How personal background shapes dreams and aspirations

¶ … Taiwan originally, where things are much different than in the United States. My parents only went as far as middle school. Although they graduated from there they did not go on to high school. My father, instead, took over the pig farm that was run by his family. It has grown a lot since he took it over, and he and my mother have turned it into a very successful business enterprise. Now it includes a large scale and very modern pig farm and other businesses that are associated with it.

My parents have worked very hard -- my father on the pig farm and my mother as a housewife. She has never worked outside of the home, but that doesn't mean that she didn't do anything. Being a housewife in Taiwan is not easy, and when you have a husband who owns a pig farm you must work very, very hard because you have to handle everything at the house. The cleaning, the cooking, the raising of children, and all other home issues were handled by my mother.

When I was ten years old she survived cancer, but that wasn't the only issue she faced. There have been many personal and family issues that she has been through both before I was born and while I was growing up, and she made it through all of them. She is a very strong woman, and she taught me to be strong as well, as did my father. Because my parents worked so hard they instilled in me a lot of strong work ethics and strong values. They persevered because they were committed to what they were doing and because they would not give up on what they wanted to accomplish. They have convinced me to do the same.

Since I was small they have emphasized to me that I can do anything at all that I want to do. I can be anyone, go anywhere, and succeed at anything -- but I have to understand that hard work and determination will be required. I cannot expect a free ride or assume that people will just hand me a great job, a lot of money, or happiness. I can have all of those things but I must be willing to go out and get them on my own, and not expect people to give them to me for nothing. While I realize that some people do get things handed to them, I believe in working for what I want and making my own way.

Now I will be the first person on either side of my family to attend college, and in the land of opportunity that is the United States I know that college will be an amazing and very rewarding experience. One of the things that I think is most important, though, is not the college or even the country, but the spirit that my parents have instilled in me. My parents have influenced me so strongly that I know that I can realize my full potential and make them very proud. They have not only talked to me about what I should hold important, but they have also given me the freedom to make those kinds of decisions on my own.