My life

Personal Essay

My vision of the world as a big mosaic, made up of different shades of colored stones representing different cultural identities, has been taking shape from my earliest childhood experiences. Born and raised in the former Soviet Union, I spent my early childhood in Baku. Baku where we witnessed dynamic and promising development of Azerbaijan an independent state building its own legacy from the very beginning after over 70 years under auspices of Soviet Empire. Spending most of my school years in the developing city of Baku, a crossroad for many travelers where east meets west, at the most respectable international school in the region, has delivered a considerable impact on my accomplishments, values and goals.

When I was enrolled at Baku Private Turkish High School (BOTL) in six grades, it was a small and unattractive institute with limited academic opportunities for its students which were tantamount to what Baku was for its people after the fall of the Soviet Union. Over the years I witnessed a chain of innovative processes, introduced by the city and school authorities, aimed at providing a more enhanced and sophisticated value for both current and future generations. Although it was an amazing experience to be part of the country evolution process along with having close student-teacher relations. Facing the SATs for the first time during my junior year, lacking the preparation for the rigor of the University, limitations in the choice of elective curriculum as well as poor college council support have been obstacles to my attempt to match my expectations.

On the other hand, the challenge represented a unique opportunity to take a more leadership role by assuming personal accountability for enhancing my academic performance along with continuing my passion and participation in extracurricular activities not affiliated with BOTL. Although the activities that I undertook such as Olympiad, sports, exhibitions, private lessons in art and Azerbaijan literature were hard to balance with the time dedicated to school work, they offered insights into new areas of knowledge for me. I recognized the importance of striking and maintaining the balance between the times dedicated to academics, art, hobbies and personal life as well as understood that it was up to each one of us to pursue our interests, make things happen and experience life in any community that we are put in.

Nonetheless it was when I came to San Francisco in 2006 that I realized that being a well rounded person went beyond grades, hobbies and interests. Even though the concept of being a well rounded person is prized in the American education system, I came across many college students at the Lincoln University who demonstrated ignorance in their assumptions about the world: many hardly spoke any foreign language; they had never heard of Azerbaijan in addition to their limited knowledge of geography, world cultures, history and current events. That exerted a profound effect on my vision, interests and my understanding of the definition of the well educated person. I have become more aware of my cultural identity and committed to share my experiences and knowledge with those around me. Through lectures, readings, discussions and social activities I acquired an appreciation for different ways of learning and that has become my key objective during my undergraduate experience. I am gaining a deeper and more meaningful understanding of high renaissance art through lectures, readings and by observing the works in person. Living in the city, visiting traditional villages, attending soccer games, and appreciating local cuisine enable me to learn subtle details of the Italian culture and people – something that is unattainable to an average person who is unchallenged by the value from thinking and behaving outside the box.

College experience has become an institution of opportunities to explore different subjects of interest to me and to connect with people with diverse backgrounds. Some of the most stimulating courses with remarkable professors have been instrumental in advancing my intellectual curiosity and global awareness to higher levels. Evaluating my interests and goals, I want to further enhance my undergraduate experience at a liberal arts college which focuses on the humanities and offers a strong visual arts program in a multi-cultural and artsy city. Located in the heart Oakland, Lincoln University offers the perfect combination of academics and city life where I want to raise my level of performance to meet my expectations rather than to lower my expectations to meet my performance. I am absolutely confident in my ability to deliver excellent academic performance along with reinforcing university’s strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion since Inspired by high levels of confidence, commitment as well as the words of renown author and politician, Bruce Barton that, “nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.”

Bespite many challneges in during my life i become well established person with well attractive personality and part of knowledge that will with time as a fine whiskey will aknowledge my personality will grown and expand in all it's meanings.

Sincerely

Adil Mansimov