On a stormy Saturday night, I was left on my bed left with nothing to do. I constantly scrolled through Instagram hoping that someone had posted something. Then, my dad walked into my room and asked me if I wanted to watch a movie with him. Truthfully, in my mind I thought "No not again.... just leave me alone". As I opened my mouth, the word "Yes" accidentally slipped from my lips. As I walked into the living room, he already had a movie picked out. Logged on to Netflix, the title "Rudy" was spread across my giant television screen. I thought to myself, "ohh gosh... here's another one of my dad's old boring movies". Throughout the movie, I began to see why my father had wanted me to watch it. Besides the fact that it was a football movie, and I just started playing my first season of football, this movie taught me what no textbook could, perseverance and fearlessness. The story was about a man who dreamed of playing for Notre Dame college. Although he was probably the smallest guy, that whole ideal didn't stop him from accomplishing the goal he wanted. With the last game of his senior year at Notre Dame, he was able to play the last 11 seconds and sack the quarter back.
Why am I telling you this? Because I was the complete opposite of Rudy. I was always afraid of failure. I constantly told myself, "What if this happens..." of "What if I fail..". This mentality often acted as a personal barrier, hindering me from attempting new things. An example would be arriving to my new high school. As my freshmen year begun, I was to afraid to join a club or sport. I was always afraid of not being good at it and others judgment. "Rudy" taught me something that contradicted my mentality. It taught me to do what make me happy. It taught me to work towards my goals and not care about what others think. It taught me to not be afraid of failure and not fear trying over and over again. Overcoming this wasnt the easiest thing to do. I couldnt just wake up one morning and think completely opposite. But what really pushed me to change my thinking was seeing how happy he was. At the end of the movie, Rudy was screaming of joy, and crying tears for he couldnt believe what he had accomplished. After all the countless doubts, he never let any negativity change his mindset or quit on his goals. This example is what drove me to become like Rudy. I wanted to feel utter joy, I wanted to feel the feeling of accomplishing a long time goal.
From that point on, my high school goal was to try something new. It was to do something out of my comfort zone. Later that year, I signed up for the football team. You may say, "what is so special about that?" or "so what?". Well, I had never played football before, not even flag. It was something very different from the other sports I played. But something about this bloodthirsty sport intrigued me. It was the commitment and brotherhood that the team had for each other. Therefore, after the long reflections of whether I should do it or not, I finally bit down and signed up. From that moment on, I never regretted a single moment. I learned so much both physically and mentally, I feel that after that season, I grew and matured both on and off the field. I learned to prioritize and manage my time. I learned to be committed to something that I participated in. Although I wasn't very good at it when i first started, I feel that my want to be good pushed me to keep working and eventually keep improving. After really getting to play the sport a little bit, I started to see how much me and Rudy were alike. We were both pretty small guys, and we both kind of shared the same determination. The only thing that set me apart from him was my personal barrier. But after I had joined the football team, I had felt that I had broke that barrier. As you can see, the littlest thing like writing my name on a piece of paper has taught me so much.
Most of all, I learned to not be afraid of trying new things out of my comfort zone. The reason why is because I feared failure. But I learned that only success can be gained from failure. After messing up, I can only become better. This is why I feel that I broke a personal barrier. Because from this whole experience, I gained both confidence and apathy. Confidence in a sense that I am not afraid to try new things, to talk to new people, and to speak my opinion. I gained apathy in a sense that i don't care about the negative judgments of others. I learned to not let their negativity affect my life and my actions. Now, I learned that there is only one thing that stops me from feeling true happiness, and that one thing is myself.I am the that tells me "I cant" or " What if". Looking back at this whole football experience, I can really prove how foolish and goofy my mindset was. I am able to see how much the "comfort zone" mentality stops you from accomplishing so much. After a couple games, I was finally able to accomplish something that i never thought someone like me would do. For the homecoming game of my sophomore year, I was a starter on defense in the cornerback position. Although we did nor win, I still feel that my long time goal had finally been accomplished. And to think that all this could've have started with a movie on a stormy night. A movie that I would never think that would help me to this very day.
