Hispanic, Worker, Student, Mother Essay -- Graduate College Admissions

Hispanic, Worker, Student, Mother    I am the only girl and middle child in a family of five siblings. As is common in Hispanic culture, my status was automatically placed below that of my brothers by virtue of my gender alone. Even as a teenager, I was not allowed to go out to movies alone with my friends; my younger brother was sent to keep an eye on me and report back to my mother. Needless to say, I was also not permitted to date in high school. At that time, without the social life afforded to other girls my age, I turned to academics.    Captivated by muckrakers, yellow journalism, and the sheer power of the printed word, I discovered through journalism my love for writing. The idea of writing something that would get the attention of my teenage peers, or anyone for that matter, appealed to me. In one column I wrote about gang activity at my high school. I argued for tougher disciplinary measures for gang members and against ineffective administrative procedures in dealing with gangs. However, one did not disrespect gangs in the school paper and expect it to go unnoticed. While my adviser feared for my safety, he agreed to run the column anyway. The day it ran, I walked into school with my head held high and prepared for the worst, but it never came. Instead I got people talking; talking about changes. I had succeeded in what I had intended for my writing. My senior year I became a correspondent for the El Paso Herald Post and earned an internship for the summer after graduation. Although I served as more of a gopher than a writer, no task was too small. I loved the opportunity to hang around the newsroom and witness seasoned veterans at work.    When summer ended I was terrified at the prospect ... ...e I had loved in academics. I needed to do more for my daughter and myself. In the summer of 1996, 1 walked off the job and back into the classroom.    Unlike the scared, sheltered girl fresh out of high school, I was now a single mother, a little older but far wiser. While I had longed for my mother's approval when I began college, I now had the admiration of my daughter. As her role model, I'm obligated not merely to teach her about responsibility but also to show her what is right through my actions. I have balanced academics, a child, a household, and a job (sometimes two jobs) every semester while continuing to have my writings published and making the best grades of my academic career. The decisions to keep my daughter and to raise her alone could have devastated my academic career, but instead they made me into a strong, dedicated, and balanced person.