Essay about personal story, from Harvard Club of United Kingdom 2016

Personal Essay Prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

“Nigeria?” exclaimed the man sitting next to me, failing to mask his confusion. “Yes, Nigeria” I said, confirming that I had enjoyed my years spent in Nigeria the most. My fellow traveller remained stupefied, and to some degree, offended: how could I prefer the squalor of Lagos to the elegance of Melbourne, Aberdeen, or Houston? Had I answered him, I might have explained that there was a beauty that arose from the apparent chaos – an observation that taught me the importance of learning through experience rather than relying on what others have said. To my mind, this sentiment is best embodied in the Nigerian dish, Suya. In rickety stands alongside polluted streets, thin ...