College Admissions Essay: How Social Media Changed My Life

Multitasking is usually right for those that want to work on assembly lines. Students that graduate with degrees typically aim for high paying jobs and in order to achieve this they must shut down their laptops and phones and pay attention in their classes. A startling fact is just how dependent and almost fixated college students are when it comes to accessing the internet. A few studies such as that of Jacobsen and Forste (2011) have highlighted that having access to the internet comes before everything else. Most students consider the Internet as fundamental as food, shelter, water and air. These thoughts are highly astonishing. Most of these students find that the internet is more important than going out with friends.

The start of school brought many agonizing moments. I learned firsthand the cruelty of my peers. I needed to use the elevator and have my books carried. I remember having few friends those first months, yet everyone noticed me. I was known as "Brace Girl" and was constantly badgered with questions like: "Is that a bulletproof vest?" "Why do you wear that?"

My parents came to America with no understanding of English, nor had they ever gone to college or finished high school. Both of their situations set a precedent for how my elementary school life could roll out. To begin with, the first days of school for me as a tiny girl who adored jumping around on all the furniture possible in her house and who hated sitting for more than ten seconds did not turn out as expected. The lump in my throat hid under my appearance: two curly mud brown pigtails, a navy blue skirt with an untucked white shirt, and the mask of a smile my parents begged me to keep all day. At first, the mask my parents told me to keep on stayed attached to my face. Yet, as minutes seemed to turn into hours, the constant thought of

I was a third grader when I was enrolled into school, although I was fascinated with the idea of being able to attend school my heart race against the hours every time I am there. Being an English learner, I felt alienated by my classmates every time I am presence. As I was sitting in a corner under the shade, I was observing the girls having a fluent conversation with each other made me wish that I was them. Unfortunately, I could barely distinguish the differences between the alphabets and numbers as I hesitate to pronounce them. Deep down there were the antagonistic side of me that persist me to keep pursuing cause it will significantly define me amongst the other later on.

As a little girl, I always enjoyed going to school. School was this creative place where I was able to see my friends and create new games to play on the playground. The bark chips became lava and the swings were how we could avoid it’s scorching heat. After recess, we would go back to the classroom and learn about sharing, and the basic fundamentals of life. Then, once the large yellow bus dropped me off at the end of the day, I would proudly show off what I learned that day to my parents. I always appreciated the new skills that I learned. I liked to test my parents to see if they knew about what I had learned (generally they did).

When an elementary student and a high school student are inquired about school, you get two unquestionably contrasting responses. The bright, hopeful eyes of the young elementary student answers with a voice dripping with excitement, with the breath of the daily snack time chocolate milk spreading as they yell about the new knowledge they are gaining. On the other hand, the high school student counters with a monotone muttering. The words sports, stress, and sleeplessness are whispered, along with a shake of the head. As students go through school, starting as a youthful child to an experienced teenager, their views of school are very contrasting. Their thoughts of people, the future, and their want to learn completely shift.

Social media is not real life. If we know this, then why do we spend hours and hours of our day in this false reality? Is this the most fulfilling and productive way we can spend our time on earth? Social media, in the current state it is in, a system based on numbers and money, is not real life. It is a system based on likes and dislikes, social validation, and success found in how many followers one has. We base our opinions of people as a whole by only looking at the orchestrated part they allow others to see. I was born into the screen dominated age and taught at a young age that in order to succeed, I must mold myself to society's standards. By separating myself from social media, I am taking myself out of the sculpting studio.

Unfortunately, in our world, people form stereotypes, but how is social media, schooling and family life affecting those stereotypes? For many, stereotypes are automatic and unwavering mental pictures, of a certain group. Most of the time we never take into account any of their Individual differences in their personality. This is because most of the time our stereotypes are so hard and grounded, we tend to ignore or discard most, if not all information that is not compliant with the stereotype that we have developed about that Group of people (“Overcoming”). It is basic human nature to put people into nice and neat categories, which include very set and specific expectations. They’re rooted in us when we 're young, and become more defined with experiences. In our world, we have three main sources of experience; social media, school, and family. These are the main points that will be covered. The three biggest ways our developing youth form their view of different ethnic groups, and how they interact with them.

