Sample Essay - On the Farm

My mother grew up on a farm, the daughter of a German-Swiss father and American-Swiss mother. My father immigrated to the United States from Cuba following the Communist revolution. Like all who grow up on farms, my mother has come to the belief that a teenage boy can do nothing better during the summer than toil away on a farm.

As such, the summer after my freshman year and each summer since, I have worked at Terry's Berries, a local organic farm.

It started out as a part-time job. I would work from eight in the morning until noon, then go home for lunch. Terry soon asked me to work a bit later and a bit later. Soon, seven became a better hour than eight. By the end of my first summer, I was working seven to four, Monday through Friday. Work I did.

The conversations with the other workers are among the greatest pleasures I have had. Each year, a new group of men would arrive, mostly Guatemalan or Mexican. I value what I have learned from them. Julio, for instance, showed me how to weed without ruining my back, and Manuel explained why I should always vote for Democrats.

Every summer, inevitably, I would be asked about my future. What did I plan to do? I always dreaded this question because I would hate to isolate myself by mentioning college or some profession I wished to pursue. "No se" I don't know, I would answer. "Ve a la universidad," Jose would say. "Este es el alternativo." This is the alternative to the university, he said, gesturing to the fields.

It is not that there is no virtue in farming. Holly, another worker on the farm and a college graduate, views her work as fulfilling, and therefore has chosen farming as her way of life. But she made the choice to farm. Jose and his compatriots have been limited by circumstance, and so appreciate the choices afforded by education.

I hope Jose's words will always stick with me. They are a moving testament to the power of academic excellence. Beyond those professional inspirational speakers, the chats with my counselor and my parents' advice, Jose's simplicity has had the most profound effect on me. College gives me a choice in life, and a college of Harvard's magnitude gives me the most choices. Harvard fulfills my highest expectations of higher education, and I believe that my attendance there will satisfy Jose's mandate.

This essay was excerpted from a book written by  your Guide.

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