katelinhand
Oct 25, 2017
Undergraduate / A Common App essay about my life, my challenges and what makes me unique... [4]
Thanks to anyone who can provide some good feedback .... writing about oneself is really hard!
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If you were to look up the definition of unique, you would see my picture. Most teenagers would think that "unique" means that you look different or that you do not "fit in". To me, it means that you are a leader, not a follower and that you offer eclectic qualities, which make you an interesting individual. I believe that uniqueness is a human quality to be treasured.
I live in a small town in the smallest state of Rhode Island, a place that could be seen by most to be pretty vanilla in the spectrum of uniqueness. And yet I have found that no matter where you go in this world, you can find people that have a little something special to offer if you are just willing to listen to their story. Something about them motivates you to be a better version of yourself. This is who I strive to be. I aspire to give back what I would have surely missed out on, had my family not given me a chance to blossom.
I had a rather unusual start to my life, which I believe is the root of my uniqueness. I lived in an orphanage until I was almost 5 years old, in a small Russian town that shared the border with Estonia. I am the youngest of 8 children, all of us raised in an orphanage. All of my siblings were much older and as such, most had already fallen victim to drugs, alcohol, and teen pregnancy. Had I stayed, my fate would have been sealed. My family first came to visit and then quite literally by some miracle, came all the way back to Russia to adopt me.
Life in Russia was very different than my life in America. At the orphanage, all the kids were tasked with daily jobs that had to be completed. There were no excuses. Instilling this work ethic early on made me independent and a very hard worker right from a young age.
At an age when many American kids are just past formally being potty trained, I had already learning many survival skills in the orphanage. For example, I had learned how to do my own laundry, how to prepare a meal, how to clean a bathroom spotlessly, how to do dishes and how to make my own bed. I most definitely had a jump-start on maturity compared to my American peers. On the other hand, I also had challenges early on like learning to read in a new language, especially with a totally different alphabet than Cyrillic. I am proud to say that after 3 years of Honors English and Honors Literature in high school, I have well overcome those early challenges!
I have always strived to honor a self-imposed tenet that pushes me to do nothing short of my own personal best. When driving oneself so hard, it's only reasonable that you'll take a few knockdowns along the way. A particularly challenging time for me was during sophomore year, when I suffered a major concussion. I took a direct hit to the head, not once, but three times during back-to-back lacrosse games. I was absent a lot of days and was only allowed to go back half-days for the rest of the year. My grades suffered immensely. I really struggled with balancing my own obsession to get good grades and needing to allow myself time to heal. Thankfully, I fully recovered by junior year, but not before taking a considerable hit to my GPA.
Yet even these challenges seem so insignificant in comparison to where I could be. When I reflect on my experiences working this past summer in orphanages in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, it makes me truly appreciative for all the little things in life. The opportunities that both my family and community have given me inspire me on just how limitless my future dreams can be!
Thanks to anyone who can provide some good feedback .... writing about oneself is really hard!
_________________________________
I believe that I'm a unique person
If you were to look up the definition of unique, you would see my picture. Most teenagers would think that "unique" means that you look different or that you do not "fit in". To me, it means that you are a leader, not a follower and that you offer eclectic qualities, which make you an interesting individual. I believe that uniqueness is a human quality to be treasured.
I live in a small town in the smallest state of Rhode Island, a place that could be seen by most to be pretty vanilla in the spectrum of uniqueness. And yet I have found that no matter where you go in this world, you can find people that have a little something special to offer if you are just willing to listen to their story. Something about them motivates you to be a better version of yourself. This is who I strive to be. I aspire to give back what I would have surely missed out on, had my family not given me a chance to blossom.
I had a rather unusual start to my life, which I believe is the root of my uniqueness. I lived in an orphanage until I was almost 5 years old, in a small Russian town that shared the border with Estonia. I am the youngest of 8 children, all of us raised in an orphanage. All of my siblings were much older and as such, most had already fallen victim to drugs, alcohol, and teen pregnancy. Had I stayed, my fate would have been sealed. My family first came to visit and then quite literally by some miracle, came all the way back to Russia to adopt me.
Life in Russia was very different than my life in America. At the orphanage, all the kids were tasked with daily jobs that had to be completed. There were no excuses. Instilling this work ethic early on made me independent and a very hard worker right from a young age.
At an age when many American kids are just past formally being potty trained, I had already learning many survival skills in the orphanage. For example, I had learned how to do my own laundry, how to prepare a meal, how to clean a bathroom spotlessly, how to do dishes and how to make my own bed. I most definitely had a jump-start on maturity compared to my American peers. On the other hand, I also had challenges early on like learning to read in a new language, especially with a totally different alphabet than Cyrillic. I am proud to say that after 3 years of Honors English and Honors Literature in high school, I have well overcome those early challenges!
I have always strived to honor a self-imposed tenet that pushes me to do nothing short of my own personal best. When driving oneself so hard, it's only reasonable that you'll take a few knockdowns along the way. A particularly challenging time for me was during sophomore year, when I suffered a major concussion. I took a direct hit to the head, not once, but three times during back-to-back lacrosse games. I was absent a lot of days and was only allowed to go back half-days for the rest of the year. My grades suffered immensely. I really struggled with balancing my own obsession to get good grades and needing to allow myself time to heal. Thankfully, I fully recovered by junior year, but not before taking a considerable hit to my GPA.
Yet even these challenges seem so insignificant in comparison to where I could be. When I reflect on my experiences working this past summer in orphanages in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, it makes me truly appreciative for all the little things in life. The opportunities that both my family and community have given me inspire me on just how limitless my future dreams can be!
