Why Is the Principle “Question the Status Quo” Important and How Do You Identify With It, Essay Example

Throughout my life’s journey, “questioning the Status Quo” has been one of the most prevalent and driving forces.  The idea of constantly challenging the mundane has given me the courage to stand by my beliefs and pursue my dreams.  However, the path that I have chosen for success is certainly marked with mistakes and missteps. But instead giving up, I have learned through my stumbles that strength and knowledge comes from the lessons of failing.

I began setting goals for myself at an early age.  As an elementary school student, my dream was to excel at the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination and attend the University of Hong Kong.  I studied five hours each day, and throughout high school I routinely sacrificed my free time for tutorial classes, applying the extra hard work that was needed to not only pass, but to excel.  My study habits put me among my schools’ academic elites, and my success on the test was all but guaranteed.  But when the result came back, I learned that I did not perform well and I was not admitted to the university.  My confidence took a large hit; I felt that I not only disappointed myself, but I let my family and teachers down as well.  However, success meant more to me than wallowing in this defeat, so I allowed myself to accept the failure and began exploring other avenues of higher education.

I began to do research on opportunities in Britain and the United States.  I spent a month attending education exhibitions, listening to speakers from different universities talk about the opportunities each of their schools had to offer.  Because its system had a shorter matriculation period that guaranteed a degree after four years, my parents encouraged me to study in Britain.  In the U.S, I would have to finish a two-year program at a community college before applying to a traditional university, and there was no guarantee that I would be accepted anywhere, much less graduate in four years.  However, I believed that it was crucial for me to take time and explore a host of subjects before declaring a major, so I decided to head for America. When I arrived, I hit the ground running:  not only did I secure an internship with Waddell & Reed, I spent my summer in intensive study in order to become an Economics tutor, a job I pursued in order to strengthen my communication skills.

From my daydreams in elementary school to my desire to continue my education, there have been many times where I could have easily just accepted things as they were; I could have stayed in Hong Kong and worked a decent job, or received a mediocre education in Britain, or just coasted through college in America. But when we don’t handle the impossible tasks that life presents, we settle, creating this status quo where just being “okay” is acceptable.  All my life, I have wanted more from life, and I have made it my mission to always strive tomorrow to be better than what I am today.  I am extremely confident that the next step in that goal is to continue my studies in the Haas Undergraduate Program, where my questioning of the status quo will be met with a challenging, engaging educational experience.