My Motivation To Study Social Sciences In The UK
I have lived in several countries: France, Nigeria and Indonesia, which provided me with the opportunity to visit many diverse places. As a result, I have become very inquisitive about different cultures; my origins and my whereabouts have taught me about local customs and societies and have made me curious about the world we live in, and its organisation. It has helped me understand how people interact and communicate, and taught me to live amidst the diversity of our world. Growing up, I would ask my father about why European countries were in crisis or what North Korea was like.
To this day, I am still very much intrigued by what other peoples' opinions and ideas are, how governments work and the way countries interact. I am now considering pursuing a career in social sciences; perhaps doing research or teaching. I have grown up with two native tongues, French and English, and Spanish became my third fluent language in secondary school. In addition, I have been eager to learn new languages in combination with international relations, in regards to my upbringing, which is central to your courses. As a student in France, studying in the UK would allow me to have certain subject combinations that do not exist in French universities. Moreover, being a half English citizen, I would like to experience living in the UK and to reconnect with this important part of my personal identity. Concerning my high school studies, I am currently majoring in law, philosophy, history, geography, literature, and languages. These subjects are ones I am passionate about and that have helped me develop solid argumentation skills in addition to enriching my knowledge.
Accordingly, I chose to join the British OIB section in high school, which gives a C1 level in English and has added a more international aspect to the French curriculum that I am following. Indeed, studying Anglophone literature and history is important and has allowed me to discover different aspects and points of view on world affairs. What is more, my interest in social sciences pushed me to apply to the Sciences Po Summer School last July, where I was admitted to spend three weeks of intense studying. This pre-college academic experience confirmed what I wanted to study later on, giving me a grasp of university through different tutorials and master classes in geopolitics, law and international relations. Teachers from very different backgrounds, including research and diplomacy, brought this useful and highly interesting knowledge to me, but also inspired me through their impressive careers. In addition, I am a strong-minded person, who enjoys voicing my opinion and listening to other people's point of view. It made me decide to participate as a delegate in two International North Model United Nations conferences, in Lille. I found it very stimulating to be able to engage in a discussion about political topics and learnt a lot from it. I have also been involved in organising MUN at my school for the past three years, as Head of Chairs and this present year as Secretary General. This improved my critical thinking and debating skills, which are an important component of your classes. It has also led me to being a class representative (this year and the last), requiring diplomacy to defend my classmates' claims under the teachers' authority, as well as being chosen to be a part of my school's event organising team, where we work with the staff on projects for our school.
Lastly, I have been playing the piano since age 7 and have been taking art classes for several years. All these extracurricular activities mean that I have had to learn how to manage my time efficiently, in order to meet all the different deadlines, and have reinforced my team spirit. Being part of your international community would be an exciting chance to keep discovering new interesting cultures and people, and to bring my own mixed background to your campus.
