pineapplepizza
Jan 10, 2011
Undergraduate / "track and field" - Georgetown - Important Extracurricular Short Essay [4]
One school activity which has had a significant impact on me has been track and field. Adjusting to high school was not an easy experience for me. I breezed through elementary school and good grades came naturally to me. I never found myself stressing over school. High school was completely different. The first week of classes during freshman year was quite an eye-opener. The high school I chose to attend is number one in the state and one of the best in the country. Naturally, it is highly selective and the coursework is rigorous. Within the first few weeks of school I found myself struggling and seeing my peers succeeding took its toll on my self-confidence. I began feeling worthless and stupid and before I knew it, I had suicidal thoughts crossing my mind. I was depressed.
This continued on to second semester of my sophomore year. When the track team announced that their season was about to start and they were looking for new members, I decided to sign up. During the first week of practice I fell in love with running. Although I was not very fast or had much endurance at first, I believed that one day I could be a great athlete. I felt a sense of satisfaction after completing the rigorous training the coaches put the team trough and I noticed I was no longer as unhappy as I previously felt. Being on the track team has been so important to me because it "cured" me of my depression, boosted my self-esteem, and made me feel like I belonged to something greater than myself.
One school activity which has had a significant impact on me has been track and field. Adjusting to high school was not an easy experience for me. I breezed through elementary school and good grades came naturally to me. I never found myself stressing over school. High school was completely different. The first week of classes during freshman year was quite an eye-opener. The high school I chose to attend is number one in the state and one of the best in the country. Naturally, it is highly selective and the coursework is rigorous. Within the first few weeks of school I found myself struggling and seeing my peers succeeding took its toll on my self-confidence. I began feeling worthless and stupid and before I knew it, I had suicidal thoughts crossing my mind. I was depressed.
This continued on to second semester of my sophomore year. When the track team announced that their season was about to start and they were looking for new members, I decided to sign up. During the first week of practice I fell in love with running. Although I was not very fast or had much endurance at first, I believed that one day I could be a great athlete. I felt a sense of satisfaction after completing the rigorous training the coaches put the team trough and I noticed I was no longer as unhappy as I previously felt. Being on the track team has been so important to me because it "cured" me of my depression, boosted my self-esteem, and made me feel like I belonged to something greater than myself.