scholarship entry

How will you be that which you dream of?

# 1) What is your purpose? (25 words or less.)
If you had to describe your calling in life, what would you say?
 What are you here to do? What gift is yours to give to the world?

I will become a lawyer and share legal expertise to empower others who are entangled in problems and denied the means to resolve them. (24)

# 2) What is your wish for the world? (25 words or less.)
What do you think could help the world most?
If you had one wish for everyone, what would it be?

I dream of a just society strengthened by more effective laws that give everyone the chance to realize the greatness of their humanity. (23)

# 3) Why is optimism intelligent? (250 words or less.)
Why is it brilliant to be hopeful? What's the benefit of looking on the bright side?
How has a positive outlook helped your life?

Optimism is an irrepressible belief in possibilities empowered with conviction that they can occur given enough desire, determination, and resourcefulness.  The genius of optimism is about making a desired future happen--even if it is unlikely.  Optimism embraces challenge, especially the kind of challenge presented by the dream of a brighter future.  Solomon (Proverbs 29: 18, Webster's Bible Translation) writes, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  Optimism is commitment to the vision and the source of all the qualities that transform it into reality.  Without optimism, the people perish. 

When people believe in possibilities and their ability to attain them, they commit to action.  Action--experience--is the best teacher.  This is especially true in the pursuit of social justice.  I have commited to making my community a better place and learned so much more than I could any other way.  Action leads to involvement with like minded people who each have their own experiences and insights to share.  My perspective is always transformed and enlarged in the process.  The never ending communal problem solving involved with optimistic pursuit of change is another aspect of genius.  Rising to each challenge inspires creativity, pushes learning, and develops new capacities.

I’ve served my community through social work and education and want to extend those possibilities through law.  I believed in my dream, practiced months for the LSAT, and earned a 172 and a place in law school.  I am learning about the genius of optimism through change in my life. (250)

# 4) What do you plan to do next to brighten the future of the planet? (250 words or less.)

I will take all the grief, abuse, disempowerment, and injustice that I have seen others suffer to Wake Forest Law School this August.  Those things drive me to make the most of the opportunity I have worked so hard for.  My dream of becoming a lawyer is no longer hidden within my heart and has become a shared dream.  So many people are looking ahead knowing that I will continue to serve the community with a deeper calling than I ever had before.  Friends imagine their own dreams in partnership with mine--a cousin who needed protection from an abusive husband, an educator who feels bullied by her principal, people who want to work with dignity.  They talk about pursuing their dreams, and I notice that I’ve become woven within them--a lawyer who will help ensure that they can play their part--unimpeded--within a just society.  I think about The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros.  Esperanza’s last words are, “They will not know I have gone away to come back.  For the ones I left behind.  For the ones who cannot out.”  The people in my life know. (192)