College Admissions Essay: My Personal Experiences

Each individual is created to live their life uniquely. Each person has their own beliefs and opinions. They shape how one perceives others and how one affects others whether it be personally,locally, or globally.

I am a southern bred leader, pursuer, and helper whos mission is to spread peace, love, unity, and respect among many to create a world of cheerfulness and brotherhood. I am Austin William Carricoand this is my story. All my life I have lived in the small town of Crestview and grew up among the wilderness along with its inhabitants. As the town grew exponentially into a vast city, my heart, my mind, and my soul grew with it, learning the ways to help others and slowly turning from a boy to the young man I am today. I now attend Collegiate High School continuing my journey at the ripe age of fifteen, still promoting peace as a mission for others even when I left my former school, Niceville High.

Four years ago, as a freshman in highschool, attending a liberal arts school was not important to me or my aspirations. I just knew I wanted to go to a “good” college. I did not learn what liberal arts really was until I was a senior in high school, and even then, it did not play as much of role in my college decision process as it should have. To me, it just meant do I want to learn about more subjects, or just my area of study. I had this form or thinking just one year ago, but now, as a member of a liberal arts institution, I am finding a new appreciation for the importance of a liberal arts education in my life because of the society that we live in today.

I was born on September the 7th of 1994 in the San Francisco Bay area, not very far from Silicon Valley. The year I was born President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade agreement with Mexico and Canada which helped to stimulate economic growth about twenty years ago. Living in California made my Dad the open-minded liberal that he is today, and because of his love for discussing politics I was raised listening to him have friendly debates with my very republican grandpa over every economic issue from climate change to healthcare. For about a year and a half after I was born my parents, older brother Daniel, golden retriever sandy, and I all lived in a classic colonial style home just south of Santa Clara Valley. My father was the breadwinner in our family working as an engineer for Portola Packaging. A job he was offered not long after graduation from a small private engineering school in upstate New York called Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. My mother also worked full time but as a loan underwriter. After being offered a great relocation package by Portola to the east coast my parents quickly decided to pack up our house and move to Pittsburg Pennsylvania. In addition to being closer to our extended families they also believed that raising a family in Pennsylvania was far

Born in a country where education is poor, life is hard, and opportunities are very rare, I was fortunate to come with my family to the U.S in search for a better future. I was only eight years of age when my family had to go through much hardship in order to bring my brother and I to this country. My good fortune was accompanied by many challenges such as learning English, getting to know a wide variety of diverse people and adapting to my new environment. It was a hard beginning for me, making it difficult to find the road I was looking for. The people that really support me in every struggle I have experienced ever since I was born are my parents who were and continue to be my biggest influence. I am blessed to have such a supportive and

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

If someone asked me where I am going to be in ten years, this would be my answer. I will have a great, high-paying job, and beautiful wife and family, and a nice sports car parked in front of my lovely house. When I look into the future, I see myself being successful and happy. Even though I always pictured myself this way, I never worried too much about how I would get there. I feel the Suffolk University can lay the groundwork for making these dreams into reality.

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.

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

The pure pleasure that comes from frivolously smashing small pots with a wooden spoon was every child’s dream. But for me I wondered, How does the sound work? When I was young, the garage door seemed like magic and I was always wondering; How does that work? That question filled me with curiosity, and to this day I want to know how everything works. I remember my dad giving me the book: The Way Things work And I was astounded because it was full of colorful, fun illustrations that explained everything from simple machines to aeronautical masterpieces. I spent hours upon hours (a long time for a kid) just looking upon the pages filled with mechanical drawings amazed like I had found Da Vinci's notebook. But even today many, many years later with most of

The city of New York is where I reside, mostly when I'm not flying around the world in my elegant, exclusive, exorbitant jet; I'd always mention with a wink. I'm living the dream. Waking up to the warmth of the sun as my alarm, the view of the alluring country from my apartment and Mr. Awares, my butler the man who dresses me... haha okay, I’m not that lazy. Where do I see myself 10 years from where I stand now? A question I could never answer until 10:03pm or was it 10:05pm? Well, who knows, I fell asleep.

College is a very important time in anyone’s life. It’s a time where boys and girls turn into men and women. It’s a time where people learn valuable life skills, and how to live on their own. Choosing the right college is an incredibly important decision. Colleges come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, specialties and strong points, as well as cultures and diversities. As a senior that will soon be on my way to a college is campus, it is vital for me to figure how I will fit in with the rest of the student body. As a human I have a unique mindset, just like everyone else, complete with values and morals that differ from everyone else’s. I also have a unique high school repertoire which encompasses many of my academic

Every time I close my eyes and take a deep breath, I can hear the repetitious honking of the taxi drivers, fed up with the incessant New York traffic. I can feel the soft wind blowing through the tallest trees in Central Park, lightly blowing my hair in every direction. I can smell the grease from innumerable hotdog carts, strolling their way up and down 85th Street, desperate for business. I can see the blinking traffic lights, and the countless men, women and children, all looking like they belong in New York. I wanted to be like them. I can remember everything, from the stickers on the crosswalk signs, to the name of the cluttered antique shop. I see all of these things as if they were scenes from my favorite movie. The vacation I took to New York City, the summer before I started high school, has changed my life forever.

The future is always something many fear, and more so than others at different milestones of life. An example of this is when it comes time for college admissions. Students around the world begin to question their worth through scores and grades. Is this how we want the future of America to be based off of, rather than the content of someone’s character? Test scores and grades aren’t truly accurate to accept someone into a college because test scores can be inaccurate due to digital systems and databases, humans express themselves in actions, not numbers, and grades are more so a scale of compliance.

What matters most to me is my 13 year old brother. I value him because while unexpected, his arrival brought my parents closer, unified our family unit, and inspired me to reevaluate my purpose in life. While I was 14 years old when my brother was born, our age gap highlighted the importance for me to not just lead my life as an example of good morals and character, but to also lead it with high ambitions and a track record of accomplishments. My brother, is our family's motivation to live fuller, dream bigger, and achieve greater success.