College Admissions Essay: What Makes You Who You Are?

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.

“We know what we are, but not what we may be” (William Shakespeare). Life is full of unexpected surprises you never know what life will bring or take away from you, so cherish every moment you have. You got to have limits, goals and aspirations to go somewhere in life. There will be obstacles and struggles that you will have to go through but those moments are what make you who you are. In my life I’ve learned, heard and seen several things that have made me who I am today. For those reasons I have set myself limits, goals and aspirations that I wish to accomplish throughout my life. In one word, I would describe myself to be ambitious! I always set some kind of goals towards myself.

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.

Vividly, I can remember walking through the high school doors for the first time as a freshman with shaky legs and a nervous heartbeat. The school was a jungle of wide, shiny hallways filled with lumbering seniors who I thought were going to knock my books down on Freshman Friday. However, time has passed, and now I find myself to be the tall and “scary” senior. As I ponder about the last four years I have spent at Little Falls Community High School, I can not help but realize how much I have changed for the better. As I have matured, I have gleaned that beauty does not come through makeup and clothing brands, but rather through processing a good heart. Also, I have changed my career and college plans after high school, and I know that I will

Walking into school on my first day of high school, I felt out of place. My face covered in acne, my teeth covered in braces, and the callicks in my hair stuck up through the abnormally thick layer of hair gel that coated them. My middle school social anxiety still ruled over me as I could barely speak with any member of the opposite sex. Yet, I still had an odd confidence about me. I had always been one of the best students in my class, even without ever studying for a test. I viewed high school as a slight uptick from the curriculum I had easily passed in middle school. I was wrong. High school exists as a microcosm of society, in which I originally failed to acclimate myself to the challenges posed to me in a setting of increased

What makes me unique is my diverse background, attention to detail, and enthusiasm to learn. My mother and father had me when they were sixteen years old. Both parents ended up dropping out of high school, and my father was a well-known gang member from Norwalk, California. My grandparents decided to raise me, so I would have a decent childhood. I grew up in the City of Pomona, California. While growing up, I was exposed to various artistic expressions, different music genres, and various cultures. After high school, I ended up enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. I served on active duty for seven years and four months and received an Honorable Discharge. While on active duty, I traveled to exotic countries such as Okinawa, Mainland Japan, South Korea, Australia, Kuwait, and Iraq. After my military service, I traveled to the Philippines. I can honestly say that I enjoy experiencing, and learning, from different cultures. This experience has allowed me to better understand and engage various people within my community, my work, and at school. Another characteristic that makes me unique is my attention to detail.

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.

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.

It all started during my freshman year of high school, the most regretful year of my life. As a young fourteen-year-old girl, I always had a hard time following the rules, I had no idea the kind of year I would have ahead of me. Getting good grades was never my top priority when it came to high school. It was having fun. At that time of my life, having fun meant skipping class, making friends who influenced me in a bad way, and sneaking out at unbelievable hours. What I snuck out to do was forbidden in my religion, I honestly don’t know what I was thinking or why I ever thought it was okay. The first time I was at my friend’s house at a pretty late hour; my mother forgot to pick me up so I called a friend, he was someone I knew who would

I am from the 20 hour airplane rides to flying to China in a airplane that was as crowded as a herd of zebras. I am from not eating a meal in 18 hours to bearing a grudge against airplane food. I am from watching TV on the airplane to not dozing for many hours. I am from climbing the wall of CHINA to seeing a fantastic view. I am from climbing Mother Nature’s cloud touching skyscrapers to feeling my organs glaciate. It was like I could see the whole world. I am from eating the mouth watering Chinese food from the sizzling pan in the kitchen to seeing the oil dance around the pan. I am from riding my superior uncle’s motorcycle to feeling a cool breeze whacking me in the face. I’m from walking on the crowded streets to hearing the food getting cooked. SSSSSSSS! I am from the scorching rays of the sun at the Bahamas to jet skiing on the ocean jumping around on the waves. I am from cruises that feel like cities to staying up until 3:00 AM. I am from the skin penetrating air of Alaska to walking on colossal glaciers. I am from going to Mexico and getting a mind-twisting statue made out of obsidian to riding boiling hot buses. I am from traveling the world to

On a hot summer day, I was born on July 27th 1998 at Ohio State hospital. Since the day I was born I have experienced many things throughout my life. The experiences that I have had throughout my life have shaped me into the person that I am today. Who I am as a person today is successful, kind and thoughtful.

Nelson Mandela once said, “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” Moments in our life shape who we become; our character, our thinking, who we are and who we want to be. How we live our life is so much more than going through the motions, it is about how we change other’s lives and how other’s change our life. I have been fortunate enough to grow up with astonishing people who have changed who I am and I have also had so many opportunities that have shaped who I am today.

The person I am not yet exists somewhere in the future, waiting for me to mature in wisdom and knowledge, and is motivating me to keep progressing in who I am now to my desired level of success. In order for me to understand who I want to become, I must know who I am now. I am a person who is caring, knowledgeable, and hopeful. These characteristics of my persona help me better grasp who I want to become in the near future. The type of person I aspire to be is somebody who is wise, successful, and happy. I hope to reach these three things by advancing my education and opening my horizons to new things and a brand new environment. I aspire to reach these progressions and gain my strength in my profession and the people around me.

The attributes that I distinctly possess and make me a well-rounded student is my desire and willingness to learn and the ability to keep challenging myself. I believe these attributes help contribute to my success in the classroom, student body, and the Air Force Academy as a whole because I enjoy being challenged whether it is physically or mentally. I believe lifelong learning is an important part of my life, no matter what challenges life brings me.

What defines a person? Perhaps it’s our actions. Or maybe a person is defined by a single fleeting moment that flashes before the eyes in an instant then fades away into a memory only stored in the deep recesses of the mind. Or maybe we can only see ourselves in the face of stranger as they pass us on the street, barely masking the assumption they make of us in those brief seconds of silent introduction. Maybe our true selves are hidden somewhere within our mother’s eyes as she lets go of our hands and watches us start our lives. It may be that we all have this preconceived notion that we know who we truly are and exactly what we are meant to do. High school is the time when we choose to find who we are. We change dramatically from year to year, slowly evolving into our true selves. In my journey through high school I discovered who I wanted to be through trial and error. I scraped my knees a few times, but I always got back on my feet again. I learned what I had to do to preserve and better myself. If i had a chance to go back in time I would teach my younger self three vital lessons: put yourself first, don’t jump into relationships, and sometimes it’s just better to let things go.