- January 2017
Personal Statement
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow” says the writer Anita Desai, a quote which describes my life perfectly. My life has been that of a traveller, largely because of my father’s job. Every two to three years my sister and I would get the “we are moving” talk. To be honest, at first each move really upset me, but now I just can’t imagine what my life would have been like without having lived around the world. This aspect of my life really sets me apart from many people. I first moved to Indonesia, where Bahasa Indonesia became my third language by the age of 3. I then moved to India, where I soaked in “my culture”, stopped speaking Bahasa and started speaking Hindi. Then, I moved to Egypt where, along with Egyptian food, I fell in love with golf at the age of 8 years. In Nigeria after that, I learnt to love African rhythms, African street food and learnt to play on courses that weren’t as perfectly maintained as Cairo’s. In Lagos, the rough was really rough! The common threads running through these diverse experiences were my family and my American International School education wherever we were. All these experiences have combined to make me what I am today. “My culture” no longer feels exclusively Indian just because of my nationality, but rather I am multi-cultural because of my experiences.
I was introduced to golf in Egypt at the club in Katameya Heights, Cairo, when I was 8 years old and instantly fell in love with the game. My parents encouraged me, driving me uncomplainingly to the club every weekend. They also encouraged me to swim and play football, basketball, badminton as well. By the time I was 10 years old, I had decided that golf was the sport I was really interested in pursuing. Over the years, I worked to refine my skills in golf and found that it was the only sport I played that really calmed me down. In fact, even today, when I am stressed out about a test or a project, I find going to the golf club and just swinging a club for an hour helps me release the stress, so that I can go home and focus on the task at hand.
I started playing tournaments when I was 8 years old and won several junior tournaments, including the Katameya Heights Junior Club Championship (2009-10). In Nigeria too, I played in the Junior tournaments at the club from 2010-13.
When we moved back to Cairo in 2013 I started participating in the adult tournaments at Katameya Heights rather than the junior tournaments. This change was difficult, and I found myself at the bottom of the score sheet in several tournaments. In fact, I came in last in one of the monthly tournaments. However, I was determined to never give up and kept trying to improve my game. This attitude really paid off, as I went from coming last in a monthly tournament to coming 2nd in the Sofitel Eclectic Cup in 2015 in Cairo, Egypt. During my two years at Cairo American College (2013-2015), I was also part of the school’s Varsity Golf team. We participated in the International School Sports Tournament (ISST) for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years. Our team came first in the tournament held in Vienna in 2014.
We moved to Mumbai, India in 2015 where I became a member of the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC). In Nov. 2015, I came second in the Guzder Junior Cup held at The Willingdon Club, Mumbai. In 2016 I won the Dr. Dugal Cup Tournament held at BPGC, Mumbai. In 2017 I was Runner-up in the R. K. Pitamber Trophy Tournament held at BPGC, in addition to winning the January 2017 Monthly Medal tournament at BPGC.
Some of my best characteristics are my responsibility, determination, collaborative and leadership skills, interest in learning, and all rounded personality. Whether on the golf course or in class, I work responsibly and diligently to give my work my 100% and to ensure it is always completed on time. All the while, I have worked hard to maintain a 3.5 GPA, and have now started the IB diploma course. In addition to this, I am a very determined individual, and find it very hard to give up on something I have started. If there is a difficult problem or something I can’t do, I don’t just give up and walk away. Rather, I try to solve the problem myself using different approaches and if I still can’t come to a solution, I try to get help. I am always trying to see where and how I can improve. My collaborative and leadership skills are strong, as I am very friendly. I enjoy working in groups in class as well as participating in team activities and sports. I have been in the Student Council in grade 6 in Lagos, was elected secretary in grade 10 in Cairo, and am now again in student council in grade 11 in Mumbai. In addition, to this I was part of the National Junior Honor Society in my school in Nigeria, the American International School of Lagos, from the year 2012 - 2013, after which we transferred out of Nigeria. My subsequent school (CAC) did not have an NJHS and my current school does not have a National Honor Society.
I am also greatly interested in learning outside of my schoolwork. The school band has been part of my life in every school since Grade 5. My instrument is the French Horn. I am working with my PE teacher for exercises to strengthen my back, as I realize that golf swings put a strain on the back. Other than golf I play multiple sports, including baseball and badminton and have been on the Varsity Badminton team at my current school (American School of Bombay) since we moved here in 2015. I take part in theater as well, my last role being that of the Earl of Kent in the school’s production of King Lear in Dec 2016. Community service activities such as teaching Math to hearing impaired students twice a week, and making creative projects every Wednesday with underprivileged children such as circuit games or robots are also an important part of my life.
Finally, my goal is to be able to play golf in college and to continue improving my game throughout college. I would love to be able to play the sport that I am crazy about while pursuing a major that I find interesting. I feel that by playing golf in college I would also get closer to my dream of one day being able to play golf at a professional level.
