English-II

MVC Student

1001 Ashville Street, Dallas, Texas 75249
[email protected]

972.555.1111

January 30, 2020

The University of I Don’t Know Yet
100 University Way
Somewhere, Texas 10000

Dear Admissions Counselor:

My mother had a sporadic education at best, the result of moving back and forth from Mexico to
Texas. When her mother died, she quit school for good at age fifteen and raised her siblings
instead. My mother always wanted more for her children. No matter what people said about us
being bastards and mistakes, she drilled it into my head that the world was mine for the taking.

I was never a good student, but I always loved learning. I am hardworking, ambitious, and
sometimes unconventional. As far back as I can remember, I have never excelled at school- from
elementary to high school. I remember crying in math while teachers yelled at me for slacking off.
By the time I was in ninth grade I did not even bother writing my name on assignments. My mother
often had to leave work so all my teachers could sit in one room and tell her how I was never
going to get anywhere. In my junior year of high school, we discovered I had a learning disability
that was never caught. I was glad to finally understand why school was so difficult, but my GPA
had already been damaged beyond repair. No matter how low I felt after a report card, I knew
could not give up on college. College held the key to everything I wanted and more.

My parents divorced when I was two years old. They like to think it was peaceful, but I remember
yelling waking me up from sleep and tears on both of their faces. I think divorcing was something
neither of them wanted; they just could not figure out how to make it work. It killed me that I had
no power to help them fix it. My parents lost parts of themselves that I don’t know if I will ever
see again.

My five siblings and I bounced around between parents for a while. Eventually, I stayed with my
mother permanently. Mostly, I only saw my mother in the middle of the night, eyes tired, barely
getting home from one of her many jobs. Since she was gone most of the time, I had to mature
quickly. Even though I was the youngest of my siblings, I took on the role of the “housewife” from
an early age. I was the cook, the cleaner, and the peacemaker. Making a little peace in my
chaotic family was my biggest pride. I loved solving problems and helping the members of my
family come to understand each other. Always seeing my mom exhausted made me want
something better for myself. I was not sure what was going to save from this life, but I had to find
it. I, later, figured out it was college.

Although when I was younger I swore I was going to be a veterinarian, when it came time to
choose a career pathway in high school, I knew I wanted two things in life: I wanted to pursue my
passion in writing poetry, and I wanted to help people and families like my own. So, I decided to
study psychology. I figured if the world was mine, I wanted to do something to make it a better
place.

MVC Student

1001 Ashville Street, Dallas, Texas 75249
[email protected]

972.555.1111

After high school graduation, I was lost. college was uncharted territory in my family. Luckily, my
mom raised an independent woman, and I was able to figure things out. Now, I am on my way to
accomplish the things everyone I ever respected told me I could not do. I am taking the world.

I look forward to being a University of I Don’t Know Yet student next year,

MVC Student