I may not be the most outstanding person, but i lack something that most people don't, that is empathy for others negativity. I am not afraid of failure, nor of things out of my comfort zone. I am not afraid of what others negatively think, because I know that it can do nothing but go through one ear, and out the other. It is like being afraid of the dark. We only fear because it is unknown. I am not going to let this affect me anymore. This is a personal barrier I have broken.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Word Choice Olympics
- Nothing could express the utter joy I felt that moment. After nights of laying on my bed, praying to the Lord that he would make it back home as tears fell off my face and moistened me pillow, I finally felt what I wanted to feel. As I walked onto our baby blue patio to get the news paper, I saw a black truck pull up in front of my house. At first, I thought nothing of it. In my head, I knew that I was probably getting my hopes up to high. Then...he came out of the back seat. My eyes widened as tears began to pour out, a faint feeling of relief hit my chest. He closed the door, turned around, and smiled at me. "Well Mary Elizabeth, do I get a hi?". I screamed bursting up to my father, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I squeezed him as if he was my favorite stuffed animal. And at that very moment, My two sister came sprinting from the front door, yelling "Daddy!! Daddy!!'. Our faces began to turn red as we started to look like tomatoes, for we knew that we could never feel happier.
- I knocked on the chipped wooden door. Again.. no answer. For a moment, I began to think if I should call for back up, or just take him on my self. I knew that if I did call, He would escape. I pulled my bright stainless steel hand gun from out of the red snaked skinned purse, it felt as if I could no longer carry it. I knew that my nerves were getting to me. I began to think of "what if". What if i burst throughout the door, and the next moment, i was in a puddle of my own blood. Screw it. I took a couple steps back, 8 feet or so. Running with all my might, I smashes through the barrier blocking me and the murderer who killed my brother. As loose shards and splinters of broken wood filled the air, I pulled my gun to eye level to aim at the faint figure i saw lying on the couch. I was startled. A par white, old woman layer on the couch, crying. I knew that I made the worst mistake.
- I kicked the sand around a bit. I thought to myself, " we got this". I knew that me and my sister practice for too long, and too hard to lose to a bunch of asian twigs. I took a deep breath, I then through the leather blue and white volleyball up in the air. Then, after waiting for a split second, I jumped, cranked my hand backwards, and hit the ball with an open palm. I saw the fear from my opponents as the ball came as fast as a bullet. With no time to think, the back player ducked with an intent to not get injured. My sister looked at me, wit her giant blue eyes, and yelled "WE WON!!" As we both jumped into the air, I couldn't thing of anything except how relieving it was, to finally be champions.
4. For a whole moment, I saw the entire audience
look up at the big monitor. I knew that it wasn't to see the play, but to pray. It was the playoffs, and it was tied during the final quarter. I looked to the black, empty ceiling and said "Lord, please help him get up." Our star player had injured himself after getting fouled from sooting a layup. As my eyes drifted back down to the basketball court, all I could feel was relief. He bounced back up, gave an assuring nod to the trainers, and
put a thumbs up to the worried crowd. I knew that this game...was ours.
5. She satt on the gum bleachers waiting. She eagerly sat and hoped that the coach would send her son in. Nervously fidgeting with the camera lens, she put the camera on the sports setting. Finally, with game in arms reach, the sweating coaching grabbed the player by his collar, pointed to the forward position, and gave a sertifying shove.
