College Admissions Essay: The Course Of My Life

Up until high school, I never really knew what I wanted to pursue in. There were so many options and although I did have some idea before entering the 9th grade, I was still waiting to find a subject that I truly enjoyed. During my freshmen year, I finally found that subject – biology.

Growing up, I was always the one expected in my family to succeed. My mom would always talk about the future; I would go to college, a privilege she couldn't obtain herself, and become a doctor to make enough money for our family. This was the career path I've always been interested in since I was a child. This helped shaped my goals in life and inspired me to work hard so I could make that ongoing dream a reality.

When I think about the next five years of my life, I like to think that I will be getting on my feet and succeeding in life. It has taken me a while to figure out what I want to do with my life and what I would like to do for my career. Over the next five years, I am going to have to do a lot in school and outside of school to prepare for my future career .

Former baseball player Tommy Lasorda once said, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” The journey of our life is full of winding paths and concrete obstacles whose sole goal is to slow us down, and to attempt to block us from reaching our ultimate goal in life, whatever that may be. These barriers are there for several different reasons, whether it be mental or physical. Sometimes these obstacles are motivated by fear, other times they exist simply because we have to make a decision, and that decision can be life changing. But through our determination, and through our perseverance, we can achieve what these barriers told us was impossible, and can pursue the path in our life that leads us to our ultimate self. Throughout my life, I have had thousands of barriers stand in my path. And the only way I was able to defeat them was through conquering my fears, and breaking my limits in order to achieve excellence.

Ask my teachers, friends, coaches, and family, they’ll all tell you that I’m mature. The way I hold myself responsible for my life, my studies, and my activities through the good and bad is a unique quality about me that they admire, but also know little to nothing about.

Every day, every one, in the world goes through a challenge, big or small. They affect and impact us significantly. They change the way we think, love, act, and approach or do things. Challenges either frighten or motivate us, but they are what make us the person we are today.

I have loved sports my whole life, even at a very young age. I would watch it with my dad, and he would take me to sports games. I loved to play basketball in the backyard when I was little. I have always loved cheering for my favorite sports team. I love watching the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Two years ago my dad surprised me with Vikings tickets. I was so happy to get to go to a game. Sports has always been a big part of my life. Two years ago, I got a new view of sports when I started umpiring.

My life hasn’t always been the easiest. In fact, I have gone through a lot for a typically high school student. Most of the things I went through, a lot of people haven’t. Yet, nobody is perfect right? In those four years, you may learn scholarly wise, but you also learn to grow up real quick. These four years in high school really made me think about the person I used to be, who I am today and who I want to be in the future. Your high school years really are the most important years of your life.

“Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.”

Studies show that children have a vast capacity for acquiring skills. I could’ve chosen ballet or soccer or acting, but my first hobby in life was reading. What started off as a fun way to pass time in the long, hot summers of Texas, became my escape for any problems in life. My mother would sometimes leave her medical books out and I still remember reading all about tobacco and its effect on the human lung in just 2nd grade. I didn’t understand any of the terms, of course, but to this day, I have never been tempted to even pick up a cigarette, still recalling the images of a blackened lung from the book. The human anatomy fascinated me from them on. I wondered how blood flows through our body, what caused our hearts to beat, and how any of us could possibly stay alive.

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,

"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.

All my life I’ve been limited. Often as a result of preformed ideals my parents had, they wouldn’t permit me to explore a passion I held. Other times, I could pursue an interest but meagerly because of my obligation to watch my siblings. Furthermore, as a middle child, I’m expected to be indecisive or wavering. My parents expect me to supersede my sister and precisely mimic her activities and interests. However, science enables me to be limitless. The whole concept of any science area is speculating beyond the known: investigating and stretching human understanding past the accepted range. Although science subjects are not my best, they are my favorite because science instructs me how to begin investigating and ultimately to discover what

When I was 12 years old my life used to be really simple. I lived in Colombia with my father and stepmother. My father was the principal at a local public school That he created by himself. Economically, we were really good, I used to study in a private school, we lived in a comfortable apartment, We lived in a good area and my dad payed for many academies of different sports and arts for me to join. I took guitar classes for over 6 months, joined a roller skate team and a soccer team.

The biggest challenge in life is being yourself in a world that tries to make you like everyone else. Conquering the greatest plains on earth, and solving the devious mysteries of mankind is what I consider living life. Working a 9 to 5 like an average joe was never an option for me. My vision is what makes me different. My drive for success fuels my work ethic because I do not want my children to experience pain and suffering. I want my life to be the pinnacle of perfection for other people. In my life I’ve been through many trials and tribulations. At the age of 4, I lost my closest friend, my father. It changed my perception of the world,I noticed there were greater opportunities available in life. Things far more superior than what’s going on in my own town, state, or country. If I wanted to obtain greater opportunities in life I would have to excel at the smaller things first.