CVN
Aug 14, 2015
Undergraduate / Don't Dwell on things out of your control. Common app prompt #2. [2]
Feel free to criticise, give suggestions or even tell me to choose another topic.
I have another draft for a different topic but i feel this one is more personal even though it is not the most original. Schools applying to: VT,PSU, Syracuse,Texas A & M.
Notice i haven't put in any cliche quotes about failure;I read they don't really appreciate those.
The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
A few years ago, I was a regular starter for my soccer team while I was in secondary school in Nigeria. Just like most kids, I had an inflated sense with regards to my ability but I felt it was justified as I was one of the first names on the team sheet. This all changed when we got a new coach. I remember when he first arrived, and how I tried desperately to impress him by showing up to practice on time and working hard in addition to managing the team's equipment. So it came as a shock, when I found out I was benched for the first game of the season. I thought this was just a blip and normal order would be restored in the coming weeks. But I noticed I was fast becoming a peripheral figure, as I was coming on to see out the last ten to fifteen minutes of games. I was convinced I deserved a starting spot especially because I felt I was working just as hard as some of the starters, but I was still consistently being overlooked. This experience left me bewildered as I had not dealt with disappointment like this in the past, athletically. I was bitter towards a lot of people at the time such as my friends, teammates and my coach. I walked around with a negative outlook believing that I had been wronged.
After about a month, the initial disappointment started to wane and it was then I realized I had accomplished nothing with my perspective. My angry looks towards my teammates and coach had no effect on them, if any, it made me less attractive for the first team if someone got injured. I was wasting precious time and energy moaning over a decision I didn't control. I lost focus on what was really important, which was to help the team to achieve our goal. I started focusing on what I could control instead, which was improving myself in all aspects of my game, so I could get more playing time and help the team progress.
Making the conscious decision to lose the bitterness helped me concentrate on more important things-moving forward with my education and continuing my athletic development. And guess what? The next year, even though I wasn't playing as much as I would like, I definitely saw a huge improvement on my minutes. The improvement on my playing time was a success to me because firstly, it shows that the coach saw an improvement in my attitude and ability. Secondly, it proves that when you dedicate and self-motivate yourself, you can alter any situation and turn it in your favor.
Even though my story might sound familiar, it had a huge impact on me.After I recognized how fruitless my reaction was to the situation, I vowed to have a positive outlook and not dwell on situations beyond my control but work even harder to change the situation.
The lessons I learnt from being relegated to the bench and my failure to break back into the first team, was more valuable to me than if I was starting all the games. It was a test of my motivation and desire. I also learnt some skills, while valuable in the athletic department, can be transferred to the classroom. For example, being a college student requires self-motivation and self-discipline to get a degree. You also need a strong work ethic and balance to become a well-rounded student.There are limitless skills developed as an athlete that can be passed on to the classroom for success on and off the field,as well as in your future career.
Feel free to criticise, give suggestions or even tell me to choose another topic.
I have another draft for a different topic but i feel this one is more personal even though it is not the most original. Schools applying to: VT,PSU, Syracuse,Texas A & M.
Notice i haven't put in any cliche quotes about failure;I read they don't really appreciate those.
The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
A few years ago, I was a regular starter for my soccer team while I was in secondary school in Nigeria. Just like most kids, I had an inflated sense with regards to my ability but I felt it was justified as I was one of the first names on the team sheet. This all changed when we got a new coach. I remember when he first arrived, and how I tried desperately to impress him by showing up to practice on time and working hard in addition to managing the team's equipment. So it came as a shock, when I found out I was benched for the first game of the season. I thought this was just a blip and normal order would be restored in the coming weeks. But I noticed I was fast becoming a peripheral figure, as I was coming on to see out the last ten to fifteen minutes of games. I was convinced I deserved a starting spot especially because I felt I was working just as hard as some of the starters, but I was still consistently being overlooked. This experience left me bewildered as I had not dealt with disappointment like this in the past, athletically. I was bitter towards a lot of people at the time such as my friends, teammates and my coach. I walked around with a negative outlook believing that I had been wronged.
After about a month, the initial disappointment started to wane and it was then I realized I had accomplished nothing with my perspective. My angry looks towards my teammates and coach had no effect on them, if any, it made me less attractive for the first team if someone got injured. I was wasting precious time and energy moaning over a decision I didn't control. I lost focus on what was really important, which was to help the team to achieve our goal. I started focusing on what I could control instead, which was improving myself in all aspects of my game, so I could get more playing time and help the team progress.
Making the conscious decision to lose the bitterness helped me concentrate on more important things-moving forward with my education and continuing my athletic development. And guess what? The next year, even though I wasn't playing as much as I would like, I definitely saw a huge improvement on my minutes. The improvement on my playing time was a success to me because firstly, it shows that the coach saw an improvement in my attitude and ability. Secondly, it proves that when you dedicate and self-motivate yourself, you can alter any situation and turn it in your favor.
Even though my story might sound familiar, it had a huge impact on me.After I recognized how fruitless my reaction was to the situation, I vowed to have a positive outlook and not dwell on situations beyond my control but work even harder to change the situation.
The lessons I learnt from being relegated to the bench and my failure to break back into the first team, was more valuable to me than if I was starting all the games. It was a test of my motivation and desire. I also learnt some skills, while valuable in the athletic department, can be transferred to the classroom. For example, being a college student requires self-motivation and self-discipline to get a degree. You also need a strong work ethic and balance to become a well-rounded student.There are limitless skills developed as an athlete that can be passed on to the classroom for success on and off the field,as well as in your future career.
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