英语论文网

is a perspective that comes from
significant involvement in policy issues at the grassroots level, where they originate and
ultimately must be resolved."
Sample Essay
My longtime fascination with politics and international affairs is reflected in my participation,
starting in high school, in activities such as student council, school board meetings, Vietnam
war protests, the McCarthy campaign, and the grape boycott. As each new cause came along,
I was always ready to go to Washington or the state capital to wave a sign or chant slogans.
Although I look back on these activities today with some chagrin, I realize they did help me to
develop, at an early age, a sense of concern for social and political issues and a genuine
desire to play a role.
As an undergraduate, I was more interested in social than academic development. During my
last two years, I became involved with drugs and alcohol and devoted little time to my studies,
doing only as much as was necessary to maintain a B average. After graduation my drug use
became progressively worse; without the motivation or ability to look for a career job, I worked
for a time in a factory and then, for three years, as a cab driver in New York City.
In 1980 I finally ''hit bottom'' and became willing to accept help. I joined both Alcoholics
Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, and for the next several years the primary business of
my life was recovery. Although I had several ''slips'' in the beginning, I have now enjoyed
nearly seven years of complete freedom from drug and alcohol use. I mention my bout with
addiction because I think it is important in answering two issues that presumably will be of
concern to the admissions committee: my lackluster undergraduate record and the fact that I
have waited until the age of 34 to begin preparing academically for a career in public policy. It
would be an oversimplification to call addiction the cause for either of these things; rather I
would say it was the most obvious manifestation of an underlying immaturity that characterized
my post adolescent years. More importantly, the discipline of recovery has had a significant
impact on my overall emotional growth.
During the last years of my addiction I was completely oblivious to the world around me. Until
1983 I didn't even realize that there had been a revolution in Nicaragua or that one was going
on in El Salvador. Then I rejoined the Quaker Meeting, in which I had been raised as a child,
and quickly gravitated to its Peace and Social Order Committee. They were just then initiating
a project to help refugees from Central America, and I joined enthusiastically in the work. I
began reading about Central America and, later, teaching myself Spanish. I got to know
refugees who were victims of poverty and oppression, became more grateful for my own
economic and educational advantages, and developed a strong desire to give something back
by working to provide opportunities to those who have not been so lucky.
In 1986 I went to Nicaragua to pick coffee for two weeks. This trip changed my whole outlook
on both the United States and the underdeveloped world. The combination of living for two
weeks amid poverty and engaging in long political discussions with my fellow coffee pickers,
including several well-educated professionals who held views significantly to the left of mine,
profoundly shook my本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。