Southlake Carroll Essay

Growing up, I have been an individual who has pushed myself beyond the minimum requirements in order to succeed. In high school I excelled in both academics and athletics. I graduated in the top 10% of my class and lettered in hockey and tennis my sophomore, junior, and senior year. I worked hard and put in extra time in order to set myself apart from others. Succeeding in both school and athletics made me a responsible, reliable, and an organized individual. These experiences made me a versatile individual and have given me a work ethic that has benefited me with my academics in college and with my work and volunteer experiences.

I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced a tremendous amount of success and opportunity throughout my life. I had always performed well in school, I took advanced courses, I got into the private high school my mother went to, and because my parents owned a little Thai restaurant since I was four, I had an extracurricular that taught me people skills and offered me more work experience than any of my peers had. When I realized that I was exceeding the expectations of my parents and those around me, I became content with not reaching my full potential. It was until much later that I realized that adopting that mindset was where I went wrong. When my high school decided not to accept me into the National Honor Society during my junior year, I was devastated.

On July 22, 1730 Daniel Carroll was born at Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Daniel Carroll came from an Irish descent. His family was one of the United States’ great wealthy colonial catholic families. His brother, John Carroll, became the first Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States.

Throughout my academic career, my grades and accomplishments have always been of extreme importance to me. To keep up with my goals, for example, making honor roll every quarter, I have taken steps and faced setbacks that have enabled me to see the big picture rather than focusing on the little issues that could discourage me from reaching those goals. To make the honor roll at my high school means obtaining a 3.5 grade point average or above for the entire quarter. As a freshman, I made it my goal to meet this standard throughout my complete high school career. To do this, I studied hard for every one of my classes, always did my homework, and put in as much effort as I could; I gave it my all. Through tough classes and staying up all night

My moms raised me with a strong set of morals, including “hard work pays off.” Sometimes this can be discouraging when you work hard, but it doesn’t pay off as you’d like it to. I’ve always gotten the grades I strive for without much struggle. However, once high school started, everything changed. I’d work for weeks on a scholarship essay, and I wouldn’t even place. I’d work for months to get something published and then read other people’s names in the congratulations announcement. I’d constantly wonder: Who’s at the top of the class? Who’s going to win the end of year awards? When you consistently get the grades that I do, people just expect those grades. No one congratulates you on your hard work anymore, and you don’t always get recognized. Despite the lack of recognition, I still take pride in my grades, and continue to work hard. Getting great grades is something I know I can do, even when it’s difficult to do. The difficulty makes it even more satisfying when I see the hard work pay off, and I get the grade I wanted. I’ve encountered

I have excelled at every subject, achieving various honors throughout my years at Bellefonte. I have challenged myself greatly by taking various engineering classes at the high school, so that I can see what is to come in my future. These courses are designed to push students outside of the normal classroom routine, making me focus on real world applications of the material. In these courses, and all of my schoolwork I strive for perfection, pushing myself to my limits to achieve it. When faced with challenges I strive to overcome them in any means necessary. I strive to have challenges in my schoolwork, so that I can push myself to solve them. I do not back away from any challenge, rather I seek for them to show myself, and others what is

Despite having above-average grades, I lacked any of the pride and confidence other students carried. Despite having a group of trustworthy friends, the feelings of disappointment kept me feeling isolated and miserable. A teenager who deep inside, kept dreaming of myself with great academic potential while failing to prove anything to anyone. As the ten minute mark has passed in the AP testing room, I remember the sensation of deep frustration, a feeling of desperate anger to change something. At that brief moment I felt a successful score on the AP World History test would be my salvation, the ultimate test of resolve. Thus my mind started to naturally channel the frustration into deep concentration: my mind quickly adapted into competitive overdrive. For the first time in my academic experience, I found the will to break the influence of testing

