College Admissions Essay: Why I Am Called Life School

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are. While your reputation is merely what others think you are.” -John Wooden.

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.

Travelling provides a way for creating relationships and experiencing new cultures, while escaping the hardships of daily life.

Michael Jordan once said, “I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Through the years in my life, I have made myself refer back to this saying several times whenever I fail at something. One time, however, is more significant than all of the others.

College is a great opportunity that I am blessed to be going through today. I see it as an opportunity to grow as a person and set myself up for the future I want. The success I have in the future will be greatly affected by how I do in college.

but to feel a few things twice”-Unknown. I wish I knew who wrote this quote, because the person who wrote it put love, feeling, and memories in words, which is not easy to do. I was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas; that’s in Mexico. My family consists of five, my parents, my sister, brother, and me. Life is full of decisions, chances and it is up to us to make the right once to take the path you believe is correct. Life is going to take us places, and where ever we go, whatever we do, the environment in which we are born/ raised shapes all of us as persons

My educational life has provided me with the infrastructure that your position requires. I developed myself at the point of research, self-motivation, entrepreneurship and different skills. I would like to point out that I am extremely selfless and enthusiastic about being effective and fast in my business life, and I want to be interested in the responsibility that the position requires and willing to take on my business. I am aware of that working attentively and carefully will definitely result in success. For this reason, I have no doubt that I can contribute to your abilities and work

Sports have always been a passion of mine since I was young. I have always been fascinated by all kinds of different athletes and have always wanted to be one as well. In 7th grade I had the opportunity to engage in a sport which was soccer. The experience was amazing and it made me realize I wanted to do more. Next year when I was in the 8th grade I wanted to do more than just soccer. I was never good at basketball or baseball, so those were out of my possibilities. All that was left then was track and field. I had never been a fan of just running, so I was unsure of the chances of me wanting to do this sport, but I was determined to try it. Later on in the year when track and field was coming closer day by day I found out a shocking piece of information. Track was not all about running, there was also a field part of it where you throw items such as shot put and discus. I didn’t know what event I should choose than; running or throwing. All my friends were doing running and I realized I had a tough decision on my hands.

I have made it a point in my life to learn as much as I can through traveling the globe. From the age of one I have been traveling to Canada, but the boarder is only four hours away. At the age of fourteen I began to travel and experience other cultures. This complete changed my life. I went to OchoRios, Jamaica, with Project Timothy and volunteered at a children’s camp. I went not knowing anyone I would be with and it changed my life. Since then I have volunteered at two children’s Orphanage and feeding houses in Bluefields, Nicaragua. I have traveled to Bermuda with my family. Just last December I also stayed in the United Kingdom for a month on my own. In January of this year I went on a European Union trip, on this trip I went to London, Paris, Somme, Versailles, Berlin, Brussels, and Luxembourg. This was a four credit class about the European Union and politics. Traveling is something I love to do and my favorite way to learn about life, myself and my studies.

The story of my life is awesome and I love remembering it. I remember when I was a child, I was a “danger magnet”. I was getting in danger easily, but I’ve never been in some big trouble. Except one time when I almost ended in a wheelchair. Later, I grew up and started school where I met some great friends. There was a time when I actually liked going to school. Now, that I’m older I have too many things in my life: family, school, girlfriend, my future and much more. It’s stressing me out a little bit. Most of the time I’m trying to not think about my future but I’m scared that I won’t be able to decide which high school to go in. Soon, the 7th grade will start and all that will separate me from high school is going to be 8th grade. I just

Education is central to my identity. My parents moved from Nigeria when I was 3 and my father knew that the only way he could get a better job was if he went back to college and get a degree in the United States. I saw how hard my parents juggled college life and work life to support us and themselves. While I have always loved learning, I have not always unable to learn as much as I wanted. In middle school, despite being a straight A student, I failed my 7th grade statewide math exam. This made me realize that I needed to extend my studies beyond the classroom, and work hard to find work that was challenging enough to allow me to grow intellectually.

I come from a place of privilege, in a town where the majority of citizens are caucasian. I attend a school that is well furnished and has adequate teaching materials as well as a large staff. I am a white woman who has never suffered from racial oppression or been harassed due to my ethnicity. It is that fact that I acknowledge my place in the world and the space I occupy. Although I fall into a large class of students who are from affluent white backgrounds, my identity is composed of a strong sense of empathy, loyalty, self-reflection, a passion for social justice, and a constantly active and inquisitive mind. My main purpose in life is to not only voice my opinions towards the injustices that minorities face today but to also make sure that their voices are heard in a way that resonates on the same level as my own thoughts. From the first moments that I can recall, I had a quiet, reserved nature that made me an unusual child to my mother. She noted that I was

When I was around eight or nine years old I heard my mom say to my older cousin "Sometimes you are your own best friend" It was something i always remembered but I never understood until junior year of high school. I value that more now as an adult, and i apply it to most things. I used to think surrounding myself with a large amount of people meant something, like it held me to a different standard. That immature way of thinking definitely faded near the end of high school. I've come to value the small amount of close knit friends: quality over quantity. I know now that I am my biggest supporter and I rally for myself as much as i do for any other person I love.

At the tender age of two, I was at the JFK airport crying goodbye to my parents who had bought me a one-way ticket to China. My parents didn’t have a single idea on how to raise kids, so they sent me to more experienced help—my grandparents. In the countryside of China, my grandparents raised me for nearly three years until my parents moved to a quiet city. By the time I returned to the U.S, my parents had moved from the bustling city of New York to the calm southern side of Indiana and I had begun my education at an all-American elementary school.

Traveling isn’t in everyone’s favor, but it sure is in mine. British novelist, Lawrence Durrell once quoted, “Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.” The reason I enjoy traveling is because it takes me on a journey for finding my inner self. Before traveling, I’ve always been closed- minded at how I viewed the world, but once I got a bigger look at how the world works, my thoughts and I, myself have changed.