This is the essay I wrote for NHS. Please let me know what you think & suggest any corrections…

I, Luisnela Montero, am very proud of being selected to become part of the National Honor Society. It is an honor, in fact, it helps me confirm that my effort to always get good grades has not been in vain. My beloved grandmother once told me, ‘The surest way not to fail in life is to be determined to succeed’ and this is the motto that I live by. I always push myself to achieve what I want, giving it 110%, so I can be able to turn my dreams into reality.

When I came to the United States for the first time, two years ago, I thought everything was going to be easy and something very similar to a fairy tale, but I had to wake up and realize that sometimes life is not as easy as we think; if we want something we have to fight for it. After my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer I realized that we often take the wonderful things we have for granted and that life can go away in a blink of an eye. Having to go through this experience has made me the determined, hard worker, disciplined and strong girl that I am today.

Being an immigrant could be an obstacle to many people, mainly because of the language. Last year, I won a faculty award for outstanding achievement in the English language and this is something that I am very proud of. It has not been easy for me to adapt to this whole new culture where everything is so different from where I come from. Currently, I am not in any clubs or sports team in school, because I have been working at a nursing home, and helping out with chores at home. However, back in my home country (the Dominican Republic) I was the class president for three consecutive years. I also volunteered to help in the Dr. Alejandro Cabral Hospital. This experience helped me to become more familiar with hospitals and their programs and services, which introduced me to the world of medicine and since then I have wanted to become a doctor and save people’s lives. I recall that one doctor once told me that if I really want to be one of them I have to work very hard and strive to get good grades. Here, in the United States, I sometimes times try to help out the community by donating clothes that do not fit me anymore. I also donated money to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is an organization that helps those children with cancer and whose families cannot afford to pay their treatment.

Becoming a member of the National Honor Society is something very important to me and it would be another achievement in the memory of my grandmother. I think I have most of the qualities that are required to be part of this organization; leadership, service, scholarship and character. I have dedication and work very hard to accomplish all my goals in life and right now becoming a member of this organization is one of my main goals.