College Admissions Essay: Rising Above Doubt

When someone thinks about their mental life, some may think “I’m perfectly healthy” or “I don’t have mental problems”. Yet, for others, they may think “Yeah I have some mental issues” or “Yeah, I get nervous from time to time”. For me, anxiety has always been a problem of mine. I can’t even begin to describe how many times it has gotten in the way of me trying to enjoy an event, or spending time with family, because my mind is constantly racing. I’ve struggled with anxiety since I was a kid. Not only do I struggle with it, but members of my family do also. I believe that I may have gotten my anxiety from my family but it’s always been something I didn’t talk about.

In December 2014, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education published “Rethinking the Admission Process.” This article was written by Frank DiMaria, who takes a look at the research of the former president of the University of Wyoming, Robert Sternberg. DiMaria explains Sternberg’s stance against the current admissions process. Sternberg has research that depicts, “GPA, standardized tests, and essays do not successfully measure the true talent of a college applicant.” He believes that the policies need to change. Sternberg offers an alternative to the current process. Sternberg has been a part of a new admissions policy testing students not just on their memorization and analytical skills, but on their creative, practical, and wisdom-based skills as well. Sternberg’s ideas stem from his experience with disadvantaged youth and their ability to adapt and overcome obstacles. Sternberg claims that students who grow up in the upper middle class tend to have an environment which better values the analytical skills that the current tests measure. He argues that, because of this, colleges may not be getting the most creative and adaptable students. He shows that some of these less privileged students are capable of handling a college workload even though they may not have been able to score as high on the SAT or other tests. DiMaria believes that through Sternberg’s Kaleidoscope policy may be a solution. The Kaleidoscope way of admissions administers tests which ask open ended

Former baseball player Tommy Lasorda once said, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” The journey of our life is full of winding paths and concrete obstacles whose sole goal is to slow us down, and to attempt to block us from reaching our ultimate goal in life, whatever that may be. These barriers are there for several different reasons, whether it be mental or physical. Sometimes these obstacles are motivated by fear, other times they exist simply because we have to make a decision, and that decision can be life changing. But through our determination, and through our perseverance, we can achieve what these barriers told us was impossible, and can pursue the path in our life that leads us to our ultimate self. Throughout my life, I have had thousands of barriers stand in my path. And the only way I was able to defeat them was through conquering my fears, and breaking my limits in order to achieve excellence.

Each individual is created to live their life uniquely. Each person has their own beliefs and opinions. They shape how one perceives others and how one affects others whether it be personally,locally, or globally.

Riding a unicycle is probably pretty interesting. I originally wanted my parents to get me a pogo stick for christmas because they never got me one when i was little, but they couldn’t find an adult sized one in their budget. So they figured something else that is equally strange would suffice, and it really seemed to fit my personality.The reason I started my essay with a reference to my unicycle is because it shows some good aspects of my character. Since riding a unicycle took multiple months for me to master, it shows that I am persistent, even if I fall a few times. Though riding a unicycle is interesting and fun, it’s not my main priority. I’m extremely passionate for film and theatre, and there are a few things about me that really do a fantastic job at getting me ready for a career in acting.

Overcoming my timidness may not seem like such an important deed, but when I look back, I recognize how much it held me back. The fear of speaking up crippled me and caused me to be unable to speak my mind. The black hole that consumed my life was my own insecurity. I started my first year of high school perfectly content living without a voice, as long as I was not the center of attention, I was at peace. During my junior year, I decided that it was finally time to face my challenge head on. I did the one thing that scared me most, I ran for treasurer for both the senior class and National Honors Society. At the time I made the decision, I knew that an important part of being an officer was speaking in front of my peers and teachers. I made

Instead, I took this as an opportunity to learn about what skills I was lacking. I did the exact same thing the past summer. This fall I was very determined to make the team. Once the tryout happened, I was determined to make the team.

Before, during and after tryouts I did not believe in myself, even though I worked hard enough to be on a great team. For many people, like myself, when trying out and putting yourself out there, it's hard to have confidence in yourself, and this also goes for many things in life, like big tests or applying for a job. If I could change anything about my tryouts, I would work to accept myself and have fun because at the end of the day it doesn't matter whether you got cut or made the best team what really matters is if you felt content with yourself and you know you did the best you could. If you really, really want to accomplish something, you must work hard, trust yourself and your dreams can come

I could have done better. I believe that I can always improve and get better. The Power of an Insecurity is one of my least favorite essays that I’ve ever wrote. It was an essay that I felt nervous while writing, as I was now in a college class. I have my losses in this paper and I have my victories, but my ability to better myself in my writing is always improving.

They say that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, yet I tend to disagree. Our world is packed full of things to be afraid of. As a child, we are afraid of the dark or monsters hiding underneath our beds; but, as we grow with wisdom and age, those fears become bigger and more worldly. We fear things like terrorism or illness. The fear that consumes me most is that my best might never be enough.

Ever since I have lived, I have always wanted to have the knowledge of truth in my life. A wish unimaginable has been cast upon me for a desire to know the aspects of good and evil through actions and ideas especially theological ideas. Me reading through the night about God gives me a sense of hope and a grin upon my face - especially reminiscing the past events in my life. Walking throughout the day and sleeping through the night, I usually contemplate about these matters. Going to bed every night seems normal because I have adapted to ignoring some of the beauty in Montana, but when I look at the sky, I see that something has orchestrated the heavens and the earth. The starry night, so powerful and yet peaceful, twinkling in my retina of my eye. The snow-capped mountains out of my window being observed out of my bedroom window. The mountainous terrain orchestrates the powerful magnificence of the One who created it.

I have high aspirations upon receiving a diploma and I feel that your school is an excellent select to reach my fullest potential. It is more to me than simply experiencing the college life as I will be the first person in my family to attend any type of college and I hope to make my supporting family proud. I come from a Spanish speaking family thus I have learned to speak English and Spanish fluently. I am honored to possess these abilities because it allows me to maneuver with ease among the various communities and also break the language barriers acting as an interpreter. Due to various factors my parents and family member were not able to finish their education to compensate for the lack of education my family proceeded through life with hard work. This hard work has been a value instilled to us through the generations. With this I have surpassed obstacles that many of my peers doubted I would ever overcome. Graduating college is another goal I will accomplish to prove many wrong.

At the age of 9 everyone had started losing confidence in me. I’m in the top school in the state and also back on my feet again, literally. Confidence and determination linger out of my body in excess at moments in my life. Learning to be confident and determined to follow my instinct and advice of others who care for me is a hard process. It has paved the way I am to this day as a person.

Throughout most of my early life, I had always wanted to challenge myself, especially from an academics standpoint. For the most part, it seemed like it was not all that difficult; that the path to succeeding in these advanced classes would not be too stressing. But this view would drastically change during my sophomore year. It was only my second year in high school, and the very busy schedule with advanced classes hit me hard. Certainly, this life required someone with a hard work ethic, great discipline, and very good time management; honestly, however my 15 year old self was not well equipped for the challenge. Also during this year, I worked hard and placed myself on varsity basketball, which proved to be very time consuming and demanding. Balancing the arduous schedule of varsity basketball, string orchestra, and advanced academic classes

CREDO ESSAY Don’t Stop Believing Growing up on a farm there was never a dull moment. Between gardening, caring for animals, and gathering food there was little time to quit. I grew up in Summersville where I lived with my family. I always had a dream of being the first person in my family to go to college. Expressing my goal I got laughed at a lot, but there was that one person who told me to believe in myself.