College Admissions Essay: What Makes Me, Me

I’m awesome. It’s true. Everyone who meets me will agree, and by the end of this essay, you will too. I am from the small town of Mexico, Missouri where I haved lived my whole life. I was born on January 4, 2000. I am the millennium baby because I was the first baby born in 2000 in the the town of Mexico and I got to ride home in a limo. I went to elementary school at Hawthorne and then to the Middle School and now I am a Junior at The Mexico High School. I play basketball, football, and baseball. This summer I worked at the City Pool as a lifeguard. Last summer I worked at Pearl Motor Company for my dad. That job was definitely a lot harder than being a lifeguard, but I enjoyed both jobs. One of my favorite hobbies is hunting. I love to Turkey hunt and also deer hunt. I’ve killed three turkeys and one deer. One of my other hobbies is snow skiing. I usually get to go to Colorado every year with my church and I've been three times with my family. This is just a little bit of who I am.

I was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 9th, 1999. My mom says that I tried to make my entrance into the world earlier than expected and she wasn’t going to allow it. But I arrived on August 9th, head full of hair. When I was younger I was the best child out of all my sisters, they would scream, shout, and cry whenever they were out. It did not matter where we went I would never act up. Basketball games, grocery shopping, and long car rides. I always slept through the night, basically I was an angel. She said my favorite snap was graham crackers, especially the cinnamon. I always ate good, she would sit 4 of them on the table and I would destroy them and ask for more in about 5 minutes.

Ever since I was little I have aspired to be something great in life, a chef, a pro. soccer player, and an artist. I still hold on to those dreams in hopes they will come true. All of these dreams shape who I am today. I play soccer for “Charlotte Soccer Academy” and previously for the “Waddell Soccer Team”. Both have kept me being a team player and a stronger leader. I go to visual arts camp over the summer and try to use creativity at any moment possible. I love making cupcakes and baking which also allow me to be creative. I have finally realized that all of these dreams originated from my family. I pursued soccer, like my parents did throughout their lives. I continue drawing, like my mother and father did until it became their life and jobs. I am still love making cakes and cupcakes every weekend, just like how i've seen my grandmother make them. Life has a very strange and mind-boggling way of turning out. I know that sounds cheesy, but it is really true.

What makes me unique? This is a question that many people may ask themselves over the years. Upon pondering upon it, I realized that a lot of us our the same, especially in a school setting. We wake up, eat breakfast, go to all of our classes and go home. Even extra curricular have an abundant amount of people attending. So what makes us unique? Looking around and thinking about students, nothing obvious stands out. So I started looking at commonalities. Most people love gossip, so rumors are always a hot topic in a highschool. Upon thinking about rumors, it really shows how much people are judged by these stigmas made by other people. What makes me different from other people is my ability to never believe rumors.

One success that makes me who I am is learning to sing. I love music, and I especially love to sing. The feeling I get when I sing is unlike any other. I feel more connected to the world. Sometimes I feel as though I’ve always been able to sing. This, however, is not the case. My mom is really into singing, she likes to make up songs as she goes about what she’s doing. When I was little, I loved to hear her sing, and would request certain songs. Mom tried to teach me how to sing myself, but I just couldn’t seem to get it. One day, as we were walking in a Walmart parking lot, Mom sang the scales from The Sound of Music, and I managed to sing it too. I was off pitch, but after that, Mom was able to teach me how to sing. Learning how to sing was a really big success for me. Being in chorus and singing are integral parts of who I am today, and through singing I’ve learned important lessons, such as following directions, when to open my mouth (and when to keep it shut), and most importantly, how to empathize

A great man once said, “In order to succeed, we must first believe we can”, this great man is Gandhi. I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard I can’t finish school, I can’t go after my dream, I can’t be who I believe I need to be because people like me don’t succeed. Maybe you personally believe that, maybe someone close to you has said that to you, or maybe it’s just the statistics in the environment you’re in. No one but you knows your situation, but it’s also your choice how you want to change that. Want some examples on who prospered? How about Liz Murray, Oprah Winfrey, and Marshall Mathers III? These three people grew up in situations where they should’ve thought, “maybe I won’t be getting out of here, and maybe I can’t go to college, or become famous.” I will be talking about these three people and how they achieved their goal. How they overcame the odds that were thrown at them, and show you that you too can succeed.

