Light in the Dark by James

Light in the Dark by James - September 2013 Scholarship Essay

The most inspirational academic role-model to me is my girlfriend Jade. On September 16th, it will be my girlfriend and I’s three year anniversary. Jade inspires me academically for multiple reasons but the main reason is because I want to be her “light in the dark,” if you will. Jade hasn’t ever had that solid person that she can always go to and it all stems back to her family.
Her parents divorced when she was an infant and as soon as her step-dad actually had his first biologically-related child when Jade was five, they seem to have ignored her ever since. If you go into their house Jade seems way more of a roommate rather than a family member. Her mom, her step-dad, and their biological daughter are their own click in the house, and subsequently do everything together without even a simple invite for Jade to come along. This includes dinner at restaurants, sports events, and even far off vacations to exotic beaches. Me being Italian, it’s one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen. For Italians, family is more important than your own flesh so we seek out every excuse to make the whole family get together to laugh, have fun, and stuff our faces with food. This contrast between our families tears Jade up inside. She wants a family like mine which in my mind makes no since because we already consider her part of our family. As for Jade’s real dad, she loves him and talks to him about once a month. The only problem with him is that he brushes off her problems often turning them into clever joke rather than actually doing something about it. When I tell people this, people usually respond by asking “Well then why doesn’t she just be blunt with her dad and lay it all out in front of him” and I’ll tell you why she doesn’t. Jade loves her dad so much and has been hurt by her family’s neglect so bad that she doesn’t even want to give a reason for her real dad to not talk to her. Her household family has left such a gaping wound on her emotionally that she really thinks that family abandoning each other is a common practice.  So now Jade is left emotionally fragile, always overthinking and overcompensating about what she says and does because she holds such a tight grip on everybody and doesn’t want to lose them. This is something I accept this about her, so I’m left picking up the pieces.
I want to be Jade’s light in the dark. I want her to understand that I am that person that she can go to, talk to, and expect help in return every single time. I want to clean up this emotional mess that her family has caused by being that dependable person with that dependable job. I want her to relax and be stress free because she deserves it which is why my girlfriend inspires me academically. To build such a strong foundation for us both that she never has to worry about it ever breaking.