app essay.

Who would’ve expected that my hero would become a janitor? I always knew that my father was exceptional. While my friends complained about how their fathers never had time for them, I could not find any fault with my father. He was there to comfort me when I had my tooth pulled. He taught me how to ride a tricycle step by step. He never yelled or broke a promise. He was kind, protective, trusting, and patient at all times. Not only was he good to me, my father was exemplary in his behavior toward everyone else. Never having had the opportunity to attend college due to financial problems, he always had to sacrifice his body and health by doing manual labor. Yet, he never complained. On the contrary, he always took the extra step to be diligent and helpful. He was always the first one at work and the last one to leave his job. He would even go out of his way to help somebody out, such as by caring for his co-workers when their boss was being neglectful.

Even though today I know that my father is great for who he is and not what he does, in April 2005, I could not help feeling ashamed of him when he became a janitor of the church my family had been attending for eight years. The church is located in a wealthy neighborhood, and most of its members have respectable and high paying jobs as a result. It was really hard for me at first to see my father clean and take out the trash in front of so many watchful eyes. I would hesitate to answer when people asked why my father was always at church. I was afraid that they would be derisive and condescending upon learning that he worked at our church.

Society had corrupted my mind into thinking that great jobs are the ones where you wear $400 dollar suits and carry a briefcase to work into a 500-foot financial building in New York City. I had forgotten that my father is so great not because of his job but because of how hard he works no matter what his given task is. My father’s greatness comes from the small things he does for others. At church, my father uses his proficiency in Spanish to buy bagels for the landscapers every Saturday and listen to them complain about their jobs. They feel comforted after they talk to him, and they are touched through his genuine caring heart. My father does not crave respect or attention because in his heart he only has the desire to serve others.

Watching my father devote himself to serving others has changed me. Last Christmas, instead of shopping for family and friends, I bought presents for a rather different group of people. I eagerly wrapped up 10 gifts and carried them to school. The first box of chocolates went to one of Cresskill High School’s custodians, Mr. John Williams and the last set of Bath and Body Works gift set went to our cafeteria lady, Mrs. Millicent Cafiero. Nobody could ever experience the joy and warmth that I felt in my heart as I watched those amazing individuals receive my gifts. As I saw their faces light up, I experienced true happiness. Furthermore, I realized that all this time that I had been worried for my father that he was not getting respect, he had been feeling truly happy. He taught me the greatest lesson in life: that I cannot be happy if I live a selfish life. My father will forever be my hero.