Never work a day in your life by Natalia

Never work a day in your life by Natalia - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life," said Confucius.

I have always loved taking pictures. I remember getting my first pocket digital camera on my 10th birthday and running around my neighborhood after hurricane Wilma in 2005, taking pictures of anything that caught my eye. When I got home, I showed them to my parents, who immediately noticed something special in the quality of my picture taking. Needless to say, I was subsequently designated the official “family photographer.” Shortly thereafter, my parents upgraded me to a semi-professional camera. As the years passed, my love for photography grew and I began thinking that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

In high school, I was invited to join the school newspaper. I was very excited to be doing what I thought was going to be my end career. But it was then, writing for the newspaper, that I found my true calling. I was asked to write an article which eventually got published. I had never experienced such a feeling of pride and self-acceptance.

For the past 3 years I have been writing on many subjects. Although I’m still uncertain as to what avenue of journalism I wish to pursue, I have a yearning to be an instrument to my community, and to the world, and be able to share current events with them through my perspective.

I have a cousin, which recently graduated from an Ivy League University, who is now writing for a well-known national publication in Chicago. She has always been one of my role models while growing up, as well as other women in journalism today who opened up the doors to an industry historically dominated by men. They have influenced me and my writing greatly.

Although I have a cousin that went to an Ivy League University, not everyone in my family finished college like she did. Both of my parents never finished college. Although they attended college, they did not finish the full four years. My grandparents were immigrants from Cuba and they had absolutely nothing when coming to the United States. Both of my grandparents and even my dad had to work minimum wage jobs in order to put food on the table. Sadly, while my father was in college, my grandfather passed away. As a result, my father had to drop out of college in order to support his mother and sister.

My mom on the other hand was a single mom immigrating from Panama at a very young age. She came with my older half sister and had to work several minimum wage jobs in order to get by. Hearing about my parents struggle like this just because they didn’t finish college motivates me to be the first generation in my family to get a Bachelor’s Degree from a prestigious institution.

I want to be a part of the dream that this country promises. Writing inspires me. Writing is a call to service that has enabled me to bring a unique and authentic perspective to those that want to learn and be informed of the truth in today’s world. In a world filled with “sales & marketing,” where most of what’s being read is aimed at “selling” an idea or product, I feel that the public deserves to know the truth. Despite how controversial it may be at times, uncovering the truth and sharing it with the world is an undertaking that I feel responsible for. This scholarship will help me to exactly this.