College Admissions Essay: A Change In My Family Tree

I am destined to make a change in the world. Many times growing up, my father teased me about not wanting to become an engineer like most of my family. But I am and always will be my own person with a passion for law and politics and the desire to change the world. As I grew older I did wonder where this passion came from and the curiosity fueled by my family and history classes led me to research my family tree. What I found was about 900 people, one of whom was a woman, who changed the world through different legal and political ways.
When I started my family tree, I found that I am a descendant of Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Mayflower Compact. That was the first time I found an ancestor of mine who had made a huge impact in the world through a legal and political way. When Hopkins signed to establish one colony he set the stage for a new country where people were free to practice their own beliefs. I will do the same one day, I will set the stage for a new …show more content…
When I went back further in time, I found that I am the descendant of seven different monarchies who have all made their marks on the world and on each other. The first king I found in my tree was Alfred the Great of England who fought continuously with the Vikings. But not only was Alfred the Great my ancestor, so were the Vikings. For the last 1600 years my ancestors have killed each other by wars, poisoning, and drowning. The earliest dispute was the Sack of Rome in 410 between the Roman Empire ruled by Honorius and the Visigoths ruled by Alaric I. I will always strive to be a great leader but I have learned from the mistakes of my ancestors. I am their decedent, but I am more evolved and better because of them and the lessons their lives teach to me. The most powerful woman in my family tree has taught me more than any other and lived over a thousand years