Essay: Goals for the semester (personal essay)

On the surface, I think I am like most young American women: I take school seriously; I have dreams and goals for the future that I am determined to make happen, and I don’t expect anyone to do the hard work for me. I come from what is an increasingly normal background: two lovely parents who have been married for 25 years, two older sisters, and the sweetest dog ever by the name of Tarzan. Essentially, I was born and raised for the majority of my life in Salt Lake City, Utah, however my ethnic roots are from Cusco, Perú. When I was very little, I actually used to have a brain tumor and that was the main reason why my family migrated to the United States (more advanced medical treatments) from Perú. Obviously, I grew up with both Spanish and English in my household and can proudly say I speak fluently in both. With regards to my education though, I am presently a concurrent enrolment student. Apart from the college, I attend Innovations Early College High School and am a junior there. This Spring 2019 would categorize as my fourth semester at Salt Lake Community College. What I love most about starting early is having that opportunity at getting a head start at pursuing my career in the hard sciences and using it to merge when I transfer to a four-year institution.
On that note, I have many goals set up for myself that range from short to long and am someone who always likes to add more too. In fact, whenever I am near to accomplishing a few goals, I like to delve back into research and challenge myself more. My biggest goal as of right now is to become a paediatrician. Therefore, my focus is on pursuing Medical School. The pathway I’ve set up for myself to do such is to first obtain my Associates in General Studies along with my high school diploma in the Summer of 2019, then proceed for a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, with a minor in Writing and Rhetoric in the Fall of 2019. And, ultimately finish that degree in the Spring of 2020. With that, I wish to seek out fellowships and internships in and out of state afterwards as a way
to prepare myself to apply for Medical School to the top five universities in my list. Otherwise, I also want to learn a new language like Portuguese or French.
Now, when it comes to math, I would have to say that it began with my disliking but eventually proceeded to my liking. Since I was very little, science was my passion and dedication, and I guess math was more of a struggle. At such a young age, my philosophy was anything I didn’t understand automatically fell into also being something I didn’t like. However, the turning point of such feelings would have to be third grade, where multiplying and division actually drew me into math and learning more about it.
If I had to use one word to describe myself, it would be “activist.” I am someone who is committed to secure equal opportunity for communities of color. As a student, being an activist has been such an essential element to my career goals and passion. In fact, leadership efforts and settings have provided me a far- reaching understanding of the challenges faced by integration, conflict, economic inequality, and education – particularly in communities of color. It has also molded my identity as a young woman of color navigating a predominantly white institution.
Overall, this semester I have instore to master trigonometry and be able to apply it to everyday life. I also plan on devoting lots of time to studying and seek out help if needed. I want to be able to successfully achieve all the course outcomes, but more specifically leave with stronger problem-solving skills. What I ultimately expect is that there will be respect, support, and fairness in work. Lastly, I also expect to follow all the guidelines of the class and mainly enjoy my time in this class.