jojo2fly
Sep 7, 2009
Undergraduate / "my obstacle was acne" UCF Essay [12]
1. If there has been some obstacle or "bump in the road," in your academic or personal life, please explain the circumstances.
2. How has your family history, culture or environment influenced who you are?
Here I was an acne clad young black girl in a school full of white people. I had never seen that many white people in one place and I assumed they would think I was just another black girl from the ghetto. After I got over the whole acne issue, my number one concern was to prove them wrong of any negative assumptions they made about me.
From the age of ten to the age of fifteen my obstacle was acne. It may sound a bit vain but this was more than a cosmetic issue. Everyday I struggled to get out of bed and face the harsh stares that would come my way. I felt crippled by it, and in a sense, I was. It determined my actions and the way I felt on a particular day. As a result, I became withdrawn and avoided activities with my friends. When I entered high school, it only got worse. The stress of more people staring at me was causing my acne to flair up even more than usual. My friends already loved me and looked past my acne, but I constantly worried about what others thought of me which caused me to withdraw even more. All I wanted to do after school was go home and do my homework and this was my daily routine for about two months.
Then, a friend's idea changed the course of my high school career. In late September tryouts for the girl's basketball team had started. I was not into trying out at first but after persuasion from my friends, I decided to give it a try. The week of tryouts was tough, but I was having fun with my friends, and my coach saw potential in me. In the weeks that followed, my confidence grew, and so did the amount of friends I had. I was not given perfect skin, but I was given great friends who truly cared about me. Now I realize that my acne was a gift. It humbled me and made me a better person. Later in my freshman year I found out that I was in the top ten of my class. I was very proud of myself and felt like I had shown them I am not some dumb kid from the ghetto.
The next year ironically most of my friends were Caucasian. My new friends accepted me just as I was, like my old friends did. I had been worried for no reason, and if anyone had been racist, it was me. I had a wall up and I did not even give the "evil white people" a chance. I felt ashamed that I had been so ignorant.
Word limit: 500, Word count: 451
1. If there has been some obstacle or "bump in the road," in your academic or personal life, please explain the circumstances.
2. How has your family history, culture or environment influenced who you are?
Here I was an acne clad young black girl in a school full of white people. I had never seen that many white people in one place and I assumed they would think I was just another black girl from the ghetto. After I got over the whole acne issue, my number one concern was to prove them wrong of any negative assumptions they made about me.
From the age of ten to the age of fifteen my obstacle was acne. It may sound a bit vain but this was more than a cosmetic issue. Everyday I struggled to get out of bed and face the harsh stares that would come my way. I felt crippled by it, and in a sense, I was. It determined my actions and the way I felt on a particular day. As a result, I became withdrawn and avoided activities with my friends. When I entered high school, it only got worse. The stress of more people staring at me was causing my acne to flair up even more than usual. My friends already loved me and looked past my acne, but I constantly worried about what others thought of me which caused me to withdraw even more. All I wanted to do after school was go home and do my homework and this was my daily routine for about two months.
Then, a friend's idea changed the course of my high school career. In late September tryouts for the girl's basketball team had started. I was not into trying out at first but after persuasion from my friends, I decided to give it a try. The week of tryouts was tough, but I was having fun with my friends, and my coach saw potential in me. In the weeks that followed, my confidence grew, and so did the amount of friends I had. I was not given perfect skin, but I was given great friends who truly cared about me. Now I realize that my acne was a gift. It humbled me and made me a better person. Later in my freshman year I found out that I was in the top ten of my class. I was very proud of myself and felt like I had shown them I am not some dumb kid from the ghetto.
The next year ironically most of my friends were Caucasian. My new friends accepted me just as I was, like my old friends did. I had been worried for no reason, and if anyone had been racist, it was me. I had a wall up and I did not even give the "evil white people" a chance. I felt ashamed that I had been so ignorant.
Word limit: 500, Word count: 451