College Admissions Essay: Golden Opportunity

My past, present, and future. This is the journey of my life. Where I’ve been, where I’m at, and where I’m going. My journey began on July 28, 2000, at St. Margret’s South Hospital in Dyer, Indiana. Lance Collins who is a paramedic, and Christine Collins who is a registered nurse, became the proud parents of the 6lb. 9oz. 21 inch long baby boy, who they named Liam Hunter Collins. On November 30, 2002, I became a big brother when my sister Taylor Collins was born. I have been a lifelong resident of Northwest Indiana and I’ve had some pretty amazing adventures and accomplishments so far. I became a proud pet owner when my bichon frise Max, came to live with us on April 5th, 2006. On June 30, 2006 my dad took me to my very first Taekwondo lesson. I quickly fell in love with martial arts, I worked really hard, dedicated myself, and I received the rank of 1st degree black belt when I was only eight years old. I have been playing

This forced me analyze my life thus far, to recognize my fears and what I hold dear. It’s only been sixteen (one month till seventeen) years in this carcass, but I already feel like an entire life has flown by. It was like a prerequisite of actually watching my life flash before my eyes. This project was nice to sit back and look at what a social mess I am (one of my most favorite pastimes). But also, only being sixteen, I don’t hold what many would believe to be true values, dreams, fears, and identity. Nevertheless, this is what I have so far.

At the age of 39, I decided to return to school and finish my undergraduate degree. Being a single mother I wanted my kids to see how hard work and dedication can really pay off if you commit yourself and push through any adversities, you will win. I received my degree in Healthcare Management and I have been working in health insurance for over fifteen years. Working with people and helping others is my passion. I love to see a smiling happy face.

I’ve always enjoyed being in sports basically anything that had to do with me being active I would join. But as we all know being in a sport you had to have good grades at least a C or better, I wanted to do track so bad so I had to increase my grades. It was hard managing the both, I could remember all the anger and frustration inside me that I can’t hold in any longer and I start getting frustrated with everything around me even frustrated with myself. Somehow I managed to balance both and I achieved what I wanted to do.

I thought was fully prepared for college when I walked across the stage on June 1st, 2015, but I was completely wrong. College is a whole new lifestyle that you eventually learn to adapt to everyday. The advice you hear from parents everyday is something you take with you as you navigate throughout campus. Some of the previous advice my mother gave to me is the advice I should of listened to. Now that I am older and on my own, it’s up to me to figure out how everything works.

What you see is not always what it is. We learn to perceive what we're looking at, and we get used to how things are supposed to be. I was always fascinated by the illusion pictures that at first glance is strikingly simple to guess what it is, if you give more attention to detail you see another picture in it. What inspired me the most and made me a curious person was how missing one detail can change the whole outlook of the picture – just as missing one aspect from patient’s evaluation can lead to a wrong diagnosis. This taught me the importance of thoroughness in doing anything in my life. My meticulous nature has been an incredible driving force behind who I am

To bottle the essence in this premier moment- the liquid of success and pride, the raw emotion in that moment that has propelled my character to it's actualized state of being- would have been a fantasy amongst reality. I open my tear dotted eyes as my ears resonate the echoes of confetti cannons and cheers from the arena. My muscles ache with joy, and my mind is chasing the realization that is at hand. I have just won a midwestern color guard championship. The golden haze of chaos that ensues is one that has forever imprinted on my mind, a haze that lingers in my peripheral vision, in constant search of a worthy emotion to compare to. The prime success in this moment alone- has been the sole fuel in the flame of my determination and strive for achieved ambitions.

Some might call it “nosey” or “annoying”, but I've always favored the term “curious”. From a young age, my thirst for knowledge has been unquencable and well-known to those around me. My parents, teachers, and any other adults within an earshot were plagued by my constant questions. By the age of six, I had become obsessed with finances. I felt like I needed to know every last detail of people's fiscal affairs. Unfortunately, my six-year-old self was too young to realize that this was considered distasteful. Often at night, while my dad sat at the dining room table to pay his bills and balance his checkbook, I would accompany him. My interrogation into his finances was unrelenting, and most of the time he would comply. Whether he wanted me

Imagine yourself stuck in a nutshell, jammed in between the two biggest decisions of your life. That was me. Wedged between the two most important decisions of my tenth grade year, for my eleventh grade year… to tryout for the school dance team or to not try out.

On October 30th 2008, my father died in my arms. He had succumbed to a short, but painful fight with lung cancer. It was the defining turning point in my life, Leading me down the path to become the man that I am today. It was the first, of many hard lessons. None of which I regret experiencing. Yes many of these moments have been incredibly painful, and seemingly unsurvivable at times. They have however made me a strong and diligent young man.

She is the answer to my earnest prayers for a wife filled with the qualities I prayed for and one day I hope to marry her in the future. She was really there for me in my hard times.

It`s strange the way we look back on the past. How we consider the advice we would tell our younger selves, `you`ll be okay,` or `he does not define you.` The idea most prominent in my mind was put forward by my father, `Life is all about taking chances.` The words seemed to ricochet off of me, as if his mouth was a gun and I was wearing a bullet proof vest.

Something that I don’t like to do, but I have to do is wake up. I don’t like to wake up because I’m always still tired, I’m comfortable in my bed, and the light hurts my eyes.

“Neha! Neha! Look at the Olympic gold medal I won! I used my pancake serve, just like you said!” exclaimed a faintly familiar voice behind me. I quickly turned around to be greeted by an ecstatic, bouncing girl radiating joy and excitement, proud of defeating the other teams in her bracket. It took me a few seconds, but it was Mimi, my special athlete unified doubles partner from the Special Olympics of Georgia of previous year. I couldn’t believe Mimi had remembered me and even recollected what I told her. That one butterfly-effect moment sparked a new trajectory in my life.

Ever since I was young, sports have been a way of life for me. I started playing basketball in first grade, destined to be in the NBA. But only scoring one basket a season was not impressing any scouts. Nonetheless, I kept at it and once I reached seventh grade, it was time for tryouts. With my NBA dream still alive, I went into tryouts with a lot of confidence. When I found out I was cut I was crushed. Almost everyone who did not make it quit playing and never picked up a ball again.