My Life Application Essay Sample

I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 13 April 1967. My father was a Christchurch businessman, and my mother was from a farm roughly 30 miles from the city. Both sides of the family had immigrated to New Zealand from the UK and Ireland in the mid 1800s. During my early childhood I spent a great deal of time on the farm, and only wanted to grow up to be a farmer. My family moved away from Christchurch in 1970 to the deep south of New Zealand’s South Island. Invercargill is a small city existing largely to serve the surrounding farming communities and a nearby aluminum smelter. I attended school from the age of five, and during this period acquired two younger brothers. By 1979 the family moved to Nelson, at the top of the South Island where my father intended to retire onto an orchard in a far more pleasant climate. I attended Nelson College until the age of 17, and received relatively good grades. I was an enthusiastic but average sportsman. I also developed an interest in a military career, and applied to do officer training. My application was accepted. I enlisted on 3 Jan 85, and was posted to the Royal Military College in Australia where a small number of New Zealand officers are trained. I commenced an engineering degree, but soon enjoyed such an active social life that I failed the first …show more content…
This was my first opportunity to lead New Zealand soldiers, and I had finally found a job that I loved. The battalion specialized in jungle operations, and I also had the opportunity to qualify as a paratrooper. I spent two years learning my craft, and was then posted out of the battalion to a Captain’s staff appointment. This was an S1 position on a formation HQ, and lead on to a year as the Adjutant of a Logistics Battalion. As an infantryman I did not particularly relish the opportunity, but of necessity learnt an enormous