Personal Statement Essay

As I approached this essay it seemed like one of the biggest things I would ever do. This intimidated me. However, as I moved through the process I had a lot of support and was really able to reflect on “Who am I?”. I learned a lot about myself and the impact past experiences have had on me. I have been lucky enough to live all over the world and have been a part of a rich variety of communities. With so many experiences it was almost hard to pick one to write about. So, I tried to capture as many as I could into one essay.

The diesel engine cranks, ​​and I hear the familiar sound of the e-brake releasing. Swinging open the back door, I feel a rush of humid air and blinding sunlight as I step down onto the badly paved road ready to welcome a new day of adventures.

Our trip was inspired by the question: “What leads to a meaningful life?” It’s a question my grandfather Harry Rathbun famously asked his students throughout his 45-year career teaching law. And it’s a question my dad sought to answer through his four years of service in the peace corps, learning from cultures and communities he visited around the world. Deciding he wanted those lessons for his young kids as well, my dad packed up a camper he had built from the inside of a shipping truck, and off we went for a three-year adventure.

For a year, we traveled all the way to the tip of South America. We passed through many towns and villages, sometimes pulling off in empty lots just to spend the night, but other times stopping to stay for a few days or even weeks. We lived simply, hand washing our clothes and using solar electricity to power our van. Being amongst the locals, I got to learn about new cultures and meet all sorts of people. But the stays never seemed long enough.

When we arrived in Ecuador to see some family friends, what was supposed to be a couple months turned into a couple years, and before I knew it I was living in Ecuador and attending their local schools. Going to school in a foreign country was hard. I was still very unfamiliar with the language, and it took me a while to make friends. But in time, staying put, we found our community where I played “Tazos” and soccer, ate ceviche, and ventured into local mercados. From my friends there, I learned the values of family, simple pleasures, and a minimalist lifestyle.

When I returned to the United States, I settled into life at home, but with a newfound curiosity about my surroundings and an indomitable spirit of adventure. As I reacclimated to American schools, I found myself replicating my experiences abroad by seeking connection with a diverse group of people and building many different communities. The “shabsters” were my neighborhood group of friends, many of whom marched to the beat of their own drums, celebrating their individuality. Together, we engaged in many volunteering projects including our annual work weeks at a special needs camp called Toualamie Trails.

Freestyle Academy was another community I discovered, an art-based program at my school with a philosophy that celebrated creative expression. It was with this group that I worked for three months to write, produce and publish a documentary on my grandfather, my father, and their life’s work. And there were other communities: the six-man school spirit club (who embodied positivity and all things loud), the water polo team (whose work ethic was as big as their love for competition), and the Persian culture club (whose diversity brought together all sorts of people). I moved seamlessly between these different groups, each one an undeniable part of my identity that was permanently shaped by the three years of my childhood spent living out of a van in Latin America.
So after all these adventures, what do I think it means to live a meaningful life? Well, for me it’s meant interacting with a variety of people across all cultures, creating supportive engaging communities, and valuing experiences, not things. College will be my next adventure, a new opportunity to meet and learn from interesting people from around the world and continue to live my grandfather’s truth: that the meaning of life is up to each of us.