Undergraduate / "What Swimming Has Taught Me"-Texas A&M Essay Topic C [5]

There may be personal information that you want considered as part of your admissions application. Write an essay describing that information. You might include exceptional hardships, challenges, or opportunities that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials, personal responsibilities, exceptional achievements or talents, educational goals, or ways in which you might contribute to an institution committed to creating a diverse learning environment.

When I first learned how to swim I was four years old. My mother had signed me up for a class at the YMCA. At first, swimming didn't come easy to me; at the end of the class I still could not stay afloat. Nevertheless, as my instructor encouraged my mother to take me to the class again, my effort was not in vain. By the end of the second class I could honestly say that I loved swimming. Following this experience, every summer I would spend countless hours in the pool. Swimming was what made me look forward to summer every year.

My junior year of high school, I decided to try something new. Instead of just swimming for leisure, I decided to enter the world of competitive high school swimming. The first day arrived and I went on the bus feeling excited and nervous at the same time. I wanted to swim, but I was not sure of how good I would be. When we arrived to the pool I was in the last lane with the new swimmers. I didn't have a problem keeping up with the other people in my lane, and as a result my confidence was elevated. I was excited by the thought of the rest of the season. However, as the season continued I found it harder and harder to keep up with the others in my lane. It wasn't that the people around me were getting better, but that they were quitting. They had joined the team thinking that swimming would be easy, and that they would be in a more advanced lane. When that proved not to be the case, they simply quit. The team had lost six swimmers in a matter of two weeks, turning this small team into an even smaller team. As a result of losing most of my lane, I was now the slowest person on the team. It was aggravating to know that even though I was going the fastest pace that I could keep, I was not going fast enough to keep up with the other swimmers. I often fell behind in practice sets. Still, I made it of the highest priority that I always finish. Although many others had done so, it never once crossed my mind to quit. I had made a commitment by joining the team, and I was not going to back out of it. Just because I was not the best did not mean that I could not enjoy the sport. By working hard I could and did get better. By the end of the season I had taken nine seconds off my 100 meter freestyle, and I was able to keep up and even pass others in my lane. Thanks to this experience I had grown to love swimming even more.

When faced with a hard task the easiest thing to do is give up. It is easier to say, "I did not try my hardest" than say "I tried and failed". I feel that even if I try and fail, I still learn from the experience. The next time I try I will be that much closer to reaching my goal. Being on the swim team has taught me a valuable lesson about myself that I will never forget: when challenged with a hard task, I will not quit. I will try my hardest, and if that shows not to be enough, I will practice and keep trying until it is. Although everything I do may not come easy to me at first, if I try hard, and keep trying, eventually it will. I would rather experience failure one hundred times before I reached success, than to quit before I reach my aspiration.

Undergraduate / World Cultures class - An issue that is important to me [3]

Choose an issue of importance to you-the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope-and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

The first time I became fully aware of the fact that many people don't have access to clean water I was in World Cultures class. We were on the chapter of Sub- Sahara Africa. The past few days had been spent taking notes on the many illnesses that affect the region. My teacher had decided to show us a video recording of a television special from MTV. In this segment two celebrities, as well as two students, went to Africa to try to help with the AIDS epidemic. Although this video was about AIDS another topic was mentioned that really captivated me: The lack of clean drinking water in developing nations.

The most important substance on the Earth is water. Besides making up seventy-one percent of the Earth's surface, water also constitutes seventy percent of the human body. Water is necessary for the survival of every living organism known to man. For humans, more than a few days without it could be fatal. In America, we are fortunate enough to have a very good sanitation system. However, for most developing nations, access to clean water, isn't as easy. More than one billion people go without it every day. Water related diseases are responsible for eighty percent of the world's sickness. Although a simple way to sanitize water is to boil it for fifteen minutes that is not always possible in many countries. In many parts of Africa wood is scarce resource. They use fire wood to cook their food, and find that they barely have enough for that. So as a result they are forced to fill their need by drinking unclean water.

This issue is one that I feel is of great importance. When people are denied something as simple as clean water, they are denied the basic human right to have life. A lot us take this staple for granted. We use it every day to bathe, clean, drink, and for many other tasks, yet we never stop to think of how many people don't have access to something that, in America, is considered to be generally free.

It has always been a dream of mine to do some kind of humanitarian work outside of the United States. I want to help people who don't have the bare necessities for life such as food, clothing, and shelter. I believe that if everybody did their part we could make this world a better place to live in for a lot of people. Helping third world countries get access to clean drinking water is how I want to do mine.

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Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm really not sure whether or not I actually answered the prompt. I also feel like I may have went off on a tangent in the second paragraph.

Undergraduate / my mother - Some who has made an impact on my life [3]

Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.

When I think of the person who has made the most impact on my life, the person that comes to mind is no other than my mother. Other than the obvious answer of giving me life, she has given me so much more than that. She has given me a home filled with love, support, and understanding. She is a single mother, who never let that fact stop me from having a good life. Although she is not the wealthiest person in the world, she has qualities that are worth so much more than riches.

I was very young when my parents were divorced. Although my father was still around, his diminishing appearance in my life became increasingly apparent. It was my mother who picked up where he left off. She came to all of my soccer games, all of my school plays, and all of my recitals. She was there for the big parts of my life, but more importantly, the small parts.

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Any criticism is greatly appreciated

Undergraduate / Why I want to study engineering- Poly NYU Personal Statement [3]

Tell us why you selected your major or your area of interest.

When I was younger, I was asked a question that is generally common for young children: What did I want to be when I grow up? Most people do not usually think that a child as young as five years old knows what they want to do for the rest of their life. What people want to hear is the possibility of what life can bring you, and what you can bring yourself. They are looking for some kind of reassurance that youth is still innocent of the world, and that dreams can come true.

My dream, as a young child, was never very constant. Over the years my potential career list has included: doctor, actress, astronaut, business woman, lawyer, and engineer. To this day, I am still not sure exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life. However, what I do know is how I am going to accomplish it. I am going to study engineering. Engineering has the gift of being a very versatile major; after earning a Bachelor of Science in the field I could easy move on to any of the careers of my childhood list.

My educational goal is to earn an undergraduate degree in engineering, then to continue my education in a field that I adore. As far as my career goals go, the sky is the limit. My parents always tell me that I can do whatever I set my mind to, and I believe them. I can be successful at whatever I try. The only requirement I have of my future career is that it does good to others in some kind way, for my true measurement of success will be how many lives I make better along the way.

Did I answer the topic? Also, I'm looking to shorten it a bit. What should I take out? Any criticism at all would be appreciated. Thanks in advance