Personal Statement
As a kid, all I wanted was to be a professional basketball player. I wanted to drive a fancy car and own a luxurious mansion in the ‘hills’ just like in the movies. As I grew up, I went through various experiences that made me realize the way I was dreaming was from a finite and limited point of view. I began to see that life had more to offer than playing basketball and owning multimillion-dollar houses. Undoubtedly my mother was the most loving, determined, and hardworking person I knew. This made losing her to stage 4 breast and lung cancer especially difficult for me. Following the loss of my mother, it was hard to stay emotionally positive, which put my faith in God to the test. It is still difficult dealing with the loss of my mother, but she instilled some of her best traits in me, a determined and hard-working spirit. This, along with my faith helped me make it through this chapter of my life. Without a mother in the house, an older sibling away at college and a father that worked a 9 to 5, my younger brother and I were the only people looking out for each other. I had to become someone who could handle responsibility and lead. These same traits became necessary when I was blessed with the opportunity to work under a certified Athletic Trainer. This first-hand experience of engaging with athletes gave me insight into one of the professions associated with kinesiology. Before I had the opportunity to shadow under an Athletic Trainer, I already had a passion to study kinesiology. The first time I heard about it was from my former tenth-grade weights and conditioning coach. He explained that kinesiology focuses on the science of movement, which can be used to help athletes prevent injuries and improve their performance. I also visited the Stanford Valley Care’s Physical Therapy building for some of my recurring injuries, due to my involvement with high contact sports. The conversations I’ve had with professionals in the field during my rehab sessions increased my passion for this field of study. Therefore, I took the chance to volunteer with Special Olympics Northern California Floor Hockey for their Healthy Athlete Event. There, I had the pleasure of working with athletes that had intellectual disabilities. I had the job of greeting and signing up participants for different booths that focused on the health of the athletes. Some of the booths focused on BMI while other tables focused on diet and healthy food choices. By far, the best portion of the day was watching those same athletes compete during the floor hockey finals. Being able to assist athletes by providing information that could benefit their health or improve their performance is something I am passionate about. I would not have been able to discover my love for kinesiology without life experiences that have helped me mature and change my perspective.
