College Admissions Essay: My Pursuit Of My Life

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are. While your reputation is merely what others think you are.” -John Wooden.

To bottle the essence in this premier moment- the liquid of success and pride, the raw emotion in that moment that has propelled my character to it's actualized state of being- would have been a fantasy amongst reality. I open my tear dotted eyes as my ears resonate the echoes of confetti cannons and cheers from the arena. My muscles ache with joy, and my mind is chasing the realization that is at hand. I have just won a midwestern color guard championship. The golden haze of chaos that ensues is one that has forever imprinted on my mind, a haze that lingers in my peripheral vision, in constant search of a worthy emotion to compare to. The prime success in this moment alone- has been the sole fuel in the flame of my determination and strive for achieved ambitions.

I grew up in a house with a nurse and a police officer. A home that encouraged my personal growth and achievement. I have watched my parents work tirelessly to give me and my three sisters the life we had growing up. I need this scholarship money to prove that their sacrifices paid off.

As a child, I remember hearing sayings that taught me to hold my tongue, watch my mouth, and that if I don’t have something nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. As I have grown older I have noticed two things: First, no one actually follow these silly sayings, and second, that the teenage world has infinite expectations. Life now seems more and more like a series of unmarked doors, leading me down a path that I will inevitably tread the rest of my life.

"I have always Imagined Life as a useless bag of possibilities; no matter which one I chose I already knew who I was and who I was going to be. Out of all those paths and choices I could always see greatness. Even if it meant the spotlight will not shine on me.

Nearly six years ago I had to make decisions regarding my future. This included decisions based on my education. It was not an easy period of my life. At the time, I had to leave my native country, the life I was used to, and, most painfully, my family. I came to the United States with my father and his wife. They were the only family members and people I knew in this country. Many things drove me to make such a life altering decision, one of them being the idea of countless opportunities for me to study whatever I dreamt about in a free country, instead of being assigned a career, which is what is done in Cuba. Even though I entered a magnificent high school in Cuba, the only one of the kind in the province, I was not happy with the future

When I was younger, I was often discouraged because it always felt like my parents favored my sister, Megan, over me. I know many children felt this, and in the end, it was false, but to me, it was an undeniable fact. She was the smart one, the athletic one, and the compassionate one. Everything I did in attempt to step out of her shadow was unremarkable in comparison. Feeling disheartened, I opted out informing my parents about what was going on in my life—it would never be as impressive as what was going on in Megan’s. This mentality left me to figure things out on my own. I became independent and started inquiring answers to all the questions fluttering around in my head. I wondered about the world and the meaning of life, as cliché as it sounds, but I didn’t share my personal theories with

In this seemingly endless journey that we call life, we are all in the pursuit of happiness. The thought of immense pleasure and satisfaction drives us towards adversity and hardship, only so that we may experience the joy to come. One can predict that joy be a product of many challenges, but this one aspect of life that makes it worth living comes in many forms. With that being said, it has been a personal endeavor of mine to launch a quest. What is the absolute deepest desire that brings a human joy?

The air is tainted with the scent of perspiring bodies as the chirps of shoes fighting for traction echo off the walls. Rubber skid marks span across the effulgent wooden floor. Two round orange iron rims hang ten feet above the thick black lines that stretch ninety-four feet end line to end line. At the halfway point, in a big circle, lies a logo of a fierce bulldog. Terse bursts of air trickle down from the vents above. Most people would call the body odored gym an unpleasant setting, but I couldn’t imagine spending my free time any other place.

Life is hard and we face challenges everyday throughout our lives. I live my life by two quotes that I often hear people say. “Expect the unexpected,” and “get comfortable being uncomfortable.” Transitioning from middle school to high school was not the easiest. I did not “expect the unexpected” coming into high school and thought everything will be okay and the same as middle school. Life hit me, and it hit me hard in the face.

Sports have always been a passion of mine since I was young. I have always been fascinated by all kinds of different athletes and have always wanted to be one as well. In 7th grade I had the opportunity to engage in a sport which was soccer. The experience was amazing and it made me realize I wanted to do more. Next year when I was in the 8th grade I wanted to do more than just soccer. I was never good at basketball or baseball, so those were out of my possibilities. All that was left then was track and field. I had never been a fan of just running, so I was unsure of the chances of me wanting to do this sport, but I was determined to try it. Later on in the year when track and field was coming closer day by day I found out a shocking piece of information. Track was not all about running, there was also a field part of it where you throw items such as shot put and discus. I didn’t know what event I should choose than; running or throwing. All my friends were doing running and I realized I had a tough decision on my hands.

Everyone has an outlet, some sort of passion or love that they could pursue when they needed to escape for awhile, or needed to experience self-fulfillment. Often, this is an art, or music, or some sort of athletic activity. I have always loved athletics and academics equally, and find my home both in a classroom or library, or on the court. The particular talents I have obtained throughout my life have come primarily from my family, my school, or the sports I have played.

I have lived the entirety of my life believing that I am different and special, tragically I am not at all special. My struggle is not different and not unique, but it is my struggle. For the entirety of my life I have felt an immense burden to my family. My parents spent years building up a life in a country where they felt like they belonged and they threw it all away for my brother and me. They sacrificed everything for us: family, friends, and comfort. This burden is killing me; tearing every ligament in body apart. Although it is my bane, it drives me forward. I can never get rid of this burden, but I use it as fuel for everything I have ever done. Everytime I want to give up or take it easier, I remember that I have not payed my debt

Ever since I got into studying, I saw my life as going into well known ivy league university and getting myself into professional job with great amount of salary. Since I even until I was thirteen I did not realize how serious our world and our society was; all I did was pathetically enjoying life if I am in the world by myself, watching comedically foolish tv shows, refusing to look around others around me who are piling up their knowledges by adequating and constantly solving problems and reading interminable novels, while I prefer to watch them. However, by the time I turned thirteen, I decided to look at others around me and began to realizing my mistakes late. Ever since I studied tediously, I only thought one could not to study entirely like I did before, or to put myself into painful position of monotonous of hours with my studies. Therefore, I studied day and night; after homework and on weekends, even having to have my rosy pink and purple veins in my eyes popped, I endured those pains and kept on studying. I did not look back until this summer, when I actually started to think seriously about my future. I thought, even though this society is filled with competitions and

My mother’s important goals that filled our household after my father died included keeping our family out of poverty and for her children to obtain a high school education. My life’s path and choices had some correlations and parallels to the writings of Weaver, Tan, and Malcolm X. To venture back to a time that I have not thought about in years was difficult. The traditions discussed in this paper include hard work by intimidation and fear, poverty and the need to work, and gender discrimination. The traditions of my past did not become my future. The traditions my husband and I made for our family come from a better understanding of where we have been, the poverty we lived through, and the importance of education to a successful life.