Thanks a lot for the help! In general i feel my SOP might be a bit weak and I have a few particular problems with it, but i would prefer to get your feedback as it is and then ask you about my issues with it, if you don't mind. Here's the SOP:
Studying economics seriously was not something that i had expected until recently. When i decided to study it, i was only 17 years old, about to finish high school and I had decided that i would probably be a lawyer, so i had to finish a bachelor's just to start the juris doctor. Furthermore, I had to choose a bachelors that was meant to help to be a successful lawyer. I had read that students with bachelors in economics did well in the LSAT, plus, I wanted to study something that was scientific, but still had an element of subjectivity and while naive, i had hoped to study something that helps society progress and become better. Economics seemed to somewhat fill the criteria and if it didn’t, i could just change, i thought. Surprisingly, by my third year, i liked economics so much I had already forgotten about the LSAT or law.
Once decided to pursue further studies in economics, i came across an enormous problem. Graduate studies in economics had a huge emphasis in math, a subject i have never been good at. Still, i have never been good at quitting, so i decided to take my worst subject head on. I did not do very well, and it eventually drove me to almost abandon my desire to study economics on a graduate level. However, I didn’t want to quit my dream to be an economist just because of math classes, so I decided to keep trying. After hard work i was able to understand the math itself, rather than just being able to do exercises, as i was erroneously doing before, and came to comprehend proofs, which had been a big problem for me at the beginning. In the end, I was able to finish my bachelors having taken calculus III, linear algebra and discrete mathematics, passing them with good grades. I will also attend as an observer superior algebra, statistics in mathematics and differential equations classes to better prepare myself for my graduate school. I also finished my bachelors with and emphasis in quantitative analysis, with my math for economics and statistics classes helping me understand how math is applied to economics and my econometrics class, in particular, how it is used as an empirical tool for investigations and research.
After 5 years of undergraduate school, my studies have left me with a profound understanding of economic theory, and my quantitative classes have prepared me for deeper learning of statistical theory and tools in order to achieve a higher level of economics research. During my studies, i have also come to appreciate and understand various aspect of economics, among these being public economics, financial economics & applied econometrics. It is for these reason that I am interested in studying at the University of Florida, due to the excellent reputation on the fields of applied econometrics and public economics. If accepted into the University of Florida i would hope to work with Professor Sarah Hamersma, since her expertise are on public economics and econometrics, and her research focus on poverty is something that I am deeply interested in . My career ambitions is to pursue an academic career where my research abilities can make a difference in people’s lives and with the knowledge i have acquired and my enthusiasm i believe i have a lot to offer the discipline of economics and to the university’s graduate program.