Since college apps are the only thing on my mind... What am I saying with my essays? What image do I portray? Use no background information of me. How fully do I answer the question?
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?
My family is the epiphany of the American Dream. My father is an immigrant from Venezuela. My mother’s family emigrated from Europe. Both sides of my family have come to America, searching for the promise and hope of something better for their children. My family has always strived for more; more opportunity, more glory, more pride. Every generation is expected to outdo the generation before. My grandparents constantly brag to their friends about my generation’s accomplishments. My aunt has told me, “You can’t be a teacher. Our generation was all teachers. Why don’t you become a doctor?” There is a large emphasis in my family to be the first; the first Fuenmayor to be a doctor, the first Fuenmayor to be valedictorian, the first Fuenmayor to accomplish some noble task. I am very proud to be apart of this great family with such a rich history of success and hope.
My family has also had its share of dreams that weren’t accomplished. My mother has always wanted to travel more, but in order to provide for my brother and I, she has always worked extremely hard. My father wishes that he could provide more for us. He jokingly has said that it has always been his dream that I will one day have a car with power locks and air conditioning. He wants me to have an experience in college and tries to get me to go to a far away place so I can live something new. My grandfather always wanted to be drag racer, but that dream was tragically destroyed when he got in a horrific drag car crash that has scarred him to this day. Despite all the things that my family has accomplished, and intrinsic to our collective psyche, we still strive for more unrealized dreams.
These dreams haven’t come without a cost though. My family has had to give up much to acquire what we hold dear. My dad’s family left Venezuela where they were extremely wealthy and moved to the United States where they had very little to their name. The stress of having to work many jobs to provide for his family killed my grandfather of a heart attack before I even had a chance to meet him. My father’s whole family lived in a small cramped apartment in Los Angeles. My father, being the youngest, had to take many hand-me-downs from his 4 older siblings. But this wasn’t all for naught; all of my abuelita’s children grew up to become very successful and have families of their own. My mother’s side of the family has gone through many struggles as well. My grandma and grandpa were forced to drop out of college after my grandpa’s accident and open their own business. They struggled as small-business owners to provide a life for their children. They were the only successful members of their families and constantly had to deal with relatives asking for hand-outs. But they thrived. My uncle was the first one in our family to finish college, and my mother raised “two wonderful responsible young men.” Both sides of my family have struggled to achieve their dreams, but they have set the example for my generation to follow. My family’s dreams have given me the opportunity to be who I am, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.
Tell us about a personal quality, talent , accomplishment, contribution of experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?
This summer I went on a missions trip to Ecuador. It was an awakening of sorts, to say the least. Before the trip, I was having doubts about my ability to perform and my usefulness. It seemed like everyone else had some special talent that they were bringing, while I was just going to be another body in a seat. As the days went on, God continuously put me in situations that proved otherwise. God had already given me the passion to serve him through missions, but I doubted that I had the ability to really make a difference. Ecuador was a wake-up calling from God saying, "I've called you to do this, you have the ability to do this, why aren't you doing this yet? Don't you get the picture?" I have always had a deep relationship with God, but he had been stretching me. I was frustrated in my church, and I felt like no one saw in me what I knew I had the ability to do. I was full of so much confidence in who I was, and the great things that were in store for me, and I felt like no one else saw that. God’s calling became incredibly apparent when we traveled into “Invasión”, a squatter's village. The poverty in this area was rampant. Good houses cost less than $500, and they were made of bamboo and built up on stilts to avoid the floods and the marshes. Mosquitoes were prolific in this area and it was immediately sobering. Despite the somber state that we were in, the children of this area had so much joy. How could people with so little have so much happiness? People like Magdalena, a woman who graciously cooked for us daily, who had to move out here when her husband died. Her story reminded me that many of the other people in the area had similar tragic stories. But they, like Magdalena, were still filled with joy and the hope that God gave them. They, like me, knew that God had some great thing in store for them. And although they were struggling currently, they had the faith to stay committed to his plan. Every time I am defeated, despondent or full of despair, I always think back to the beauty, both physical and relational, of Invasión. This area, in its desperate physical need, really awakened the passion in me for missions work that I had begun to question before the trip. God showed me the need behind my desire to go out and spread his kingdom. He opened my eyes to a location that was in desperate need of Christ's help through us, through me. I prayed for God to use me, and he answered with an unexpected blessing. I felt so useful and so right with my place in the world. The trip cemented my location in the universe. No matter what happens, I am going to be a missionary. No matter what college I go to, where I live, or what career I choose, there is no way I can ignore the deep call placed in my soul to go and help the impoverished and destitute of the world. I know exactly where my spot in the world is. I know who I am, and I am not ashamed.
