“What makes you different?” “What makes you stand out in a crowd?” “What makes you different from the other applicants?” This question has been the bane of my existence. I keep getting asked this question and it took a while to figure out the answer within myself. I was adopted from South Korea and grew up in a small, rural, northern New Jersey community. I didn’t learn I was different right away. My awareness began later. Middle school was hard and I remember wishing that I was like everybody else. Being Asian in a primarily white populated community was not an issue until other kids in my class pointed it out. It’s hard to describe how that feels. Humiliating. Embarrassing. Some days I would wish that I was just somewhere else. I struggled in my early teen years, not accepting who I was, becoming closed off, pulling away from my friends and family, and most of all, hating myself. I know it’s not something you can change, but my middle school self didn’t exactly grasp this concept. The constant ridiculing, whether it was to my face or in my imagination, made …show more content…
Being confident, as well as accepting who you are, can make all the difference. My story makes me unique and I’m grateful to have had the experience because it has made me a stronger person. It has motivated me to make a difference in other people’s lives and it also began my interest in being a part of the criminal justice system. I feel empathetic to those who feel they are being judged unfairly, solely based on what they look like. I am also interested in the field of psychology to understand better how people think. Overcoming an adversity like self-image was one of the toughest things I’ve had to deal with, and am dealing with, but the qualities I am gaining are helping me to fill lost opportunities in the past with fulfilling experiences