College Admissions Essay: Who I Am

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.

Regardless of the fact that I was a dare devil as a child, I have learned to take chances, be my own person and to take on as many adventures as possible. As a child I would always be doing something, whether I would be talking to new people or going to find a rock to jump off of. It wasn’t always a good quality to have because I would take my adventures too far and put myself in a situation where I could come to be hurt. Nevertheless, I am still alive functioning and it made me the person I am today.

There have been labels placed upon me throughout my life. Some have stayed with me while others have dropped off. Without these labels ruling how people see me I feel like I would be more free to do things than I am now.

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.

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.

My identity is defined by my passion for music and my willingness to work hard. As a child my parents always taught me that working hard is key for success so I like to try my best in everything I do. What I think defines me best as a person are my hobbies. My number one hobby is band, I have been in band for six years and it’s one of my greatest passions. I was first inspired to be in band when my older sister joined about two years prior to me entering the program. My mom really liked how band was teaching her responsibility as well as multitasking so she encouraged me and my twin to join and I can honestly say it is a decision I will never regret. Towards my highschool years I decided to take more responsibility in the program by becoming

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.

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

I have always been fascinated with the human condition. As far as I can remember, a lot of my most interesting trains of thoughts and conversations with others have revolved around dissecting the human condition and discussing the anxieties and insecurities that bring us great guilt but at the same time propel many of our actions and schemes for self-actualization. To me, this is the most defining trait of my identity. Even though it is not a trait I always choose or am able to express openly, I consider this interest, and the values that it spawns, to be more important to my identity than anything about me that external forces can easily perceive, such as my appearance or familial ties.

Every experience I have had and accomplishments I have attained in the past helped define who I am today. Everything I have gone through and have done in the previous years of my life molded me into the person I am today. Not only did they shape me into who I am but also guided me in discovering the potentials I have buried deep within me and those I never thought I had. These experiences and accomplishments often mold us into someone we never thought we would be. Looking back at my past, it was not all good. I regret nothing, however, for I know that everything in life happens for a reason – may they be good or bad. Without the challenges and hardships of the past, I may not be who I am today. Back when I was in elementary school, I always

Agreeableness is average, meaning I do not try to be either cooperative or antagonistic towards others. I generally take a laissez-faire approach to my relationships and do not have an invested interest because I do not believe I can significantly impact the long-term well being of others. During conversations, I do not inquire specifically about their personal lives, I let the other person tell me what they are comfortable about talking about and what they want me to know. Conscientiousness is also average. I have a fair balance of structure and spontaneity. There is just enough control and regulation in impulses to maintain a harmonized flow of daily life that will allow for spontaneous activities. For example, school work is more or less planned out by the day to prevent falling behind, but I will still embark on spontaneous adventures of bicycle rides to abandoned warehouse roof tops at midnight on a school night. Survey results are consistent with how I view myself generally. While it is impossible to be completely objective in self evaluations, I think I am fairly in tune with my inter- and intra-relationships because I make an effort to heed feedback. When interacting with others I pay attention to their facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and not only their words, but their silences.

Who am I? I don't know. Rather, let me rephrase—I haven't decided. And I don't know which one of me I'll eventually choose.