http://www.ck12.org Chapter 8. Business Documents
spend his summer here instead of watching TV at home. He was pouty, listless, and generally grumpy. Andy did not
want to participate in group activities, and during music practices, he failed to pay attention and refused to practice
his scales. He may have had a bad attitude, but there was nothing the counselors could do about this, as he had not
bothered anyone else with his behavior.
The situation changed drastically, however, when Andy got into a fight with another boy, Lucas. Lucas was an
outgoing eleven-year-old who always greeted everyone with a smile. The other counselors and I were shocked
that he had gotten into a fight with another student, and we immediately asked each boy what they were fighting
about. I found out from the two that Lucas had just gotten a phone call from his mother. Andy overheard Lucas’s
conversation and later teased Lucas about being a big baby. Eventually, he provoked Lucas into hitting him. We sent
Lucas back to his music rehearsal with a warning about giving into to teasing, and it was left to me as the senior
counselor to deal with Andy.
I started tentatively. “Look Andy, if you don’t want to be here, you should talk to one of us. But we can’t have you
behaving like this. Your attitude has started affecting the other students.”
He looked up at me, and his lower lip began to quiver. He was about to cry.
I had never had a student start crying before, and I fumbled for words. “Heeeey, hey. Don’t cry now. You can’t go
around provoking people, and I’m gonna have to call your parents, but it’s not the end of the world.”
“Please don’t call my parents,” he whispered hoarsely. “I miss my family, but I don’t want to go home. I begged
them to let me come to camp, but my mom just said I’d get so homesick I’d be back in two days. This is my first
time away from home.”
It dawned on me that Andy’s bad behavior was not because he had been forced to come to summer camp, but because
he was homesick. I knew exactly what to say. “Hey, I get homesick too sometimes. But it’s fun here, and I love
working with you guys. Trust me. Start talking to some of the other students, and you’ll make a bunch of new
friends and feel better in no time. In fact, the two of us can be friends.”
I spent the rest of summer camp with Andy, introducing him to the other kids and letting him tell me stories about
his family. He tried hard to introduce himself to the other students, and he even apologized to Lucas. They became
fast friends. Over the course of a few weeks, Andy made friends with several other campgoers. He also started
practicing his music regularly, and by the end of camp he was one of the top students.
Even though Andy was having a tough time at camp, he managed to overcome his homesickness in order to do what
he really wanted–study music. He even made some great friends in the process. Andy is one of my heroes because
of his courage. He knew what he wanted to do, and he worked hard to make his summer memorable. I know that I
will soon be in a similar situation; college will take me far from my home, my friends, and my family. I will be in
an unfamiliar place, but I will work my hardest to make my dreams real. I will make new friends, and I will work
hard to improve my musical abilities. If Andy could do it, so can I.
Review Questions
- Now that you’ve read a sample statement of purpose, do the following.
a. Pick a theme you want to write about. It could be about your heroes, a learning experience you had, or
an obstacle you overcame.
b. With this theme in mind, come up with a list of at least three stories you could use to write an essay
focused on your theme.
c. For each story, come up with a list of relevant details. They should be interesting to your reader, and
they should lead to the main point of your essay. - Now, using a story that you picked for Exercise 1, write a 500-700 word personal statement on your chosen
theme.