A special attribute that sets me apart is my tendency to work hard. I constantly try to do my best in everything that I do. Throughout high school, I’ve always set a high standard for myself by taking rigorous classes, joining sports and clubs, and maintaining a high GPA. Even if certain classes didn’t have any relation to nursing, club meetings were the day before a large exam, or tennis practice was especially grueling, I still worked hard and put in as much effort as I could. With this type of attitude, I was able to maintain Distinguished Honor Roll and a cumulative 4.08 GPA throughout my high school career. I chose to maintain this attitude during senior year instead of taking it easy, as I was able to gain knowledge and experience that

I recently moved to Leesville, Louisiana from Park City, Utah. The college I was attending in Utah, Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), has a much different campus environment than the Northwestern State University (NSU) campus at Leesville. The average enrolled student body of SLCC is around 60,000 each semester. This semester, there are currently 248 students attending the Leesville NSU campus. That’s a big difference.

Failure is not an option. That was instilled upon me at an early. I took this mantra with me when I attended Special Forces Combat Diver School at Key West in 2010. My drowning and subsequent failure at Dive School resided in my mind for months to come. I assumed everything I hope to achieve was lost. After the summer had passed and as the semester was about to begin, I recognized that I could still achieve my goals, but it would take time, dedication, and sacrifice. I had to prove myself above my peers. I was already in my junior year of my Political Science degree with at least 4 more semester’s worth of courses to complete. In addition to my ROTC curriculum and working part time, my academic scheduled was already overwhelming. After detailed research and intensive analysis, I realized I could achieve a second

I entered my school academically oriented and athletically lackadaisical. But after seeing how the school took inner-city kids and taught them that athletic victory and academic victory lead to success, I decided to be victorious in both ways… and this meant hard work. Sophomore year it meant playing piano for school-wide chapel every week and tutoring Rico, our soccer team’s goalie, in Pre-Calculus. Junior year it meant starting the school’s first book club, joining the wrestling team, and gaining ten pounds of muscle in the gym. And senior year it meant becoming a varsity soccer captain, winning our team’s first Regional Championship, and being the first student in the school’s history to receive the AP Scholar Award… though I still struggle with Spanish and Tupac references here and

During a heated argument with her, she impassionedly retorted,”Look! These scores don’t define you! You are more than a writing on a piece of paper!” And, in a moment of revelation, I finally understood the profundity of her central point: test scores don’t define you as an individual. From that time on, I decided to stop letting these numbers define me. After all, there were just numbers! Why did I allow them to consume my being? The cancerous tumor of self-hatred that churned and boiled in my brain dissipated into a feeling of pure ecstasy and release. I found her within the flurry of happiness and bliss. I found myself. Finally, I was me again. My drive, once produced from a fear of failure, transformed into an ambition to do well for myself. I wanted to be happy. But how? From that point on, I made a promise to be kinder to myself. I no longer based my value as an individual on the numbers I get on a standardized test. I no longer harass myself with the “undeniable knowledge” that academics make or break me. There is so much more to me than “writing on a piece of paper”. I am more than my test scores. I am my talents, my passions, and my drive. I. Am.

We are high school students and that means that the sense of urgency to strive for and to achieve personal success is now. With this urgency comes the expectation of having to persevere. This year has not been as easy one for us as a school body. We have been

I have many things to learn going forward in this program. My weaknesses are many, but I’ve learned a lot about my strengths this semester as well. I’ve found I make up for intelligence, in my dedication to this program. I’m always trying to think of new ways to improve and study. The majority of my time is spent studying, practicing skills, and planning for the program. I do make time for self-care as well. From the beginning, I have wanted to take this seriously, and I feel as though I’ve succeeded in doing that. I may not be the smartest student, but I am always willing to put in the work to get to the level I am expected to be at by my instructors. On that note, I have

Throughout my educational experience, I have endured countless hardships that made progress difficult at times. Although it was a struggle through my strong dedication to education, I have also earned a list of achievements for my hard work. These experiences from, failing two of my English classes, to excelling tremendously in mathematics, have molded me into the type of student I am today. I am a student with a growth mindset and, an optimistic outlook on education and, the bright future ahead. I now understand the impact that a positive mindset can have on your future. I am definitely proud of the student I have become. I feel like my journey is unique, but is also very relatable.