personal statement
Prompt #1
Step back, relax, and I will you take on a journey. A journey into the past, of which made me the person I am today. A childhood not so bright, but one of a very promising future. There have been times of struggle, sacrifices, and hardships, but at the end of the day "What doesn't kill us can only make us stronger"
This name carries generations of family history and culture, NigistiAzeb Retta Adane Retta Kesaun Yelow Selassie. I was born on September 22, 1996, in Black Lion Hospital (Ethiopia). The daughter of Kiros Meresa, and Retta Adane, I was born into a political family, with relations to the last Emperor Haile Selassie. Most of my life I had no clue to who my dad really was. I met him for the first time when I moved to America, in 2001 with my mother. My father had an affair and contracted HIV, and died 7 years later. But, the first six months coming into the country, we were left with little money, and no place to live. The first few months the church placed us in women shelters, which allowed me to start going to school. Even though I was young I knew I had to learn English as soon as possible to teach my mother. I learned what a good work ethic was through my mother. When we first came here we had nothing, but she some how managed to get us from living in a woman’s shelter to a 2-bedroom apartment within a year.
As I reflect upon my childhood, I see a caring, underweight five year old that suffered constant abuse from others. I see a girl lost, stumbling over to her principal's office to have their weekly meeting with Social Services. Seeing my mother work day and night in order to support the two of us, I learned how to handle, and adapt to different situations. Later on in my sophomore year of high school my friend thought it would be a good idea to join the Blair's poetry club. It was there that I learned how to forgive, keep faith and move on through poetry. It has allowed me to be the person I am today, open- minded,
Step back, relax, and I will you take on a journey. A journey into the past, of which made me the person I am today. A childhood not so bright, but one of a very promising future. There have been times of struggle, sacrifices, and hardships, but at the end of the day "What doesn't kill us can only make us stronger"
This name carries generations of family history and culture, NigistiAzeb Retta Adane Retta Kesaun Yelow Selassie. I was born on September 22, 1996, in Black Lion Hospital (Ethiopia). The daughter of Kiros Meresa, and Retta Adane, I was born into a political family, with relations to the last Emperor Haile Selassie. Most of my life I had no clue to who my dad really was. I met him for the first time when I moved to America, in 2001 with my mother. My father had an affair and contracted HIV, and died 7 years later. But, the first six months coming into the country, we were left with little money, and no place to live. The first few months the church placed us in women shelters, which allowed me to start going to school. Even though I was young I knew I had to learn English as soon as possible to teach my mother. I learned what a good work ethic was through my mother. When we first came here we had nothing, but she some how managed to get us from living in a woman’s shelter to a 2-bedroom apartment within a year.
As I reflect upon my childhood, I see a caring, underweight five year old that suffered constant abuse from others. I see a girl lost, stumbling over to her principal's office to have their weekly meeting with Social Services. Seeing my mother work day and night in order to support the two of us, I learned how to handle, and adapt to different situations. Later on in my sophomore year of high school my friend thought it would be a good idea to join the Blair's poetry club. It was there that I learned how to forgive, keep faith and move on through poetry. It has allowed me to be the person I am today, open- minded,