5. She satt on the gum bleachers waiting. She eagerly sat and hoped that the coach would send her son in. Nervously fidgeting with the camera lens, she put the camera on the sports setting. Finally, with game in arms reach, the sweating coaching grabbed the player by his collar, pointed to the forward position, and gave a sertifying shove.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
College Essay Rough Draft
University of Washington Prompt:
Tell us about the experiences that don't show up on your transcript:
Tell us about the experiences that don't show up on your transcript:
- a character defining moment
- the culture awareness you have developed
- a challenge faced
- a personal hardship or barrier overcame
On a stormy Saturday night, I was left on my bed left with nothing to do. I constantly scrolled through Instagram hoping that someone had posted something. Then, my dad walked into my room and asked me if I wanted to watch a movie with him. Truthfully, in my mind I thought "No not again.... just leave me alone". As I opened my mouth, the word "Yes" accidentally slipped from my lips. As I walked into the living room, he already had a movie picked out. Logged on to Netflix, the title "Rudy" was spread across my giant television screen. I thought to myself, "ohh gosh... here's another one of my dad's old boring movies". Throughout the movie, I began to see why my father had wanted me to watch it. Besides the fact that it was a football movie, and I just started playing my first season of football, this movie taught me what no textbook could, perseverance and fearlessness. The story was about a man who dreamed of playing for Notre Dame college. Although he was probably the smallest guy, that whole ideal didn't stop him from accomplishing the goal he wanted. With the last game of his senior year at Notre Dame, he was able to play the last 11 seconds and sack the quarter back.
Why am I telling you this? Because I was the complete opposite of Rudy. I was always afraid of failure. I constantly told myself, "What if this happens..." of "What if I fail..". This mentality often acted as a personal barrier, hindering me from attempting new things. An example would be arriving to my new high school. As my freshmen year begun, I was to afraid to join a club or sport. I was always afraid of not being good at it and others judgment. "Rudy" taught me something that contradicted my mentality. It taught me to do what make me happy. It taught me to work towards my goals and not care about what others think. It taught me to not be afraid of failure and not fear trying over and over again. Overcoming this wasnt the easiest thing to do. I couldnt just wake up one morning and think completely opposite. But what really pushed me to change my thinking was seeing how happy he was. At the end of the movie, Rudy was screaming of joy, and crying tears for he couldnt believe what he had accomplished. After all the countless doubts, he never let any negativity change his mindset or quit on his goals. This example is what drove me to become like Rudy. I wanted to feel utter joy, I wanted to feel the feeling of accomplishing a long time goal.
From that point on, my high school goal was to try something new. It was to do something out of my comfort zone. Later that year, I signed up for the football team. You may say, "what is so special about that?" or "so what?". Well, I had never played football before, not even flag. It was something very different from the other sports I played. But something about this bloodthirsty sport intrigued me. It was the commitment and brotherhood that the team had for each other. Therefore, after the long reflections of whether I should do it or not, I finally bit down and signed up. From that moment on, I never regretted a single moment. I learned so much both physically and mentally, I feel that after that season, I grew and matured both on and off the field. I learned to prioritize and manage my time. I learned to be committed to something that I participated in. Although I wasn't very good at it when i first started, I feel that my want to be good pushed me to keep working and eventually keep improving.
Most of all, I learned to not be afraid of trying new things out of my comfort zone. The reason why is because I feared failure. But I learned that only success can be gained from failure. After messing up, I can only become better. This is why I feel that I broke a personal barrier. Because from this whole experience, I gained both confidence and apathy. Confidence in a sense that I am not afraid to try new things, to talk to new people, and to speak my opinion. I gained apathy in a sense that i don't care about the negative judgments of others. I learned to not let their negativity affect my life and my actions. Now, I learned that there is only one thing that stops me from feeling true happiness, and that one thing is myself.I am the that tells me "I cant" or " What if". And to think that all this could've have started with a movie on a stormy night. A movie that I would never think that would help me to this very day.
I may not be the most outstanding person, but i lack something that most people don't, that is empathy for others negativity. I am not afraid of failure, nor of things out of my comfort zone. I am not afraid of what other negatively think, because I know that it can do nothing but go through one ear, and out the other. It is like being afraid of the dark. We only fear because it is unknown. I am not going to let this affect me anymore. This is a personal barrier I have broken.
