XXXX University School of Law is my first choice for law school because I am very attracted to their professional mission of preparing graduates to become responsible, ethical, and compassionate lawyers. I share this goal with myself; indeed, it is my ultimate goal. I think that my compassion for others, empathy, understanding, and serving as a thoughtful and reflective hearing ear that is genuinely interested is my greatest gift. I am the goal of practicing family law. I want to be a lawyer because I want to help people to work out their family problems in friendly ways that minimize conflict to the extent to which it possible, and resolve disputes in ways that are in the interests of all members of the family, especially the mother and her children.
I am Greek and very proud of my ethnic heritage. From a working-class family with both success over time, having a daughter who can attend law school is an outstanding achievement for my parents. I trace the beginning of our struggle as a family to my father's having escaped several times from an orphanage to where his father was, with his father sending him back each time. This story, in particular, has long inspired me to want to work in the area of family. When my dad turned fifteen, he begged his uncle to let him work with him on these substantial cargo ships which traveled the world, and my dad has been to over forty countries each dozen times. Still in his early twenties, after being treated for appendicitis and rushed to a hospital in New York, he stayed in America. My mom came to the U.S. when she was fourteen. Her parents were farmers in Greece, but wanted a better life; most got jobs working in restaurants. My grandma and grandpa were dishwashers, and my mom was a hostess. Within three years, however, my grandparents, together with my mom, bought and opened their own restaurant. I am proud to be from an immigrant family and from a background of very hard-working, honest people who have always taught me the value of family bonds and solidarity.
My parents met in this restaurant and got married. My mom and dad have owned successful restaurants for most of my life. I have gotten extremely good at running this restaurant so that I can depend on my employees more and more. Thus, I have the time that I will need to dedicate myself almost exclusively to law school. Also, my family is very supportive of my dreams and determination, and they are all going to pitch in to relieve me of most of the duties that I have at the restaurant once I start law school.