Me in NYC by Ava

Me in NYC by Ava - August 2024 Scholarship Essay

After I graduate high school, and complete my undergraduate degree, I want to go to law school. Me, who was always the quietest in the class, who would only use my voice to answer questions, who spent elementary wanting nothing more than to blend into the wallpaper some days, wants to go into law. Law represents to me a space where I can use my voice to represent those who can't speak. It represents being able to use my English skills that I have worked so hard to refine every single day. It represents being celebrated for my mind and creativity.
But I don’t want to go just to any law school, but rather I have my eyes set on Columbia Law School in the heart of NYC. There, just 10 miles south of which is the city’s famous Chinatown. Growing up in a town where the people didn’t look like me, the diversity of the city is one quality that is just too tempting to chase after. When I went to Chinatown for the first time two years ago, my heart finally felt settled. No longer was I subconsciously listening for snide remarks about my eyes, or other stereotypes that I might fulfill, but rather I was surrounded by a part of my identity that I had tried to shun for the longest time. Around me, from the red lanterns to the flags, each part of my culture was celebrated and put at the forefront.
Law school represents a frontier that has not been explored by anyone in my family ever before, but I’d like certainly like to try.