School was boring, class was a blow, and all I wanted to do was get it over with. Most subjects were uninteresting I couldn’t understand why I would waste my time on something I didn’t enjoy. I still learned what I needed to in all my subjects, but from elementary to middle school I did the least amount of work I could to still pass. All the while my teachers are saying I wasn’t living up to my potential that I needed to apply myself. I would get on track in school for a while but ultimately I would get frustrated with the monotony of

I woke up two hours early as I was paranoid not to be late. I got ready in the morning and got on the bus at exactly 7:45. Once the school bus arrived at Taylor Road, I entered and got lost immediately. The environment was different for me; I felt nervous but confident. The day continued and I got to know my teachers' better. Eventually, a few weeks had gone by and my mindset towards middle school quickly changed. The difficulty of exams given overwhelmed me, which lead to poor grades. I grew angry at myself because I knew I could much better work. I became determined to fix my previous mistakes by going to study sessions, working one on one with teachers, and managing my time more efficiently. As I put in more effort to succeed, positive results followed. Sixth grade eventually came to an end and I finished the year with straight A’s. Although I felt happy with my grades, part of me was missing.

I was a homeschooled child. My brother and I were home schooled together until the sixth grade. In Sixth grade, he skipped a grade while I repeated it. It is demeaning to repeat an entire year that everyone around you called, “easy.” Why wasn’t it easy for me? For my second year of sixth grade, I left the shelter of home and embarked on a new adventure at a local private school. I was certain that the kids would pronounce me “the school dunce.” Arriving at seven forty-five in the morning, my hair slicked back into a wet ponytail, and in scuffed up sneakers, I cautiously dragged myself inside. I was shaking in fear. You always hear “horror stories” of class bullies, beautiful girls, and nerds.

The first day of middle school was a new deal for me. I woke up early, ate, and got dressed. Got in my dad’s car and was on my way to school. Arriving, I was a little nervous because I was gonna be down in the hallways with the big kids. Grabbing my backpack I go inside. Once inside, I meet my friends and go to my locker. Then, I go to my first class which was History with Mr. Gunn. First hour went smoothly and after that was second hour. Heading into Mr. Jung’s class which he taught math. Math was not one of my favorite subjects. After that, we had English with Mrs. McCord. Hearing from the class above me, they said that she was a strict teacher. Coming into the class I was a little scared. But, she was really nice and was a fun teacher. The best part of her English class was doing our journals. I really liked expressing what I did and looked forward to that every Monday. Next, the middle schoolers had lunch. Us being six graders we had to wait until the 8th and 7th graders went through and then we went. Lunch being over we had PE/Health. This was my favorite class because I like doing sporty stuff. The bad thing about having PE after lunch was that once we did the mile all the food wouldn’t settled yet and I would puke. After PE, was reading with Mrs. McCord. We had Mrs. McCord twice in six grade: once for English and then for reading. Next, I had study hall. This is when I tried to get all my homework done because there wasn’t that many people in the study hall. After

ARHH! Thinking back about my first day of high school seems like a dream. I remembered it clearly the night before school started, I have butterflies all over my stomach and my body filled with excitement and a big force of energy. I walked to school with my pals and when we saw middle schoolers walking pass by, We felt so proud into thinking that finally, we are not middle schoolers anymore. I walked in front of the ebony gate of our new home and saw innumerable of students, the face of students that I have never seen before. Suddenly, my heart started to skip a beat continuously and my chest felt very intense just like an electric shock.The thought of having a class with a bunch of strangers worries me and I prayed that I would have a class with at least someone I knew.The school’s building looks like a college campus and it seems ages since they’ve constructed it. As I skim through the building, I could see the crack and teeny tiny holes on the walls as if a violent earthquake has just erupted.They painted the walls with deep ocean and rich creamy red. After I got my schedule, my peers ran towards me to take a look at my schedule. Sigh*.Sadly, none of them was in my class because most of them took regular and easier classes while I got all those honors and challenging classes. I went to my first period knowing that I would be alone.

Have you ever had a school year that continuously altered its unpredictable course as the days went by? My 4th year in elementary school was as rough as an unsoftened wooden edge. Everything was well until one day, I began to experience discomfort. It came like a large whisper from some distant noise. At first, the noise didn’t do anything, but then it penetrated me emotionally. My 4th grade teacher and classmates acted like a menacing fire, daring to rage for long. Unpleasant as it had been, I found a way to get through the entire year. With a mother, an older sister and another teacher to propel you, things became greener than before.

My education in elementary was hard. It was hard because I had to get use to a new language. I had to get use to a new culture. So I had a really hard time in elementary school. Everything for me was new. I remember when I discovered World War 2 and felt in love with history and the war. It was at Laurel Elementary in Compton. It was in the fifth grade and we had a field trip to the museum of Tolerance. It’s something that I will never forget. I don’t really remember what I got from my education from middle school. The only thing that I can remember is being bully a lot in middle school. So I think that’s when I started to hate school.