College Admissions Essay-I Am A Figure Skater

As you go through life there are many things that shape you as a person, many things that you learn and grow from. I have experienced all of these from one thing, hockey. I started skating when I was about 4 years old, persuaded into the sport by my dad, who came from a big hockey family. I was so young I do not remember my first reaction to it or if I even liked it, but there must have been a reason that I stuck with it. Hockey has caused me much stress and tribulation but every second of pain is worth the reward.

When I joined the Upper Bucks YMCA gymnastics team my freshmen year, I did not realize how much of my life would have changed. I took gymnastics classes ever since I was six, and even though the coaches would pester me about joining the team, I never felt the need to participate in gymnastics competitively. It wasn’t until I began to practice with the team girls that I realized how much I was missing out, and I never regret the day that I became a member of the Upper Bucks gymnastics team. Not only was it a place where I challenged my gymnast abilities, where I learned what it meant to be healthy, and where I discovered the thrills of competition, but it is a place that I call my second home. I met girls of all ages coming from different

As a young man, I knew hockey is something that I loved to do. I enjoyed playing hockey with my family on our outdoor ice rink and on my hockey team. At this time, however I did not realize that the skills I was developing would prepare me for the future. Hockey not only gave me leadership skills, but also helped me grow individually giving me responsibility and critical thinking. From the time I scored my first goal to assisting my teammates in annual charity events, I knew going

Balancing my academic priorities with my love of field hockey has taught me that I know myself well enough to take on difficult tasks. My experiences thus far in life have given me an appreciation and understanding of how to best challenge and organize myself in a way that helps me to succeed in my endeavors. I know that I will be able to translate these abilities into my future academic pursuits and my professional life. Field hockey will continue to help me to grow, de-stress, and maintain

The sense of belonging that comes from skating with a team, is similar to how I feel volunteering with local communities during the last few years. As I moved around when I was younger, I volunteered at many hospitals in the community and in various

Despite my lack of formal education, I believe I have managed to accomplish many goals in my life both personally and professionally. However, there was always one thing which kept looming in the back of my mind – returning to school to complete my college degree. A couple of years ago, I told myself, it was now or never, especially since I was approaching my mid-forties. I felt I needed to do something out of the ordinary to help me conquer my fear of returning to school. Two weeks after making that declaration, I enrolled in a six-week summer Roller Derby training course.

As much as I have thought about what defines me as a person, nothing sticks out more than the sport that I love: Lacrosse. This sport has been the backbone of my teenage years and has influenced many aspects of who I have become today. Lacrosse has affected my life in the aspect of athletics, my level of maturity, my leadership skills, and various responsibilities I have grown accustomed to. I have participated in many athletics throughout my high school career, but none have formed me into the man that I am today more than Lacrosse. One reason that this sport has helped me grow so much is because I am able to say that I was one of the few who raised our program to the ground up.

The ripping of blades against the solid and stable ice. I fell in love with the sound the minuet I laced up my first skates. I was at The Falmouth Family Ice Center, lacing up a set of white rental figure skates while my once and cheeks turned numb and blush color filled the tip of my nose. I could hear the laughs and the screams, but under that I could hear the slice of blades ripping through the solid ice. At first, I couldn’t go two feet without another bruise, but after a few hours on the chair I could make it around the entire ice arena without coloring my skin black and blue. I spent every weekend getting farther and farther away from the chair and away from the wall. I fell in live with skating and eventually graduated from my white

Believe it or not, it's not just a board with wheels, it's much more. It's a way of life. Being a skater isn't just about doing tricks, or getting sponsored. It's about feeling good and having fun. At times, it can be frustrating, but more than anything, it's an escape.

Using my old experience and old habits I had become just as good or even better than before. As I was on the freshman team for gymnastics, I had brushed off the rustiness from the break that I had taken. Even though the sport is as not tough and rough as club, I still felt the rush that I did before. As I take the skills and lessons that I learned from club gymnastics, I still work just as hard and have just as much fun. As freshman year continued, I started to remember the habits and the reasons why I loved this sport. With a different coach and new teammates, I still felt at home. Jumping back onto the equipment was like riding a bike, even though I was a little rusty at first, I will always remember what was taught to me. Throughout freshman year I have improved and grown potential that I hope to apply later in life and later in gymnastics. I push for new skills and moves every day, but most importantly the sport makes me feel

Nothing worth having in this world can be accomplished without hard work and dedication. This is a concept Nicole has become seemingly familiar with. Nicole has gotten used to picking herself up, brushing herself off, and trying again – literally and figuratively. As a figure skater, falling is a common occurrence, “It’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Nicole had said in an interview, “we have all become used to it over the years”. Nicole has been skating since she was two years old, and started competing when she was six years old.

Almost everyday, after school, i’d trot over to the rink and enhance my skills. Soon enough I was able to easily build up speed, i’d just have to train harder to achieve my goal of landing basic tricks. I became very invested in the sport; instead of hanging out with

My company blew up as a result of this, and in 1998, me and my family started a children's skate clothing company called hawk clothing. Then probably the most defining moment of my career happened at the 1999 X games, after 10 attempts and way past the time i was allotted, i landed twice on my board but both times it shot out from under me. The next attempt i landed barely holding on. That day i placed 1st for best trick. The trick shouldn’t have counted but because the crowd was cheering me on so i kept trying. When i asked the judges they said it counted because “they make the rules as they go”. If i hadn’t of landed that trick that day. My career may have been completely different. I’m 48 years old and i can still land 900’s. I have defined the era skateboarding and have impacted many different community with my charity that brings skate parks to cities that might not be able to afford them to build them. I helped donate money build, and was there when the ann arbor skatepark opened. With this charity i hope to get kids off the streets, and get their minds off things. Skateboarding makes me happy and i want to spread this joy to many

She was right. Skating will always be my refuge, and hold a special place in my heart. Out there, I feel like I can do anything. It’s the only place where life makes sense. My struggles as a skater have made me realize that giving up is not an option: failure is, and so is success, but giving up is not. Last year my coach moved thousands of miles away to Ohio. The moment was bittersweet, I was thankful for all that she had taught me, but devastated to see her go. The last time I saw her she gave me a framed copy of a mantra she used to tell me before every competition called ‘The Champions

I began figure skating at the age of 5, when the sweltering Floridian heat became too much for my mother, so she enrolled me in classes at the local ice arena. I soon began competing, and while I enjoyed the rush of winning and performing, my young heart was not in it for the right reasons. I dreaded practice, making any and every excuse not to attend. But at this point I was 8,