- I will use the Mentor Quote prompt. I might also use Between Two Worlds.
- The Main Idea of my education narrative will be showing that I was always an obedient Chinese daughter and followed my father’s wishes to become a doctor until I dropped out of medical school.
- OUTLINE:
I. Intro: (opening) Mentor Quote from my father telling me that I am a good student and can study anything.
II. Event 1. In college, I majored in Chemistry/Pre-med.
III. Event 2. In medical school, I lasted only one semester before dropping out.
IV. Event 3. I came to NYC and got a job in the magazine publishing world. I discovered I liked writing and went to graduate school for literature. I became a teacher.
V. Conclusion: Conversation/Dialogue with my dad always asking me, “When are you going back?” — every year for about 10 years! He had a hard time accepting my educational journey.
VI. Overall Message: I have discovered the importance of finding what you really want to do and not to allow others to determine your path/your journey.
- Opening for my essay (TWO paragraphs):
“Lisa, you are a very good student. You can study anything–even if you don’t like it.”
I will always remember these words spoken to me by my father. We were sitting at the dining room table. Just my dad and me, no one else. My mom was in the kitchen and I can smell the cha sha pork, but it wasn’t making me feel better. This was supposed to be an important conversation because I was 17, a junior in high school, and I knew we were talking about my college future.
I knew my dad’s words were meant as a compliment but I felt the impact of his compliment as a mixture of insult and motivation. In my mind what I thought was: My dad thinks my brothers are smarter than me. He thinks the only thing I do well is study. Well, true, I was kind of a nerdy kid. I took all the AP classes. I always did my homework on time, even ahead of time. I spent my lunch time in the library. I belonged to the smart-but-definitely-not-popular group.
