Aspiring Role-Model by Humberto

Aspiring Role-Model by Humberto - November 2019 Scholarship Essay

My two Spanish speaking parents made me set my standards higher and higher as I aged. It took me a while to realize that I had to adapt to the English language and culture if I wanted to assist anyone with problems they faced. This meant that I had to develop a high levels of character, scholarship, leadership, and service in order for me to be of any use to anyone. Because of this, I have been molded into the person I am today. These characteristics have become important to me because they have helped develop someone who is almost always willing to help anyone in any way that I can.
If you talk to anyone who knew me when I was in elementary, they will tell you that I was extremely talkative. I would interrupt my peers when I wanted to comment on anything I found interesting. I got nicknamed “parrot” by my second grade teacher, who I believe found me annoying. My character needed some manners, that I eventually picked up. It wasn’t until one day after a catholic mass when I had just finished “talking with adults,” which was me interrupting my parents as they conversed with their friends. As soon as I hopped in the car my mother turned around with a sinecure look on her face and told me,“don’t interrupt adults when they’re talking.” Seven year old Me took these words graciously and stamped them into my brain. Ever since then, this tactic has helped me earn a great amount of esteem and respect. This is by far one of the most important lessons that I ever learned, and I continue to apply it in my life everyday.
Having character doesn’t help me entirely. Having scholarship and leadership truly completed me as a character. Having these traits helped me become authentic, motivated, and educated. I realized at a very young age that I had to be aware of who I was speaking to, and how to get my thoughts through clearly and respectively. One day while at Macy’s in San Antonio, my mother and I were checking out and the cashier was acting strange. We were paying cash for two shirts and the cashier kept asking “how are you going to pay?” After my mother kept telling her “cash.” The cashier kept insisting that we pay with a Macy’s credit card otherwise she didn’t know how we were going to pay. I didn’t know if she didn’t understand my mother’s accent, but I stood there firmly and told her calmly,“we are paying with cash for these shirts.” Finally, she pressed a few buttons, took our money, and then we left. Looking back on this moment, I feel like I demonstrated understanding of the situation, used my bilingual skills to communicate, and most importantly, kept my respectful character intact. I could have been completely rude about the situation, but I chose to be a leader and demonstrate how to handle situations like a person who has the skill of leadership, and scholarship.
Lastly, the trait that polishes a person’s character—service. I can be kind, loyal, caring and so on, but no one would know if I did not participate in anything. Everyday I try to help out wherever I am. Although I may not know everything, I am a fast learner, and try my best. I work diligently in all of my classes almost everyday, and work during weekends with my father at construction sites. I help non-english Spanish speaking people by translating applications when needed. I try to be independent by paying my bills and not always asking for help. It feel like battling while being blind because I cannot predict the future, but I still feel something inside me that tells me to keep going. Service polishes my image, and I intent to help as I can.
Being who I am, I intend to keep on demonstrating a positive image for anyone. Demonstrating leadership, character, scholarship, and service has helped me be a better person; not only for me, but for everyone around me. I hold these characteristics firmly, and believe anyone is capable of achieving success no matter who they are. In conclusion, these characteristics are important to me because they emulate a positive role model, which is what I aspire to be.