Personal Statement: How Sibling Changed My Life

A quick aside with my own personally experiences as the youngest of three brothers. Often my siblings have set the curve for what is acceptable and not – weather that be academics or that be sports. In my own competitive nature, I have sought to surpass my brothers, with me being the first of the three to go to

All little sisters look up to their big brothers, and I was no exception to the rule. I remember watching my brother Brandon, cheering him on at his high school football games, golf matches, and basketball tournaments. I was only six or seven at the time, so of course I wanted to be just like him. I proudly yelled his name in the bleachers, dressed in his big cotton sweatshirts. My little eyes saw Brandon as a superhero out there, on the courts, fields, and everywhere I saw him. I have forever held that notion in my mind, ultimately holding him on a high pedestal. Even though I regarded him as my utmost favorite human on earth, something happened that changed me and him.

However, like many of my peers in the undergraduate community, I had a declared major but a persisting uncertainty and indecision about my future and career. Nevertheless, I continued to see myself in a personal setting with clients, where I could share psychological insight to those willing to open up and partake in personal growth. Through years of information, coursework, wise words from professors, and much personal insight, I decided to pursue a career in counseling

At the start of high school my life began to take a turn. Up to that point my life had been predictable. I had the same friends, played the same sport, and was still an introverted person. My life was bland. Baseball is what I grew up playing throughout my childhood. It was that sport I looked forward to practicing, playing, and enjoying. As I started to get older, the people and coaches I played with changed. I began to play less, and wasn’t improving every week like I had hoped. I even tried out for the school team, but I was cut. For these reasons, my dedication to this sport was deteriorated. Trying out for the school team wasn’t what I wanted to do, but it’s what I presumed everyone expected of me. Once I ran passed this realization, I stopped playing baseball. This is not how I envisioned the future.

I like to smile at strangers on the street or crack jokes to lighten the mood in an awkward situation, but I realize that sometimes people need more than that to make it through the day. This is why I want to pursue a career in psychological counseling. When I started interacting with a local psychological service, I knew I had picked the correct career path. I took an advanced placement course in psychology along with a suicide prevention workshop creating further interest in the topic. Additionally, I secured a full-time temporary job at the VA Medical Center, a primary mental health facility, which allowed me to become more experienced with people in need of psychological assistance. I plan to fulfill Master's and Doctorate level degrees in both Psychology (College of Arts and Sciences) and in Counseling (College of Education) at the University of

I constantly fought this mental battle of giving in to the temptation of not playing and letting all of my teammates and coaches down, or growing thicker skin and sucking up the pain in order to satisfy the voice in the back of my mind. This period of turmoil seemed to not have an end. Then, as if by miracle, everything changed as I entered my junior year in high school. My knee pains had nearly disappeared, I shed most of the extra weight I had, I even developed my shooting and dribbling to the point where my peers began to notice the drastic “transformation” I went through. That season, I lead my team in points, rebounds, and blocks per game and made it to the semi-finals of the state championship tournament, the furthest the program had gone in four years.

At age 16 I was told that I was incapable of being an athlete, I was told tennis was not a sport, I was told I could never play “a real man’s sport”. That same year, I stepped onto a soccer pitch for the first time in my life, I lined up against young men who had been playing the sport for more than a decade.Yet, I went out there with confidence and challenged them along with the notion that I could not play a real sport. Although, I was scared to embarrass myself, I knew that this decision would be one of the greatest I would ever make because of the life experiences I would gain from leaving my comfort zone for the first time,

I had such a passion for the sport and had never stopped loving it. Even though it took a lot of work to get back into shape and a lot of work to get back the techniques, I was happy to push myself. I decided to try out for the team at my community college sophomore year. I was genuinely terrified but I reminded myself that this type of opportunity was one that I could not take for granted. I made the team, but that was only half the battle. I wanted to be better than I was before. I wanted to prove that I could make a comeback and I needed to do it for myself. There were so many practices I felt like giving up and tried to justify it by the fact I had missed so many years and it was hopeless. The season had its ups and downs, but I had never been so proud of myself. I played great and I gave it my all. I learned a lot about myself as I played the game and also off the court with my teammates. I played college volleyball after three years of not being able to be on the court. I learned that I was resilient and there was nothing that I could not do as long as I worked for

From a young age, I have always been passionate about helping others. In the future, I see myself as a counselor or therapist; a professional that others can rely upon in the community. As an international student, I hope to gain a bigger world view and use my abilities to support others on an international and global scale. One of the most frustrating parts of growing up, is the inability to aid those in need. Witnessing first hand the tragedies many of my close friends had to go through, prompted me to spend many nights researching different coping strategies and related support to help them. When a laugh and a smile became not enough, I made a promise to myself to become someone others could professionally turn to. Taking AP Psychology

When I got to the gym, a hum of optimism was in the air, and even though half of us felt like collapsing in exhaustion, I could tell by the sparkle in our eyes that we were as ready as a firing rocket. I had realized that joining the GCA Volleyball team was so smart, a true genius couldn’t deny it. With juggling school, church, AND volleyball, I could be more responsible, and ready for college, as well as a job. I could learn to space and manage my time wisely which I know is something I would have to do very soon. And stress, luckily, wasn’t much of a problem with volleyball, so I didn’t feel like tearing out my hair at any point. There are no regrets in my heart for joining the team, making new friends, and becoming better at

Out of six of my sibling, my sister and I are the only ones who wants to go to college. By me going back to school and completing a degree I hope my younger siblings will follow in my footsteps and know they too can make a change too. I do not wish to see my sibling struggling as I am now because I lack education to have a career. My plan is to overcome these obstacles that is in my life and not let anything or anyone stop me from completing my education. I will keep myself motivated and reach my full potential.

I feel pressure, but it's more like self pressure. Being the oldest, and first to do everything sure comes with a price. I have two younger brothers and I want to be a great example for them to follow. I don’t want to mess up and then for them to use that as an excuse to mess up too. I also want to be able to graduate and have my career. I want to be successful and not depend on anyone.

After a long, broiling practice, the reason I was letting my heart beat rapidly for an entire week had appeared. While I sat in the locker room untying my doubled knotted shoes filled with scent of unwashed, wet kneepads, a rush of cold wind ran through my body and caused my mind to freeze. My body froze to the thought that in fifteen minutes I had to meet with my coaches. The day before I was handed a sheet of paper to fill out for today’s meeting. I was hesitant to talk to my coaches about this volleyball season because I never know if I am evaluating myself correctly. Also, every part of me wants to play so I don’t want my heart to be crushed if they tell me that I am just along for the ride. It is one of those experiences that I wish I

I was not an athlete prior to Metro, although I did aspire to be one. Coming into Metro, I was provided with the opportunity to join a variety of sports, but it was volleyball that called to me. Consequently, I decided to try out for volleyball with absolutely no experience besides hitting a ball around in P.E. To me, simply trying out was a significant step in developing my character, because I was essentially volunteering to embarrass myself in front of many students and teachers at Metro. I was also going in without knowing anyone, which did not help my nerves at all since I was an introvert. First day of tryouts, I was shaking so much, I could barely pass a ball. I like to think it was because of how scared I was that I could barely play,

I thought myself to respect all people even if i didn't like them but still had aspect them and saw everyone as equal to each other and not have one dominant the other. What i am saying  I know how it feels to have more limitation based on who you are. I know where they’re coming from. But overall having siblings had made more laughter, more learning opportunities and learning from their mistakes, and most all forever lasting friendship. I am very thankful to have family and friends to encourage me in my goals on what I want do and who I want to become.