some bio vis-a-vis some begging

Below is a letter I had to write as part of an application to travel to Ghana with a group from my school:

Hello, my name is Just A. Reader. I realize that most of you know me by now; this is my third learning statement. Still, the directions ask for introductions, interests, achievements, goals, and so on.

I am a second year graduate student in the XYZ Philosophy department. I also have an eleven year old daughter named Expression. My family immigrated (migrated) first to Angola from the Azores Islands several years before I was born in 1971. Four years later my parents and my three siblings all immigrated again to the States, this time with me.

My main interests are world philosophy, religious pluralism, international politics, and travel. I was born in Angola, and outside of the Cambodia/Vietnam and China trips with XYZ, I have also traveled to Portugal, Brazil, and India.

Among my achievements, none of which I could have done alone, I count the facts that my daughter appears relatively well-adjusted, none of my family members hate each other, I have friends, I don’t have a criminal record, and my insanity has never been proven. Aside from that, I have also written some okay papers, for which I was rewarded with good grades, the privilege of being a grad student and an executive intern.

I would love to get a Ph.D. in philosophy, or to teach Philosophy at a community college, or to work at a university in some administrative or managerial capacity. I like school.

Okay, so why Ghana? The obvious reason is that Ghana, like Angola, is in Africa. I was born Portuguese in Angola, a fact for which I have in vane sought an adequate description and explanation. Since my first memories of sitting on the roof of our house while an army marched through the street, I have dreamed of Africa.

Lastly, there is a large and visible gap in my formal education. I have studied many things in school, in accordance with my interests and my opportunities, but regrettably only a few things related to Africa.

Let me explore Ghana with you. Help me fill the holes in my education. Allow me to deepening my personal relationship to Africa. Permit me to walk the land where music is the fabric of existence.

Sincerely,

Just A. Reader