College Admissions Essay: A Short Story

I was given one month to pack thirteen years of my life in a suitcase. Moving to the United States from Brazil has been a major landmark in my life. It was a phase defined by its drastic transition between to widely differing cultures. I was faced with the challenge of making different friends, and growing accustomed to a new educational system. This all became increasingly difficult when you take in to consideration my inability to communicate. Overcoming this obstacle was my biggest objective in ironing my complicated transition.

In the back of my mom’s moving car, I wake up in a daze. The Gameboy that was previously in my hands had fallen to the floor, and the sun’s rays that had previously glared through the window were replaced with the shine of the moon and stars. As my small hands press up against the glass, my eyes twinkle and my toothy, black holed grin widens at the celestial body blaring in the night sky. Astonished, I watch the moon seemingly follow our car, almost as if my existence awed the moon and not the reverse. As the full moon swallows the sky, the unknown distance between us becomes minuscule. If only my three foot frame was a bit bigger, if only my arms could stretch as far as my imagination, I could touch the moon. It was in this moment that I

Since I started community college I’ve heard several dozen cases of people changing their major, changing their transfer college, or just changing their mind. I’m not likely to do any of that, I choose to use my time in high school deciding what I wanted to do and so far I am sticking to it without a doubt in my mind. I chose to go to community college, earn my Associate's in Business Administration, and transfer to James Madison University in the fall of 2018, graduate in 2020 with my Bachelor’s. I intend to get my Master’s either right after my Bachelor’s or within a few years of my career. I hope to have a job leaving JMU, my first accounting job of my career. I decided to major in accounting for a plethora of reasons, but not what most people expect.

A critical moment during my undergraduate career is when I came to the realization that it is alright for me not to know what to do with my future. I realized that I was doing the right thing by furthering my education so that once I finally did know what career I wanted to pursue I would then have a degree to help me stand out. Once more, Dr. Reed convincing me to pursue a degree in Communication is one of the best pieces of advice I acquired during my undergraduate career, if not ever. I most likely would not have the confidence I currently have in obtaining a degree that I have no idea what I am going to with once I graduate.

My mom signed me up for the community library when I just turned 6 years old. Even if I did not know how to properly read at the time, I had to go there every afternoon to keep myself busy as an only child. Being opened to books at such an early clearly has had a major impact on my life and personality. From the local tales of my beloved Senegalese society to the deep and sophisticated French literature, I have traveled through cultures and generations. Whether it is Emile Zola’s collection of novels or Albert Camus’s philosophical texts, these books raised me and taught me about life, love, and resilience. As times went by, reading was no more a regular pastime but a detrimental part of my existence. The lessons and morality I gained from each story always pushed me to challenge the status quo, to be curious, to be adventurous but most importantly to be a problem solver.

The position of honors is a much valued and highly respected position in which only a select few are chosen for its place. I myself believe that I am a suitable candidate for such a position given the type of person that I am as well as my personal experiences through business.

From the very first day of freshmen year in high school, determining what college you will attend is an idea constantly engraved into students’ heads. Teachers apply a constant gentle pressure to motivate students to get good grades, become involved in extracurricular activities, and find an area of interest to assist in selecting a college major down the road. Students endure the four years of high school, some working part-time jobs, to afford weekend entertainment, miscellaneous expenses—such as Whataburger after a Friday night football game, or gasoline for their car. However, the requirement to decide between a career and education is only beginning to become a reality for many. Some students decided to take time off after their high school

I’ve always been the type of person to always plan ahead, to always assess each defining factor, and to always prepare myself for whatever life throws at me. As I type this, I look back and evaluate as well as reflect upon the very occurrences that have led me to where I am today: my family-my parents in particular, as they never made it through to college-so this process is new to everyone within my household, my own failures and successes, my community, and my education have all been vast influences on my character, especially my growth as a young adult. Recently, I’ve been pondering as to what will define me as an individual; what will have the greatest impact on me that will distinguish me from others, and more importantly what will help me apprehend my own goals? Everyone can say that they’re lives being the way they were guided them to the path they ended up on, and I know that is true too, but I feel there’s something more prominent as to why a person chooses to pursue a particular goal, career, or other dealings. This realization arose from my participation in the Regional Program for Excellence, a program that provides students with internships in fields they’re inquiring in before entering college, and my inquisitions regarding the significance as well as the impact on my rapidly changing life.

Sometimes in life we have to know when’s the right time to stop fighting. Sometimes it’s not as simple as, this is wrong, so I’m going to fight it. Sometimes, there’s just too many possible consequences and risk of someone else getting hurt in the process. It’s especially hard when you’re trying to fight for someone else, because you feel they deserve better, but having to come to the realization that fighting it will only make it worse. I was lucky enough to realize this before I made things worse, but I know full well now what could have happened if I didn’t stop.

It was 4 a.m. and we had to meet in front of the school. I was wearing two sweaters because of possible rain. On the way to Dodgers Stadium, Mr. Nittle was telling us about his previous marathons and how it was always extremely hot. Once we got there I pinned my name bib number and stretched to pass the time. Every thirty minutes there was an announcer who’d come and tell us how much time we had until the race started. After I heard the announcer I began to cry, I don’t know if it was fear or excitement, but it hit me “I don’t want to do this anymore!” Was I really about to throw away all that practicing away for nothing? I’ve run an 18-mile race… a few miles more couldn’t kill me. I felt I was not capable. I was the only person who was telling

I grew up around Pittsburgh and my dad worked in the steel mills. Our mother left when I was two. Something about "finding herself". Or at least that's what my dad said. He raised me and my siblings by himself. Our oldest sister got us ready for school in the mornings: breakfast, lunches, bus stops. We moved around quite a bit and it left me with a deep sense of insecurity. Where will we be next year ? Will I have to say goodbye to my friends? We never lacked for the essentials but we weren't rolling in dough either. We had just enough.

The first day I ever really checked the mail was when it started getting cold here in Killeen, Texas. Usually my mom would check the mail, but it was the beginning of November and I was expecting something important. As I opened the mailbox I saw an envelope from Baylor. I rushed inside the house, convinced all my family to come around, and opened the envelope. There it was, my acceptance letter, I got in. Getting into Baylor made me realize fate was real. I was beyond excited, because there were so many signs that this was meant for me.

All I could hear was the faint sound of Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant and my incessant thoughts that were corroding my mind. I was sitting in my cluttered car, but I didn’t mind that it was so hectic because that was me, that was my mind. The clock on the console read 10:02 and I had nowhere to be on such a chilly night for it to be in the middle of June. It was my best friend’s 17th birthday, and I spent the night contemplating what it meant to be 17 in a world where time was inevitably slipping away.

I wish to inform you that I graduated on December 15, 2017 and accomplished successfully the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Technology at Bowie State University.

I was a junior in high school, and extremely excited to finally have a chance to be able to pick up brochures and ask questions about a variety of colleges, all in one place. I knew that my time there would be very limited; therefore I made myself a list of the booths I’d make sure to visit. With my list, my watch, and a mind filled with questions, I was eager to speak to the many college representatives. I walked into a huge room with booths everywhere I looked, college representatives eagerly waiting to speak to students, and one more thing. I was one of the few Hispanics in the room, which was filled with about 400 people. I didn’t mind it, but I did feel a little uncomfortable and out of place. I tried to ignore that, and put my focus