I grew up in one of the poorest communities on the south side of Atlanta, US and was raised by a single mother who didn't finish 3rd grade. Not many people expected much of me, so I had to expect something of.
On my 13th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard and put it up in my room. Being at Harvard wasI dreamt about all the time though many people thought it was farmy reach. I would bum the midnight oil,(bury) in piles of books. I'd begin my day by asking myself these two questions, "What do I want in my life?" and "Are the things I am doing today going to get me closer to that life?"
(remind) myself of my goal each made it easy to say no to the same choices I saw my peers making, because those paths wouldn't have taken me closer to my goal. Asking myself those questions gave me the courage and energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when my friends were asleep; and it gave me the determination to submit（提交）just one more scholarship(apply) when 180 others had already turned me down.
On March 31st, 2011,email arrived from Harvard. The first word was "Congratulations!" A
month later, Harvard invited me to visit the campusfor the first time I got to see inside Sanders Theater, tour Widener Library and eat dinner in Annenberg Hall. I couldn't wait to start my(explore) here.
Who you are today is the result of the decisions that(make) earlier, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?
