One day, sitting in traffic, I asked my dad “why haven’t you ever gotten a new car?” His response: “I’ll drive this car if it means you can afford to get a better one.” I’ve learned over time the extent at which my father has sacrificed things that are great for his own enjoyment and well being, such as driving an old car and wearing painful, old shoes 12 hours a day, and I want to lower both his financial and mental burden by lowering the amount my family pays towards my tuition. He’s often been so swamped in working to keep our family financially comfortable that he’s sacrificed the time he gets to spend with us. Because I am a first generation American in a single-income house, me and my father both have big dreams for me to be able to pursue higher education, and for me, I seek to become an educational attorney. This education puts me one step closer to representing in court children who are like I once was, bullied and alone. I was bullied and outcast for all of elementary and middle school. Boys would call me stupid, pull my hair, call me slurs and even cut my skin with the ripped out blades from their pencil sharpeners. Yet, despite the initial crumbling of my confidence and speaking capability, I worked on being more comfortable in myself and my interests, despite what others think, to where I could effectively stand up for myself and speak out about the social hostility present at my school. Having held my ground in vicious examples of bullying, and having worked to make the school’s community at-large a safer place following the examples I’ve learned from my volunteer tutoring, I know I will hold my ground in court as an attorney and serve those like me to make them feel safe in academic environments. I know what it feels like to lack representation; but, I also know what it’s like to navigate out of these situations. So—as a lawyer—I will make an impact on those who I represent. In particular, undergraduate and graduate education will help me get the prerequisite knowledge and experience required to effectively and empathetically represent those I serve in court. However, this educational journey starts with being able to afford law school. The path to becoming an attorney is costly, requiring 8 years of tuition-based education. Yet, this education puts me one step closer to my goals of a more equitable schooling system and of paying my father back for his comfortable retirement.

My dad drives a 2005 Honda Accord, and he is one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met. One day, sitting in traffic, I asked my dad “Why haven’t you ever gotten a new car?” His response: “I’ll drive this car if it means you can afford to get a better one.” I’ve learned over time the extent to which my father has sacrificed things that are great for his enjoyment and well-being, such as driving an old car and wearing painful, old shoes 12 hours a day, and I want to lower both his financial and mental burden by lowering the amount my family pays towards my tuition. Because I am a first-generation American in a single-income household, me and my father both have big dreams for me to be able to pursue higher education and for me, I seek to become a dentist. As a child, my ethnic North-Indian diet consisted of foods seasoned with haldi, known in America as turmeric, leading my teeth to be stained with various shades of yellow. Being one of only a few North-Indians in my community growing up, my yellow-stained teeth led me to be subject to bullying. I seek to become a dentist to help first-generation children like me overcome their insecurities and wear their culture with pride. However, the path to becoming a dentist is extremely costly, requiring 8 years of tuition-based education, and an additional 3-6 years of low-pay residence. My father, right now, is nearing retirement age, and by the time I complete my dental route, he will already be well past 65. I asked him when he plans to retire, and his response was along the lines of when I, as the youngest child in my family, feel financially secure. To me, it feels strange that my father, who immigrated to America for opportunities he didn’t have in India, never gets to experience or purchase things that contribute to the very reason he moved. He has lived his life for me, and I will do the same for him. Being able to lower my family’s cost with scholarships not only puts me one step closer to becoming a dentist and helping children with experiences similar to mine gain the confidence that I didn’t have, but it also puts my father one step closer to retirement and one thousand dollars closer to buying things for his enjoyment, like his dream car—a Tesla—to replace his 2005 Honda Accord.