Entry Essay

City of Angels

My identity has been shaped by the place where I grew up which is in the City of Angels, Los Angeles California. A city filled with so many hopes and dreams in which I aspire to one day fulfill. Growing up in Los Angeles I had to deal and overcome many hardships due to my neighborhood. My neighborhood was predominantly made up of gang members who input fear to our community. As a young Latino boy living with my single mother, I was constantly faced with temptations such as joining a gang, consuming drugs or giving up my education. As a result of my iniquitous neighborhood my mother’s fear of her child leading a vile road, she took upon herself to place me in a private elementary school. I attended Immaculate Conception School in Downtown Los Angeles grades K-8. My experience in a private school was very memorable and efficient as I was able to excel and develop my own goals as I take upon the road towards adolescence. In school I was a very independent learner as I had no help due to the fact that my mother only spoke Spanish and had no older siblings to assist me. This made me work twice as hard and develop a yearning for learning.
As I matured more into adolescence my education was my goal, but the manifestation of myself was my priority. Reaching grade 6 through 8, I sought out any opportunity to better myself through clubs in order to help others by being a prototype. At this point in my life I was very much involved in volunteering, student government, academic decathlon and athletics; all in which were in correlation to both my goal and my priority. After graduating elementary school with admirable grades I went on to the next chapter of my life which was high school. Having gained so much experience and determination I was able to proceed with my involvement in my education and my participation in clubs. I went on attending a private High School named Cathedral College Preparatory School. My experience in high school differentiated from that of my elementary school as I was evolving from a young adult to an adult. High school really served as a tool to my success as I learned maturity, responsibility and most importantly life’s lessons. Gaining such knowledge I was able to assimilate who I was becoming and who I wanted to become in life. I was a young man with a passion to help others and thanks to the support of my mentors, peers and family members; I knew I wanted to pursue higher education. With that being said I went on applying for a plethora of Universities and among them was California State University Monterey Bay. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail,” this quote was said to me once by one of my mentor in high school that served as an inspiration to the concluding decision of attending California State University Monterey Bay.
I have gained the right accessories throughout my general education career due to my experiences in which lead me to enduring higher education. Attending CSUMB has truly been an experience of much higher growth unlike that of high school, both mentally and personally. Due to my extreme passion and exceptional understanding of how humans interact, I knew without a doubt that psychology was the adequate major to pursue. High school was the guide and CSUMB the road to a successful future as a psychology major.