College Admissions Essay: My Hope For Success

Going through adversity is one of the toughest things anyone can do. But, feeling like you are going through it alone is a completely different animal. I’m sitting in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Chicago, and studying advertising at one of the top institutions in the country, DePaul University. Yet, despite all the effort, and years of hard work it took me to get to this moment, all I can think about is one cliché line I heard in a song awhile back, “home is where the heart is.” Years from now I know that I will be able to look back at this moment and say that I got through this tough time, and I became a better version of myself. But for now, all I can do is stay patient and keep lacing up my walking shoes.

Former baseball player Tommy Lasorda once said, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” The journey of our life is full of winding paths and concrete obstacles whose sole goal is to slow us down, and to attempt to block us from reaching our ultimate goal in life, whatever that may be. These barriers are there for several different reasons, whether it be mental or physical. Sometimes these obstacles are motivated by fear, other times they exist simply because we have to make a decision, and that decision can be life changing. But through our determination, and through our perseverance, we can achieve what these barriers told us was impossible, and can pursue the path in our life that leads us to our ultimate self. Throughout my life, I have had thousands of barriers stand in my path. And the only way I was able to defeat them was through conquering my fears, and breaking my limits in order to achieve excellence.

On August 24, 2015, I started high school. With an uncertain future ahead of me, I entered the school with a mindset towards greatness. At first, I was sad about starting high school because it meant I was getting closer to becoming an adult, but now I am just scared of not being at the top of my class, not getting into my choice universities/colleges, and not getting really high scores on my SAT/ACT, PSAT, and AP exams. I still

     It seems in the society we live in today, having a college degree is a necessity. Years ago it was the norm for people to just go right into a full time job after high school, if they even finished high school; they did this to support their families. In today’s society a person has a difficult time getting a decent job without a college degree. During an adults working life, bachelor degree graduates will earn about $2.1 million and a high school graduate can expect to earn an average of $1.2 million (Day and Newburger, 2002). This is quite a difference and it puts a college education in

As a matter of fact, I alway had the intention of going to college but getting into the collage of my choice is the actual goal. I plan on applying to colleges where I have a high

The pursuit of attending college has been a personal desire and goal for as long as I can remember. While maintaining a rigorous academic course load, I also had a passion for excelling in my music endeavors. My superior GPA and yearly testing scores broadened my career choices but made it difficult to discern whether I wanted to pursue something in the field of medicine, education, or music. The academics, experiences, and activities that I have been involved with throughout my life, definitely have shaped and encouraged me to think deeper about what it is that I would truly love to excel in on the college level and pursue as a life-long career.

I hope your life is better than mine at the moment. Hopefully, you and Jeremiah are still together and you’re finally happy for once in your life. I hope you still have family picnics in the park ,and lay in the bed with your husband as you both tell each other about your hopes and dreams, while in your pajamas and fuzzy socks over a glass of chocolate milk and teddy grahams, like you used to do back in your younger days. I know you’re excited about walking across the stage in the spring, and finally graduate from college in the top 3% with honors and your receive your doctorate at age 25. I've always had faith in you, and so has your family. I’m sure we all remember when you changed your major from nursing, to teaching, then back to nursing

It’s a weird feeling being compared to your seven-year-old sister. It’s an even weirder feeling when you’re being compared because she can run five times as long as you can.

Who am I personally, after 50 years of being me, I am still a work in progress. I grew up in a tiny ski resort town, on the Appalachian Mountains, in New Jersey. My father grew up in New Jersey, but my mother is from Havana Cuba. My father never graduated from High School, but my mother did. They did not believe in higher education, especial for girls. They wanted us to get married and start a family, I always knew that was not for me. So I followed my dreams and traveled the world. Meeting exciting, educated people all along the way, my travels showed me all the things that I had been missing out on living in a tiny town. By traveling, I learned how to live independently, be frugal, and enjoy life, that is what made me a strong woman. My weakness is, that I wear my heart on my sleeve, I am temperamental, and no confidant.

As a student, I am very well rounded. I am always prepared and thinking ahead of what I need to do. I’m very picky with everything I do. No one wants to take me shopping because if it ain’t perfect I don’t want it. I’m also very organized. I keep a tight schedule every day. I work hard for everything I want. I make dinner every night for my family of 5. I also like to bake but I never end up getting any with 3 boys in the house. Anyways, I work hard for the things I deserve and I am very picky about what I end up getting. I don’t like much help unless I really need it. I always turn things in early or on time. If my work isn’t perfect, it’s not good enough. I usually don’t settle for anything less than an A. My brothers call me an overachiever.

Throughout my life, people have told me many times "Success is no accident." I never quite understood what all the fuss was about. To me being successful was absolute. Something you either had or you didn't. For a while things were looking good for me. Everything changed though, when I saw a 38 on my UIL History test. This horrific failure ripped at the very fabric of my existence, however it taught me an invaluable lesson in hard work and focus.

Am I ready for high school? What changes am I going to make to be successful? Do I have my short and long term goals planned out? Many questions that I was asked right before my first year of high school are ones that I didn't take literal notice of. It wasn't that those questions weren't important and wouldn't have been beneficial. It was mainly being that walking into high school for the first time I didn’t know where to go, who to talk to, and most importantly what were my goals after graduating. At the time my mind was set on childish attributes such as what girls would be there, was I well groomed, or how many of my friends did I have in my class . While growing up I never had anyone explain to me the significance of a GPA . I didn't

I’m a sixteen year old female who has been raised my whole life around the fact that my mind must be perfect. If I wasn’t meeting up to the standards of my parents, then I needed to change everything about myself to meet them. My anxiety eats at me everyday. It feels like I have a colossal boulder sitting on my chest a lot of the time. The other times, I lose all of my care for anything in that moment. One day, I attempted to explain the situation to my mother and asked her to take me to a doctor. I had been waiting until my parents could afford health insurance for me to go, but all she heard was that there was something was not up to her standards inside of my head, like I was defective. After the odd conditions of my childhood, I didn’t know how to think for myself. I didn’t know how to make rational decisions for myself. I’m still excessively lost. I look all over the place for help. I searched for that help so much anywhere that I could think of. I looked at school,

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”- Marianne Williamson. Most people have many powerful and life changing dreams, yet many of these people do not strive to make these dreams a reality because of the huge challenges that come with such a strong calling. My life has never been easy and my dreams have never been small, so when I look at the road before me and the challenges I face to meet my goals, I look on with determination and excitement knowing the growth my dream will bring. When people ask me where I find courage and determination to excel through the challenges I have faced throughout my life, I simply reply that my strength was instilled in me from a young age. Being placed in the foster care system was a blessing and a curse because although that time in my life was not pleasant it allowed me

Growing up you hear, "You can do anything you set your mind to," and as you get older you begin to hear, "Follow your dreams, but maybe you should major in business management, there's always a job with that." Courage is following a path you have faith in whether or not everyone else does. It's doing something new, vibrant, artistic, and not business management.