Your autobiography is an essential part of this application and carries MAJOR emphasis.

Your
autobiography should include descriptions and explanations of your experiences in relation to our
selection criteria (financial need, community awareness, firstgeneration college student status,
!olunteer efforts, and extraordinary circumstances" that will enable us to e!aluate your eligibility for
a finalist inter!iew.
The following MUST be included in your autobiography:
#. A summary of your personal bac$ground and circumstances.
%. A description of your community awareness and your commitment to community
in!ol!ement.
&. A description of your current financial situation and how it will affect your educational
experience at '().
*t is recommended that you type your document in +ord, then copy and paste it into the box below.
(#,-- word maximum".
While some may see laughter as joy, I perceived it as a hideous sound of constant
harm that led to insecurity. I received numerous painful remarks from my peers while
they laughed and pointed out my abnormality. I was born with an ear bigger than the
other, which I was bullied for throughout the years in elementary leading up to middle
school. My parents attempted to solve this problem by transferring me to a different
school and obtaining surgery. The transition did not solve anything, as the bullying
continued and the surgery was never performed. I was aware of my physical imperfection
as my peers reminded me daily. Overtime I had to overcome my insecurity that started
off with laughter and bullying.
ecause of my insecurity I pictured everyone talking negatively about me so it
was difficult to communicate with other students. My communication skills progressed
slowly over the years from elementary to middle school. There was a greater
improvement in the charter middle school where my parents decided to place me thinking
it was a safer environment than the elementary public schools I used to attend. The
stricter curriculum of the charter school would ensure a safe learning environment away
from misbehaved bullies. This was true for the most part but there were still a few peers
who made inhumane comments.
!tarting in si"th grade I gained confidence and learned to communicate through
my theatre class. I continued to take this class for the remaining two years of middle
school to help strengthen my communication skills while overcoming my fear of
performing on stage. In my theatre classes I learned to present in front of a do#en staring
eyes that was intimidating at first and sill is a little to this day. efore even stepping foot
on stage I completed the designated warm up e"ercises I learned. These e"ercises kept
me calm and got rid of some of the nervous feelings I had. The ability to e"press my
feelings in theatre and role$play as different characters allowed me to build upon my
persona. I gained the necessary practice that allowed me to move forward and carry out
successful presentations and conversations. %ot only did I gain communication skills but
I also gained confidence when I overcame what I perceived as a challenging class. The
shyness I ac&uired in elementary school slowly deteriorated in middle school.
I put my communication skills to good use in high school when I came
into contact with the 'irector of (ategorical )rograms from the )arent (enter at the
Inglewood *nified !chool 'istrict. I started volunteering and assisting +ngelina
Mar&ue# sophomore year and I am currently still volunteering. I, along with the )arent
(enter address and facilitate the availability of school supplies for the parents and
students. This includes school materials, uniforms, shoes, and backpacks. 'uring the
Thanksgiving and (hristmas holidays the students receive more gifts bringing them a
feeling of joy. The simple action of volunteering and providing my services to those who
need it has taught me to be generous. The biggest award I obtain from volunteering is the
smile on the children,s faces when they receive the gifts that will lead to a gateway of
education for a bright future.
I am also aiming for not only a bright future but also a successful career that will
accommodate to my interest for the brain. 'reams and behavior are two major
components of the brain that I have find appealing. The fact that the brain is still awake
while we are sleeping creating images, known as a dream, is fascinating. eing that it is
the most comple" organ in the body, I want to understand its difficult concepts through
the major of %euroscience at the *niversity of !outhern (alifornia -*!(.. I want to
know the fundamentals of the brain consisting of the nervous system, neural correlates of
behavior, and mechanisms of nervous system disorders.
The major would also cover the behavioral aspects of the brain allowing me to
e"pand on my research and establishment of the organi#ation against bullying that will be
known as /os +ngeles !top the *nnecessary ully -/+ !T*.. *nderstanding the
processing of comple" behaviors, emotions, memories, and thoughts caused by neural
signals will guarantee the founding of my organi#ation. I plan to take action in my
community with the research by applying the insights on the function and processing of
the brain.
My insecurity was resolved but not the constant nightmare of bullying. In the
future I will solve the problem by bringing into action my service$learning project from
my political science class. The purpose of the project was to discover and understand an
issue within the community in order to e"ecute a project providing a solution with the
contribution of citi#ens. /+ !T* is the name of the organi#ation I desire to commence
at *!(. I have already ac&uired the necessary information including statistics and census
that helped shape the goals, program activities, plans, and possible sponsors. I will need
more information to start my organi#ation that I will obtain at *!(.
My dream is to use my knowledge from my major at *!( and utili#e it to stop
bullying through my organi#ation by mentoring lower grade level students. In order to
make my dream come true I need to make college affordable by applying to scholarships.
My family does not come from lu"uries and riches, neither misery nor rags. We live a
decent lifestyle in an apartment building with two bedrooms and one bathroom where
there are five occupants in total. My father works in a (uban restaurant known as
0ersailles where he makes a little more than minimum wage. Many times he gives up his
days off work for overtime to make that e"tra money to make ends meet. Meanwhile my
mother takes care of the house and makes sure we are well fed and nurtured so she does
not have a paying job.
The financial struggle has made my parents reali#e and advise us to go to college
and obtain a career so that we can have better lives than what they have. They know the
advantages of a career versus a job, which is why they motivate me to attend college.
1etting accepted and attending college is already an immense step in my family because I
am the oldest of my siblings and the first to have the life changing opportunity of going
to college. eing a first generation student puts a mass amount of pressure but I will
become successful by working diligently towards my goal. The insecurity I obtained
from bullying only made me stronger and I actually thank my bullies for that because I
have worked harder to overcome the obstacles that have been roadblocks in my life.