Discovering a Hidden Passion Through Community Service Essay

Growing up, school was not a major factor in my life. I come from a hard-working, middle-class military family. My mother, a Filipino immigrant, was a homemaker. My father was a 21-year United States Marine veteran. They were my first impression of what I thought my future would be. Being the youngest of four children, I was expected to fall in line behind my siblings when it came to education. I was never pushed to excel in my studies, so I did just enough to get by. As I watched friends escape the grasp of a military town and ascend to their respective colleges, I was left wondering what was next for me. I attended my local community college for a brief period of time. I treated college no different than high school. I

I started getting interested in Theatre late my 7th grade year. I was in English class when Caitlynn O'Hair was talking about that the musical at the end of the year that they were doing The Lion King musical for the musical theatre program for Burnet Middle School. I wanted to watch it, but for whatever reason, I couldn't go. But, since the class she was in sounded interesting, I put it as one of my electives to take for the next year. My 8th grade year in that class was amazing, and I made lots of friends there. During that class, the teacher, Mrs. Fisher mentioned that if

This was all a gateway into a world I have never seen myself in. Once the show ended I continued to search for ways to be involved in the theatre department, being enrolled in the class wasn't enough for me, I needed more. Quickly I developed a passion for theatre and continued to find new ways to do it. The summer of my freshman year I was involved in a play in the park. During one of our performances a tree fell down onto the area we

After barely graduating in the spring of 2017 from Lopez Early College High School, I went straight to my parent’s house not knowing exactly what I was going to do with my life. I knew I had ruined my life after not paying attention to my teachers and counselors about applying to colleges. They said I was a wonderful and intelligent student with a tremendous capacity of succeeding in life. Although everybody thought that about me, I never did. I was constantly under pressure thinking that I had to work in order to support my family economically, so our house was saved. I was also worried about whether my parents were getting divorced after every insignificant argument they had. I had to be an excellent example for my two younger siblings; but even though I tried my best, I never was.

For my fourth quarter service project, I sold concessions at a children’s play performance. The elementary children performed the play “Aladdin” at Cynthia Mann on Saturday, April 22nd. I made and sold popcorn and candy to the audience members before, during, and in between the two performances for a total of 4 hours of service.

Entry #1: College has been one of the most intimidating experiences for me. This is the second time I started college the first time I got pregnant with my daughter and my husband joined the military so we moved many states away. I ended up dropping out. I blamed my husband joining the military and becoming pregnant for not finishing. Truthfully it was a lack of trying. Granted it would have been harder for me to finish school it was still do able under those circumstances. A hurdle I had to face before start college is to stop making up excuses and to stop blaming my situation for why I could not do it. I would constantly say that I could not do college because I was a stay at home mom. When being a stay at home mom should have been a reason

Growing up I was always taken to see different plays, musicals, comedy acts, etc. For example, my sister worked in the crew of her high school’s theater program and they would put on two shows

The first time I walked on to the stage of my high school theatre I knew I was in my element. Though as a 14 year, I could on the imagine how theatre would impact my life. Almost four years later I have participated in 12 shows, three of which I worked as a crew member, and the other 9 as an actress. My sophomore year I lived in Rome, Italy and discovered an English theatre program, through this program I became friends with 15 Italian high school students and helped them learn English while doing what I loved. The following year I moved back to my original high school in America, and due to the cabler of the theatre department, I was able to travel Edinburgh, Scotland and perform in the International Fringe Festival. This experience taught me dedication beyond anything I could have ever

Since I was eleven years old, I have known that I wanted to act. It was something that my parents never particularly encouraged, nor supported, but the seed was planted. I was sixteen when I first stepped into my high school’s theatre for my first day of drama class, and it changed my life. I felt at home and I would even call it the point of my salvation. From discovering the theatre and joining the world of the performing arts, I have grown so much as a person and have found a sense of self and purpose that I didn’t have before. I could not have imagined that I would, or even could, have the immense passion for acting and theatre that I have today, and it is beyond me how I became so lucky as to find something that makes me so incredibly

College wasn’t a place to experience any kind of social blossoming or personal reawakening. It was somewhere I would study furiously and learn feverishly. It was somewhere I would gain the knowledge and the skill to obtain and preserve a stable career. I could mention something nauseatingly cheap about how the downfall of own mother inspired me to better myself, to further the depth of my intelligence and that’s why I decided to enroll in a major university, such as UGA. That just wouldn’t be the whole and honest truth. The downfall of my own mom scared me, terrified me to the point of focusing on absolutely nothing but prospering scholastically in order to acquire even an inch of future solidity. There would be no risky endeavors, no questionable decisions, no time to waste or invest in frivolous events like Greek Row parties or hall socials. College became an imminent requirement instead of what once was a magical

I spent almost my high school life under the shadows of fear. I was continuously bullied throughout with little hope ahead. I was at the breaking point of my life, but my passion for biology saved my life. I hated myself deeply until then. I hoped the world around me to be dead along with my rotten flesh. I never forgotten the beauty of nature. I saw science as a new journey like a fresh start. I am not an elite who can understand how this society of complex systems, but I was able to get a glimpse of how the nature of biological living interacted with myself. I loved it. I will continue to day dream in my conscious thought with science. I need help to reach my goals and stay motivated along the way. Thank

I came into my sophomore year more excited about theatre than anything else. I just wanted any

Before joining theatre as a freshman, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I stuck to the background and did my best to avoid being noticed, as I had done for the last few years before high school. It wasn’t enjoyable, and I am not entirely sure why I did this in the first place. I had planned on keeping to myself for my entire high school career, that is, until I joined Theatre.

In reading the segment on Understanding You Passion, the author says “you can only discover what ignites your passion and the passion of those around you.” I think it’s important to note that the author also says that “you can’t manufacture passion or motivate people to feel passionate.” This is an important distinction because passion, as it relates to business, is a zero sum game. True passion is, and always has been, the catalyst for innovation, not the other way around. “Innovation. Its catalyst is passion—a combination of imagination and persistence that inspires certain people to look forward and go beyond what is. It is the process of looking at the world through a different lens to find solutions to big problems.” (IIT, 2014)

Throughout my lifetime I have listened to people reflect back on their college experiences and explain how college is supposed to be “the best experience of your life.” The summer after my senior year I use to try and imagine what my first semester was going to be like based on what I had heard people talk about in the past. After my first semester at NC State I realized that I couldn’t fully understand what college was like until I experienced it for myself. My first couple of weeks at Ohio State was rough and really tested my strength (mental and physical). I faced challenges and obstacles that I had never heard about in those past college experience conversations. All of a sudden there was no one to get me out of