, I become more stressed with the extra demands of my club activities, the fruitful results allow me to relax as my efforts become tangible. By running, baking and socializing, I was able to briefly escape the academic pressures put on me by
Despite the constant pressure put on Korean students by their parents, I believe that the “All-Work, No-Play” culture, created by an imbalance between a demanding school environment and stress relieving extracurricular activities, has contributed to the devastatingly high suicide rate. Although my ideas are theoretical, I believe Johns Hopkins’s research program will allow me the opportunity to research the sociological factors that have caused the decline in health for teens. I will be able to nurture my abilities to work in a team, raise awareness and grow as a leader, while also being given an opportunity to contribute to the development of the future. My dedication to help bring answers to parents who have lost their children to a highly demanding school life will not falter as I also wish to prevent this tragedy from permeating our