Hello, everybody!
I am applying to universities this year, and I have to write an impressive personal statement or motivation letter but I am not sure if I am doing OK. Could you please revise my essay and recommend some amendments? I would greatly appreciate your help!
Regards,
Ina
Here it is:
At first, I was stunned by my desire to study European Studies, i.e. be involved in politics, because in my country, it is common to hear that politics is “a dirty business.” However, I cannot deny politics is a constant source of great emotions for me. I had many ideas about what I wanted to study before deciding what I wanted to work. I realized I wanted to look for personal realization in the sphere of politics in quite an unusual situation. It was right in the middle of a fierce discussion I had with a friend who was trying to convince me war was essential for the development of the world and human civilization. His opinion did not amaze me as much as the excitement I felt while discussing this matter with him. I realized this is how I wanted to feel at university or at work – I needed the thrill that political issues and fighting for what I believe in bring me. Moreover, politics is challenging, and I love taking challenges!
Since having discussions on political issues with my friends is quite common, I have spent a lot of time researching different political matters in order to be ready when a friend prompted me to start another discussion. Gradually, I started connecting what I read with my personal life. Since I was growing up in the Post-Communist period in Bulgaria, my whole life has been influenced by the political changes that occurred at home, so I was eager to gather as more information on Communism as possible because this is the political system that left the biggest mark on the first years of my life. In the early years after 1989, when Communism fell, periods of poverty and misery interchanged with periods of happiness and hope until finally my country started slowly stabilizing after disastrous inflation. A lot of questions about the situation in Bulgaria were bothering my mind, so I was trying to answer them both through private reading and my history classes. Now that I have collected a knowledge in history (including Bulgarian, World, and American history), I feel ready to commit myself to applying my knowledge because I believe the best background for studying any subject connected to politics is being familiar with the political development of countries with rich history.
Besides my interest in different political systems, another reason for choosing European Studies for my undergraduate education are the changes my country experiences now. Bulgaria is now entering a vital stage of its development by joining the European Union in 2007. However, instead of only reading about it, I want to participate in this process. After taking my degree in European Studies, I would like to work for my country, either at home or representing it abroad. Since I prefer to work abroad, and take positions in international organizations, a top priority is learning foreign languages. I have already mastered English, and I am now working on my German. My goal is to learn at least two more European languages, such as French and Spanish. A factor aiding communication in the “global village” we inhabit is speaking with people in their native language. By spending a year abroad during the four-year undergraduate course, I will have the chance to practice both my language skills and gain “international” experience in the field in which I want to develop professionally as well as explore a different culture and its people.
It is very important for me to be able to communicate effectively with people, and I am happy I have been developing this quality by taking different summer jobs at the seaside in the recent years – bartender, receptionist, guest relations officer in a hotel, and a tourist guide in a leading international tourist company, My Travel. I worked with people from different nationalities, which has been a very valuable experience because I gained some diplomatic skills and the precious quality to work effectively in a team. Furthermore, the British tourists I have worked with really motivated me to take the long journey to Great Britain, and have encouraged me. Since I left my home town when I moved to the capital to do my high school education, I am used to traveling and changing places, and I love it. Therefore, it will be no problem for me to adapt to a new environment and start working effectively for my future, without fearing I would be away from home. As I have written in my diary, “’Home’ is whichever place I grant the title ‘Best to spend an exact period of my life’.”