Bigger Dreams by Maidoua

Bigger Dreams by Maidoua - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” ~ Vince Lombardi

I'm the oldest in our family of seven and have been told by my mother to study and work hard for a better life since my elementary school years. I didn’t understand what those words meant until I headed off to complete my four years in high school. Everyone knows the responsibilities that the oldest child must carry, so we can be a role model for our younger siblings. I began to acknowledge those responsibilities during my Sophomore and Junior year, and I repeated to myself that I couldn’t fall short and I must make my family proud. Knowing our family situation, I tried to strive to be one of the best my parents could look at, and other times I felt I had created a downfall that made my parents frown upon.

After High School, many students either know the direction they are heading or they lose their sense of direction for the future as we maneuver into the society of adulthood. I had come to lose myself in the setting that I wanted to put myself in, whether it was through college or as a friend towards others. I started voicing to myself “I’m just going to work instead of going to college” and resumed my numerous jobs to contribute to my family. Almost four years later, I am constantly questioning myself “Is this enough? Am I content with the life I have, the job I have, or can I do even better?” Being allowed to work many versatile jobs like being a Sales Associate for Kohl's, to a baker at Festival Foods, and now taking on hospitality as a Front Desk Representative for Hilton. What I built upon these several years was my service towards my customers and guests, those moments were tremendously significant to me, and I desired to form that into a career, and I undeniably could but it wouldn’t be at the standard that I had set for myself. The only solution is to meet the challenges of the university.

I gathered confidence and gained the courage to narrow down to a major that I thought best fit my vision. I am about to attend college for the next four years in Business Administration. In hopes to keep both my full-time and part-time jobs along with earning the bachelors, I hope to attain every inch of information that I will learn, from real hand encounters at work down to the know-hows from the books and classes. This exposure will empower me to prove to my extended family who have been putting me in doubt and utter less shame, along with bringing my parents a sensation of fulfillment and triumph that one of their children has set forth past the expectations they’ve given, but most importantly, it will prove to me, who is the most valuable person that I should be pleasing. These actions are solely my decision to finish and gain a sense of pride, uplift my future, and provide me a new direction.

After college, I need to open myself up and explore outside the box, especially outside the U.S. in particular. It has been a long stretched dream of mine to work full-time in Asia, particularly in the Entertainment industry side of the career choices. Asian music and the Asian culture have sparked an interest here in the United States for many Asian performers and artists to come over and have sold out shows from locations like Prudential Center, Staples Center to huge stadiums like Rose Bowl and Citi Field. I wish to use my degree and involve myself in the communication bridge that both sides have created during the past several years and I want to strengthen it even more for entertainment companies, for the artists that are performing, down to the fans who are attending. I want to better connect our worlds and our language for the viewers who are listening, who have been listening, and who will join later on.

Looking back at my previous education that I had gone through recklessly and boldly striving to get through. I am thinking about the upcoming education and future that can meet all the above conditions I have envisioned for myself. Now, I understand my mother’s words being present in the society that we all are under “Study hard, work hard so you can have a better life.” None of this would have been attainable without tackling college, that I can certainly guarantee. My mind is determined to set forth into bringing my blurred vision into a reality with the chances that I can be someone bigger with a title under my belt.