College Admissions Essay: Piecing Life Together

I have lived my entire life in the shadow of the Boulder flatirons, surrounded by the city’s ‘hippie’ culture and diverse population. My life experience and worldview have been shaped by my own background, but by the diverse life experiences of the people who I interact with as well. I come from a tight-knit, well-educated family. Eight of my parents nine siblings live in Colorado, so my entire childhood was spent in the company of my extended family fostering a deep sense of love, community, and unbounded support. My mother is an elementary school teacher, and from a young age, she passed onto me a great love of learning. My entire life, I was given the resources to succeed and excel in academics. My growing passion for learning was cultivated

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 cannot say that growing up in the family I am in hasn't been difficult for me, because it has. However, to say that it is something I'd like to change if I could, I also cannot say. The turbulence and commotion I have experienced has sculpted my character. Had I not grown up the way I did, I would not be as tenacious and ambitious as I am today. Through the struggles I've faced and whom I've faced them with, I have not let them define me, and I have even grown more because of them.

As a journalist, I have learned to ask a lot of questions, and lately I have been noticing I have been asking one question more frequently than others; “why not?” When I began to tell people that I wanted to be my own boss and someday have my own publication, continue to make music and also open up my own store, I got a lot of strange looks. I was told that I needed to get a practical job instead of running the risk of being ‘a starving artist’. After receiving this response routinely, I began to wonder what was really so bad about that. I began to realize that while yes, things might become a struggle, rent might become unbearable and I might not be able to afford luxuries, I would be more than happy to wake up every morning and know that

It has always been hard for me to properly envision my future, as it is always changing. As a child I thought of becoming a doctor, in middle school I dreamt of becoming a journalist, and my plans for the future are still shifting. However, there has always been one common element among my aspirations for the future, and that is the desire to engage in and improve the lives of others. This central desire is what leads me to choose Georgetown as the school which perfectly encapsulates my interests.

Though I am not a teenager, I still have not developed an entire sense of identity cohesion. I believe my identity will not be complete until later on in my life. Nevertheless, I have experienced some role confusion around ages 18 and 19 when I first enrolled in college. I wasn’t sure what major I was going to study or what career I wanted to pursue. The confusion has lessened and I firmly identify with being a psychology major. However, I haven’t chosen a career to pursue. Since I don’t have identity cohesion it leads me to be indecisive in who I am, what I want to become, and the goals I set for my future. I can see myself trying different jobs or roles before I choose a permanent position for a career that I can incorporate into my identity.

I’ve always had it better. I had an inordinate childhood, I don’t have a fragmented family, all my adjacent relatives are still with us, and I have a roof above my head and food on the table. I’ve always had it virtuous, but I’ve come to learn all of life is challenging either way. That you will labor the rest of your lifespan, undoubtedly doing something futile that doesn’t make you content because you were required to choose your occupation at the age of 18. I was told because of this, high school is supposed to be the enjoyable part of life, but if you are a student resembling me, who is second in her class, a varsity athlete, student ambassador and forms part of almost every other club, your high school experience becomes pure pressure. This level of stress is

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.

My life is composed of multiple aspects that make me who I truly am. Most of them revolve around school and community. Furthermore, these attributes of life are the way I identify myself. Accordingly, I identify myself as intelligent, passionate, and considerate towards others. These characteristics are shown through my excellence in academics, leadership, and service.

I don't want to finish this book. The harder school gets for him the harder it gets to read. I can't stand him being lonely I remember the feeling. there was that this time in my life when I was incredibly lonely and sad. I just keep reliving it through him and it just makes my heart heavy. When I first laid eyes on you I didn't really have a lot of thoughts. All I remember was thinking you must be in your twenties that is until justin told me you were a freshman then The subject turned to something else. You really didn't talk much. I understand why you wouldn’t want to get attached. To people and I may be jumping around a bit because I doubt the first time you looked at me you gave me a second glance I was in band uniform for god sakes. I just mean in general I feel like now you are attached to me and I you. I do think there are still things in our relationship that we haven't experienced yet. I'm not meaning getting married or an of that I mean we haven't even had a fight yet. Maybe we wount. I argue about everything I'm surprised that we don't fight. I feel like I

My educational life is what kept me from giving in to being like the people I’ve sadly been exposed to. Without the opportunities I was provided throughout my entire education, even from a young age, I would not have such a powerful determination to not be like the people I’ve been around that could have ended my life. I took advantage of the time I had despite of what I had to deal with at home to take part in extracurriculars. I took the time to expand on STEM activities and competitions all four years of my high school career and immerse myself in engineering to explore what I was capable of. By taking part in internships, co-op programs, the neuroengineering focus area of research that’s available and many other opportunities at Duke Engineering,

College is a great opportunity that I am blessed to be going through today. I see it as an opportunity to grow as a person and set myself up for the future I want. The success I have in the future will be greatly affected by how I do in college.

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.

Scholarships, for some are not necessary to help them achieve their goal, but, for others can decide what they choose to pursue in the future. Growing up, I was taught that hard work, desire, and kindness are values to live by to help reach goals. All of those beliefs are ones that I solely owe to my grandfather. He was the one who supported my childhood because my mother birthed me when she was young and was incapable of independently providing for me, financially and, for that, I will never fall short of living truly to these values. These morals are all precious, but cannot be exchanged to purchase anything; receiving a scholarship from Hampton Roads Pride will help me to become closer to achieving my goals in life.

My life as a college student, especially as a freshman, is one often filled with questioning. It was hard to rationalize how I’d made it thus far, a bulky backpack overflowing with books and black gel pens, a head full of dreams, and a list of possibilities that seemed far too endless. Now I find myself wondering about my looming future as an English major with same frequency as I question what I feel like eating today when standing in line for food at KR’s. How did I get to Southern Adventist University with these specific goals in mind? I often delve into my limited past with the role of a detective in mind, gathering evidence to paste on walls and eventually string together. My childhood was one that can hardly be remembered, and my adolescent years are ones that I can recall fondly. In all honesty, I don’t think I could have gotten to this point without the hard work that my family, friends, and others put into my growth. There are others who have suffered greatly without the love and encouragement that I received. In fact, successful psychological development is characterized by differing forms of emotional and verbal interaction from children and adults throughout the stages of psychosocial development, particularly at childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Without exposure to certain human interactions, the Stages of Psychosocial Development cannot be completed.