Copyright © 2007 by Galina M. E. All rights reserved.
[Galina M. E. wrote this essay for her college application. Currently she is in the process of choosing which college she will be attending in the fall of 2008.]
Last night I sat with my little brother, Sergey, and watched the Disney movie “Meet The Robinsons.” The movie begins in the middle of the night with a woman leaving a baby on the steps of an orphanage. The next scene shows our hero Louis, now a young boy, still living in the orphanage, desperately looking for a family of his own, and feeling like it will never happen.
The rest of the movie runs with typical Disney flair -- plenty of adventures and, in the end, a wonderful family for our hero. The movie closes with this quote:
Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
- Walt Disney
It's impossible for me to watch a movie like this without thinking about my own life because, just like Louis, I was abandoned as a baby and lived in an orphanage. But, just like Louis, am I the hero of my own story? When I was a young girl, I lived in an orphanage in Moscow, Russia, having lived there ever since being abandoned as a small baby. I wish I could tell you it was wonderful, but I was abused and neglected. Then, just before I was to turn 6 years old, my parents adopted me and brought me to live in my new home. The abuse and neglect had left me years behind my peers. My mom tells me that I was very small and looked more like a 3 year old.
Now I am 18 years old. I have overcome the many obstacles that were placed in front of me when I was a young girl. Like Louis, I have found things that I do well. I am an athlete, an artist, and an academic achiever. I always strive to do my best because that is what we do in my family, even when the going gets tough. And just like Louis and his family, our motto is, “Keep Moving Forward.”
My next step in moving my life forward is going to college. My love of learning and my curiosity are leading me down this new path, and opening up this new door. Yet, as I fill out your application, I am so worried that you are looking for perfect people who have lived perfect lives. When you look at a student who has had to fight to survive, fight to have a family, and fight to learn, I hope you see an individual who has determination, courage, and strength of character. When you look at me, I hope you see a hero, just like Louis.
Galina M. E.
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