Taking risk is one of the most sheer ways to develop as a person. By experience, You will recognize that playing it safe will lead you to an unsuccessful life, and your mistakes educates you by your faults and achievements. For instance, attaining things that you aren’t capable of doing, and making mistakes that help you enhance yourself. In a way, taking risk is exposing yourself. For example, purchasing a new wardrobe to reveal your personality. You have to be liberal to what you attempt to master, and you will develop as a person.

Mark Zuckerberg once said “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks." Without the opportunity of taking a risk, I would have never learned the skills imperative to succeed. One significant risk I took during my high school career, was joining my school’s volleyball program.

When it comes to my deepest thoughts, I always worry if I can either do it or if I’m even good enough. I have always struggled in school and had those teachers that told me that I couldn’t do it or I was succeed, but that just made me push harder and that is what motivates me. Along with that I had have students brought me down and that is what ticked me off, I had either people who thought they knew me or people who didn't even know me say horrible things.

The moment when I was old enough to comprehend how I came into this world, I should have known there would be a great deal of impediments for me to overcome. I was mistaken as twins because of a little white lie which led my grandmother to bring two bassinets to the hospital. However, everyone would soon have the relief of knowing there was only one me; but a fear of panic would surface once it was determined that my feet had took the place of where I may head should have fell. I was born breech. My world was upside down before I even took my first breath. A world I didn’t ask to be in but became grateful for because of my grandmother. My life was never intended to be simple. I owe my life accomplishments’ to the woman who was willing to take both of me home. She is the reason I am who I am today and the reason I will be who I am tomorrow.

I will never have my father’s smile or my mother’s eyes. My skin tone will also never match their pale skin even though I am their daughter. Although my siblings and I are all adopted from China, growing up in this unique family dynamic played an integral role in my development. I have grown to realize my ethnicity and upbringing are not labels used by my peers to define me. My background has helped me push through social barriers to build friendships. It challenged me to impel beyond the world’s “black and white” boundaries to see a society that thrives on diversity. My multicultural background equipped me with experiences that gave me a new perspective on privilege and responsibility, preparing me to overcome obstacles in the global industry

My background makes me who I am. I come from a family whose focus is education, and that is what I value the most. Coming from a family who prioritizes education, I enjoy doing anything that quenches my thirst for knowledge. I am an avid student with a focus in mathematics and science. I grew up with the urge to learn, and this hunger for information has made me who I am today.

Ⅰ. I love to experience new things since I was a little guy - not because I want to show up to anyone but the more I experienced, the more I feel accomplished. I started off by doing all the little things that I have never experienced then comes bigger things. I don’t call jumping out of a plane or doing something to embarrass yourself is a smart thing to experience. About 10 months ago, I tried something new that had changed my life forever.

Michelle Obama, the former First Lady of The United States of America once said “Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right.” I believe that we should try new things. I have had the opportunity to do many different things in my life such as going on a trip to Japan, going to Lorado Taft and doing an engineering and coding class at Rolling Meadows. All of these experiences were very influential in my life and in all of them I took a chance and they ended up being helpful experiences that became important parts of my life.

Over the course of my life I have had many life experiences which have made me who I am today. When I was in my middle childhood, most of my life revolved around playing and having fun. I did not have to put forth effort in hardly any area of my life or work hard in order to achieve specific goals. As time went on however, my own life experiences began to have an effect on me, and shape the person I am today. My life started to change the most during middle childhood when I was around the age of seven years old. At this point in my life, I had to adjust to several big changes.