College Admissions Essay: The Changing Man

“How many things have to happen to you,” Robert Frost Writes, “before something occurs to you?” A person wakes up every morning to the same gray walls and eats the same flavorless slop. Seeing no changes they seem to ask themselves if life is worth living. They are unhappy but are afraid of new environments and unknown areas. Wishing things can go back to when their worries were as simple as trying to memorize the multiplication tables. Although it is written that change is in every person’s destiny, there are several reasons a person might or might not seek out change. For instance, a person’s environment or way of living can be one of the hardest things to change. Living in the projects, bills to pay and people to obey are a few reasons many steer away from change. Secondly unexpected life events like suddenly having to become a parent and learning how to raise a baby while trying to balance sudden deaths that may occur. Thirdly, discovering a person’s true emotions for another human being can create what I like to call a domino effect. Whether you consider the environment to be the atmosphere around you or the place to which a person calls home, one thing is certain that in any environment a person must adjust in order to survive, and through any adjustments comes change.

Change in our lives is a part of living. Without change we would no be here today living as successfully as we are. People don?t always see changes in their life as for the best, but usually when people see through the

Throughout my live, my behavior towards change has evolved into a more mature acceptance of the inevitable. As an adolescent, I failed to contemplate the reasoning behind changes that occurred within my life. I

Trying new things, like a new home, a new job, or a new hobby are all things that can change people and that can be a challenge. New ideas, new people, new rules, and really anything that is different can change people. Change can be a good thing or a bad thing. Nevertheless, change is inevitable and it can’t be avoided. Take King George III for example.

Beginning with the fatalistic discourse utilized by my family, peers, and educators, I internalized such thoughts, and implicitly understood that, quite naturally, I would make the predestined transition to college from high school. Finding

Looking back at Heraclitus, this Greek philosopher said that “there is nothing permanent except change” and “you can never step into the same river twice,” (London, 2016). I know that this is not anywhere near what I think about change. Change is something that can come in the form of thought. If you think it, it can happen. The thought process has already come to you and now its time to make the choice to step forward and move in that direction or to do nothing and allow the moment to pass.

Aesop's fables often relate to all individuals. I recently found myself to be the old man in "The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey." In this fable, a man and his son are walking a donkey, and, long story short, everybody they pass says something different as to how they should go about their journey with the donkey (the boy should ride it, the man should ride it, they should carry it). The man is susceptible to each crowd, and in the end, they are carrying the donkey, it's legs tied together to a pole, which is then cast upon a shoulder of the man and a shoulder of the boy. While crowds come and laugh at how they are carrying the donkey, the donkey gets upset and knocks itself loose, only to fall into a river, leaving the man without a donkey at all. The old

Children, at a very young age, are taught to contemplate about their own future. What do we aspire to be when we grow up? What sport do we want to play? What college will we attend after high school graduation? It is not until we reach the adolescent phase or maybe even adulthood that we stop to think about what difference we can make in other people lives and what impact will we have on the future of others. At least that is how it happened for me. My parents, specifically my father, pressured me about what my grades were like in school, what career path I would choose, what type of significant other would I attract and many other things except the most important part of humanity: what difference will I make in the world?

Change makes you a better version of yourself. When reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer we saw him change for the better and for worse. Just like Tom we need to change in order to be ourselves. Throughout seventh grade I have changed a lot and I know I am not the person I was before but a better version of myself.

Growing up I was spoon fed ideas. I was taught a countless number of things were right, while the ugly things were wrong. My childhood is a conservative blur of standing in a corner with my nose on a wall and watching VHS tapes of Green Acres. Every memory I have pre high school is filled with Irish Catholic white people never willing to admit gay people exist. Before high school I never realized how sheltered my life was until I was drowning in this new, beautiful, multicolored world. Looking back, I was unwilling to embrace this change, but I was focused into it and because of this I am greatly pleased I did. The only reason why I am sharing this personal scenario is because my experience in this class has been similar; what I thought was normal and right became challenged and was torn open to new concepts and ideas, leaving me more educated and glad that it happened.

Change is a part of life that must happen, and it does, inevitably. We must accept that. It happens constantly and it’s a chance for a new beginning, a new adventure to embark on. It’s just that most of us don’t see it like that. We resist and avoid like change is some sort of disease.

“Why are you so shy?” people always asked me. ”Shy”. It’s a word that followed me for as long as I can remember. In elementary school, all the kids would play sports during recess, but I’d stand by the side and look at them. At most of my parent-teacher conferences, teachers would use words like shy and quiet. But I was totally sick of it. ”I have to make some changes,” I said to myself.

People change many times throughout their lives. Most of the time we are unable to see how much we actually change. I know five years ago I would not do a good job at predicting who I am today. I am still growing into the person I am and five years ago I would not have been able to guess who I am today. Many times we like to believe we know exactly how we will be in five or ten years down the road, however, people go through so much in their lives that every situation and thing in our life can have an impact on who we become. In ten years I would like to say I am stronger, wiser, less anxious, and have more confidence than I do today, but I am not exactly confident that prediction will be true. My interests change and there are other aspects

People undergo numerous changes throughout their lives. From the time we are born, we are learning how to behave in and process the world around us. The influences from my environment, peers and family have shaped who I am and continue to do so.

Have you ever counted the number of changes happen in a day or how many good things happen to you in a day? I will argue that those two numbers are related. Changes have to be made in order for improvements to be made. That change can happen in anything such as, choosing a priority, ending relationships with people, or moving schools. Shannon L. Adler said “there comes a time in your life when you have to choose to turn the page, write another book, or simply close it”. I agree with this because she is saying that people need to make changes in order to improve their lives.