Biweekly :College Prompt

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

"Even though you might not live a life for God, I hope you can live a life for others."
That is one thing that my brother said to me that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Growing up in Oakland when I was a child, my family was not rich; we had to live off of food stamps from the government, my sister quit college early to work, and I remember just living very frugally. Compared to that life that I live now, living in Alameda and living a pretty nice lifestyle,I should be happier now. The problem is that I'm not. Through the past years, I always thought that it was because I needed more materialistic things or that because my mom is mental and I would be happier if she just went back to China. However, after much though, I have come to the conclusion that the source of my unhappiness is the broken relationships I have with my family.

When I was little, I used to do everything with my mom.Because my mom somewhat has a mental illness that had gotten worse starting when I was in elementary school, I stopped talking to her and ignored all the questions that she'd ask me. Now that I am almost an adult, I have a bad attitude when my sister minds my business;I sometimes ignore her too. I really need to change my attitude and try to help my mom in pain and get along with my sister who is the one supporting my dad in China, my mom, and me. I really miss the ties that I used to have with my family, like engaging in conversation and eating dinner together every night. This has made me realize that self sufficiency does not lead to happiness.

After my brother moved to Davis and went to church, I have seen an amazing transformation. Now, he is working as a teacher for special education kids. I always wondered why he chose that job when he could have chosen another one that makes more money and is more well respected. It shows that he really cares about other people, no matter what they are like. Seeing my brother live such a selfless life has encouraged me to do more community service, which I have done so much that it became a part of my daily life. I realized that it was a much more meaningful way to spend my time that being alone in my room using the computer.I have made a life goal of pursuing a career in which I will be able to interact other people, especially those in need. That is why I want to be a nurse practitioner. I want to do something meaningful with my life like establishing relationships with other people. Hopefully, working with patients, I will come across people that are mentally ill, and realize that there are a lot of people like my mom out in the world and that will help me cope with my mom better.