My College Entrance Personal Statement Essay
12th Grade 2011
When my sister and I were younger, my father invented new ways to say “No” to us. His most popular response to our non-stop requests for miscellaneous purchases was, “Is the Pope Black?”
His response baffled me at first; I had no idea who the Pope was. I quickly learned the answer to my father’s question was without fail, “No.”
I was a nine when my father first asked me this question and did not have the knowledge or maturity to understand its significance. Three years passed before I thought, “it’s time to find out about this Pope guy.”
One winter day, during my 7th grade year, I sat down at our newly purchased iMac and Googled: The Pope. What happened next changed a simple mouse click into magic that breathed new life into how I understood the W-O-R-L-D. I discovered the Pope, who he was, what he did, and where he lived. Every detail about him fed a part of my mind I did not know was hungry; it and gave me knowledge to understand and soon the epiphany was complete. I could appreciate my father’s creative method for making me search beyond myself.
His question gave me a fascinating learning experience. It opened the gateway to Vatican City in Italy. I became an Italian fanatic. I wanted to eat nothing but gelato and pasta. I learned about ancient Rome and how intelligent they were to borrow knowledge from other societies to form their own. I wanted to chat with current-day locals in Italian over cups of cappuccino. I took in everything I could about Italy, which led me to discover France and Spain. What I read about these cultures connected me to Africa. From Africa I learned about Asia, Australia, South America, and eventually Antarctica. My desire to know about all people and cultures also brought the realization that one cannot research the world without encountering its problems.
What I first saw as “borrowed knowledge” was more often taken through conquests and dominance of others. Such inhumane behavior limited peoples’ lives in other countries, in my country, and even in my own city and family. I realized there were more children not like me than there were like me. I was astonished that so much history and knowledge co-existed with so much misunderstanding, ignorance, and hatred. I was saddened because I began to realize why the answer to my father’s question – Is the Pope Black? -- was always a cold-hard-definite “NO.”
That day, as a seventh grade student sitting comfortably and safely in front of my computer, I found out how complicatedly-big the world really is, and how complicatedly-small I really am. However, I also felt empowered by what I knew of individuals who had already made multitudes of differences in our world. I don’t think my father imagined his rhetorical question about the Pope, designed to shut me up, would ignite a world-changing fire in how I envisioned the possibilities for my life.
--Khayriyyah
Affiliate Youth Consultant
12th Grade 2011
When my sister and I were younger, my father invented new ways to say “No” to us. His most popular response to our non-stop requests for miscellaneous purchases was, “Is the Pope Black?”
His response baffled me at first; I had no idea who the Pope was. I quickly learned the answer to my father’s question was without fail, “No.”
I was a nine when my father first asked me this question and did not have the knowledge or maturity to understand its significance. Three years passed before I thought, “it’s time to find out about this Pope guy.”
One winter day, during my 7th grade year, I sat down at our newly purchased iMac and Googled: The Pope. What happened next changed a simple mouse click into magic that breathed new life into how I understood the W-O-R-L-D. I discovered the Pope, who he was, what he did, and where he lived. Every detail about him fed a part of my mind I did not know was hungry; it and gave me knowledge to understand and soon the epiphany was complete. I could appreciate my father’s creative method for making me search beyond myself.
His question gave me a fascinating learning experience. It opened the gateway to Vatican City in Italy. I became an Italian fanatic. I wanted to eat nothing but gelato and pasta. I learned about ancient Rome and how intelligent they were to borrow knowledge from other societies to form their own. I wanted to chat with current-day locals in Italian over cups of cappuccino. I took in everything I could about Italy, which led me to discover France and Spain. What I read about these cultures connected me to Africa. From Africa I learned about Asia, Australia, South America, and eventually Antarctica. My desire to know about all people and cultures also brought the realization that one cannot research the world without encountering its problems.
What I first saw as “borrowed knowledge” was more often taken through conquests and dominance of others. Such inhumane behavior limited peoples’ lives in other countries, in my country, and even in my own city and family. I realized there were more children not like me than there were like me. I was astonished that so much history and knowledge co-existed with so much misunderstanding, ignorance, and hatred. I was saddened because I began to realize why the answer to my father’s question – Is the Pope Black? -- was always a cold-hard-definite “NO.”
That day, as a seventh grade student sitting comfortably and safely in front of my computer, I found out how complicatedly-big the world really is, and how complicatedly-small I really am. However, I also felt empowered by what I knew of individuals who had already made multitudes of differences in our world. I don’t think my father imagined his rhetorical question about the Pope, designed to shut me up, would ignite a world-changing fire in how I envisioned the possibilities for my life.
--Khayriyyah
Affiliate Youth Consultant