Why am I telling you this? Because I was the complete opposite of Rudy. I was always afraid of failure. I constantly told myself, "What if this happens..." of "What if I fail..". This mentality often acted as a personal barrier, hindering me from attempting new things. An example would be arriving to my new high school. As my freshmen year begun, I was to afraid to join a club or sport. I was always afraid of not being good at it and others judgment. "Rudy" taught me something that contradicted my mentality. It taught me to do what make me happy. It taught me to work towards my goals and not care about what others think. It taught me to not be afraid of failure and not fear trying over and over again. Overcoming this wasnt the easiest thing to do. I couldnt just wake up one morning and think completely opposite. But what really pushed me to change my thinking was seeing how happy he was. At the end of the movie, Rudy was screaming of joy, and crying tears for he couldnt believe what he had accomplished. After all the countless doubts, he never let any negativity change his mindset or quit on his goals. This example is what drove me to become like Rudy. I wanted to feel utter joy, I wanted to feel the feeling of accomplishing a long time goal.
From that point on, my high school goal was to try something new. It was to do something out of my comfort zone. Later that year, I signed up for the football team. You may say, "what is so special about that?" or "so what?". Well, I had never played football before, not even flag. It was something very different from the other sports I played. But something about this bloodthirsty sport intrigued me. It was the commitment and brotherhood that the team had for each other. Therefore, after the long reflections of whether I should do it or not, I finally bit down and signed up. From that moment on, I never regretted a single moment. I learned so much both physically and mentally, I feel that after that season, I grew and matured both on and off the field. I learned to prioritize and manage my time. I learned to be committed to something that I participated in. Although I wasn't very good at it when i first started, I feel that my want to be good pushed me to keep working and eventually keep improving.
Most of all, I learned to not be afraid of trying new things out of my comfort zone. The reason why is because I feared failure. But I learned that only success can be gained from failure. After messing up, I can only become better. This is why I feel that I broke a personal barrier. Because from this whole experience, I gained both confidence and apathy. Confidence in a sense that I am not afraid to try new things, to talk to new people, and to speak my opinion. I gained apathy in a sense that i don't care about the negative judgments of others. I learned to not let their negativity affect my life and my actions. Now, I learned that there is only one thing that stops me from feeling true happiness, and that one thing is myself.I am the that tells me "I cant" or " What if". And to think that all this could've have started with a movie on a stormy night. A movie that I would never think that would help me to this very day.
I may not be the most outstanding person, but i lack something that most people don't, that is empathy for others negativity. I am not afraid of failure, nor of things out of my comfort zone. I am not afraid of what other negatively think, because I know that it can do nothing but go through one ear, and out the other. It is like being afraid of the dark. We only fear because it is unknown. I am not going to let this affect me anymore. This is a personal barrier I have broken.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
College Prompts
University of Washington
Tell us about the experiences that don't show up on your transcript:
Tell us about the experiences that don't show up on your transcript:
- a character defining moment
- the culture awareness you have developed
- a challenge faced
- a personal hardship or barrier overcame
University of Hawaii
1. Commitment or volunteer service- complete an essay describing what activities you participated in (i.e. Any activities including volunteer, leadership, membership and community services in social, school or community organizations which demonstrate your willingness to give back to your community).
2. Commitment to health care- complete an essay describing what activities related to health care that you participated in (I.e. Demonstrated commitment to health care, volunteer work, employment in health services, enrolled in a degree program in any area of health fields; career goals and plans in the health care field regardless of are of study; how you intend to impact the health of your community in the state of Hawaii.)
1. Commitment or volunteer service- complete an essay describing what activities you participated in (i.e. Any activities including volunteer, leadership, membership and community services in social, school or community organizations which demonstrate your willingness to give back to your community).
2. Commitment to health care- complete an essay describing what activities related to health care that you participated in (I.e. Demonstrated commitment to health care, volunteer work, employment in health services, enrolled in a degree program in any area of health fields; career goals and plans in the health care field regardless of are of study; how you intend to impact the health of your community in the state of Hawaii.)
Yale
In this second essay, please reflect on something you would like us to know about you that we might not learn from the rest of your application, or on something about which you would like to say more. You may write about anything—from personal experiences or interests to intellectual pursuits.
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