College Admissions Essay: My Junior Year Of High School

When people tell you that high school would be the best time of your life, you don’t really understand the magnitude of what they’re saying until your time is coming to an end. A lot of people say that you “find yourself” in college. I, however, had the advantage of finding myself in high school. These past six years have been awesome, and I really mean it. I know it might not seem believable for a high school student to enjoy school, but I’m not lying about this stuff. I felt this way even before there was a scholarship to apply for. My mom taught me from a young age to enjoy going to school, and as much stress as it might have caused me over the years, I still loved every second of it. It’s easy to focus on the undesirable parts like sleep

I remember waking up that day and that feeling in my stomach, knowing what was about to happen. Growing up I knew about my father's sickness. My family, I recall, was always supportive. No one ever thinks about how one day, everyone you’re around for years, can just vanish. I cherished my friends as I was growing up. I lived there for a majority of my life, up until fourth grade. I remember sitting at a neighbor's house and having the mother come into the room and inform me that I need to be home swiftly. As I ran home, my head was crowded with thoughts to the point where I could not even think about why I was supposed to be home quickly. That day marked the transition of what would be the biggest change in my life. As by dad became sicker,

I lived in student home Verona for four years. My houseparents were Mr. and Mrs. Jester, at Milton Hershey School. I played field hockey for my 7th and 8th grade years of middle school. Someone who helped me when I was at MHS middle school was my sister Jada. She told the advice that I needed to hear when I was down or upset because I was on restrictions or developing. When I struggle in school she told me, “Get your grades up Gia or you are going to do bad in school and I do not want that for you. You’re a smart person and I want you to be successful in life.”

I want to end this story on a happy note. I really do. But I dread me going away to college, leaving Inaara in high school. But I dread the idea of me pouring all of my hard work into this essay and only see the minus on my transcript. But I dread the day I'm going to have to confront Andrew, the kid with aspirations to football in college, about playing lineman instead of wide receiver again next season, signifying the fact that our passing in the morning had truly been for nothing. At least the essay I’ve dreaded for so long is now finished.

Junior year. My junior year I realized things about myself that I hadn’t previously known. Things I’ve never done before and things people thought I couldn’t do. Situations I thought I wouldn’t be in and there I was. Junior year, I did it.

My Junior Year of high school just recently started. I have learned so many different things while attending high school, and still have over a year to learn even more. As Matthew Kelly said, “whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future.” This means while I have done a lot in my past, I cannot change anything that has already happened, but I am able to change my future. One of the most important things that I am involved in right now is school. My first two years at CBHS were good, and I made decent grades. Some of the grades that I made I am not very happy with now but I cannot change that so I need to focus on my grades right now because those are the ones I can change.

“You are not college material, look at these grades,” my Mother proclaims as she looks at my recent report card. “Stick with sports kid” my Father, adds. The sad part is, I actually believed them.

High School was hard for me. Not in terms of course work but emotionally it was difficult. I had no guidance and had an overwhelming feeling of being an outcast. My bi-racial heritage—African American and Irish—made it difficult for me to fit in with any one ethnic group and exacerbated the feeling of isolation. Eventually I found the solace of alcohol and drugs and from there I began to drift. I dropped out in eleventh grade and spent a year in an out-patient program meeting regularly with a consulor and therapist. During this time, seduced by the plaintive moans of the blues, I taught myself to play guitar, a skill that would prove life saving in the dark years ahead. The next year I found my way back to a new school and graduated on time, but my problems with drugs and

The 1979-80 school year was my sophomore year; the 1980-81 school year was my junior year. For both of these school years the Mid-Valley Junior High School and Mid-Valley Senior High School continued to operate in a campus environment in Olyphant.

Growing up in small town Catlin, Illinois, I have always been inspired to accomplish larger goals outside of my small town. Although the small town environment has taught me things like friendship, support, competition, and importance, I believe that a larger community can give me more opportunities to find myself and what I can really accomplish. My life has revolved around sports and academics during my pre-adolescence. Knowing my capabilities, I did my best to excel in everything I took part in. Some examples of these are a five point zero GPA on a five point scale throughout my high school years, taking advanced classes at Danville Area Community College for college credit through the Dual Enrollment program, being a vital contributor

I just can’t believe there is only few more days of high school left. As the days are getting closer and closer, it's getting sad. I still remember the day I stepped into Maine East High School as a Freshman, at that time, all I wished for was to graduate from this school with good grades. High school was not the way I imagined, it is way different from what I thought and definitely different from Middle School. Freshman year was the “exploring/adventure” year, finding where each classes were, what activities/clubs were offered at this school and many more. Freshman year went quickly and then Sophomore year came up. Sophomore year was probably the least stressful year in high school but from Sophomore year my family and friends started asking me the scariest question “What are you doing after high school, which career?

I have always had a deep passion for serving other people who are in need. I also possess strong leadership qualities that I have acquired from the different positions that I’ve held during my high school career. I didn’t necessarily know how to fuse the two together in a major that would best equip me to leave an impact on my community, country and world. When it became time to choose a pre-major I decided on Government and Public Policy. This program will allow me to study different political structures and different areas of polices that impact the world around me.

As a graduating high school senior, I feel that I have truly grown into my envisioned character. With my curiosity for learning, I prioritize my demanding academics studies, which teaches me to work hard in order to succeed. I am also extremely detail-oriented, which helps me to maintain a true focus on all activities I engage in and tasks that I perform. Along with my driven mindset, I take pleasure in volunteering for my school and my community by participating in multiple service-related activities. With such an investment in my time, I am always given the opportunity to reflect upon fortunate I am to be able to give back to those in community.

Only the beginning of junior year, I was afraid to continue the class. I was afraid I was going to flunk out. The class carried on as I sat there day after day with the thought of failing on my mind. However, that only made me even more determined to get a higher grade on the next test. I could not let a bad grade eat me up and demolish my desire to succeed. Later when the second test was passed back, I looked at it, flashed a smile, and flipped through it, noticing only a few minor mistakes. Returning to the front page, I stared at that 92% until the end of class.

I've never been comfortable bragging. In fact, I was raised to be modest about my achievements, whatever they might be. Applying for college is nothing but bragging, and it makes me uncomfortable. In addition, every other essay you're likely to see is nothing but a litany of impressive accomplishments from top to bottom. That's not me.