Posts by Swallace18

Swallace18

Nov 26, 2009

Undergraduate / UC essay #1: school and everything that comes along with it [5]

The outside world is dog-eat-dog, they say. It is absolutely necessary to prepare for that harsh reality after several secure years of high school. What is learned today will build the foundation for your life after high school. "Pay attention and try hard," lectured our well-learned sophomore Chemistry teacher. At least he was correct about one thing when he said what we learn now will push us on through college and beyond. No one knew then how crucial those years at Gunn High School really were.

Every so often, I come across a mom, possibly a friend of my parent's, and the question of the school I attend is brought up. The common response to my answer is a flurry of more questions about this most talked about school that all moms seem to know. I only give them short and concise answers for their inquiries: hard work, passion, high standards. These are the characteristics of this stellar school that has taught me and classes of other students to deal with upcoming life.

Gunn has taught me the essence of hard work. To do well is not to blow past homework as a chore, but to do it with understanding and acceptance that it is created as a take-home quiz. Fantastic teachers, so devoted to their job of educating all who move, truly help their students by writing up stacks of brain-busting homework problems and mind-boggling tests. And, although I do admit staying up until two to finish homework and study is not all that enjoyable but, it has taught me discipline. This preparation for more years to come of hopeless cramming has enabled me to accept work and its counterparts.

okay so I only changed a few things in the first part. The last couple paragraphs are really well written but this:

Every so often, I come across a mom, possibly a friend of my parent's, and the question of the school I attend is brought up. The common response to my answer is a flurry of more questions about this most talked about school that all moms seem to know.

These couple sentences didn't make any sentences didn't make any sense to me untill I read the whole thing. I don't really know how to rephrase it.

But other than that it sounds good.

Swallace18

Nov 26, 2009

Undergraduate / Essay for Ut and A&M (Texas Admission Essays) Give me your insight!(: [3]

Prompt:
Topic B. 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.

I'm not that great at grammer or spelling, and I'm sure i could replace a few words with larger vocabulary words. Just let me knowww.(:

Shelby Wallace 22 September 2009
Someone True
My customary day at Rockwall-Heath High School consisted of congregating with "the girls" in the morning before first period began. Then I would text them with my eyes glued to the small screen of my cell phone anticipating any new intriguing gossip like it was something life changing to discover. Later we would go to lunch where we would all sit together and run our mouths some more. We were typical high school girls: cliquey, judgmental, and caring only for our own drama infested lives.

Everyday having the same routine caused me to be oblivious to anything happening in my surroundings if it wasn't involving my friends and I. Those six girls were the only people of importance to me and we built a wall of lies and gossip inclosing our circular plastic table. We babbled about the horrible ensembles other girls were wearing. We jabbered about the boys that we thought were too cute for the girls we did not like. Everything discussed was negative unless the conversation was about us of course.

Travis is a boy the same age as us but there are some differences. He has a mental disability. Although he is a very intelligent individual his thoughts are hard to express and seem trapped inside him as he attempts to tell you what he has to say. Travis had sat by himself the entire school year and by now it was nearly December.

My friend Hillary decided to step out of our bubble we had created for ourselves and make the suggestion of inviting Travis to sit with us at lunch. Our snobby, impudent attitudes were showing on our faces as each one of us raised one eyebrow with that "what are you thinking" look. We then gained our composure realizing that we should agree with her idea but in the back of our minds no one was fully supportive. No one, including Hillary, was going to step up and invite him over.

Hypothetical suggestions between us were always being made but none such as this. They were ordinarily "what if we did this" statements involving something malicious we would like to do to another girl we had an issue with. So it was strange that a week later Hillary and I both acted upon this idea and stepped towards the lonesome boy as the rest starred. When we asked him to join us his face lit up. There was a rare moment that we all felt his genuine happiness. We made his day and it was something we had never felt before. His smile was beautiful even with his missing tooth and drool sliding down his face. Reality grasped hold of me like a steel bear trap.

I've looked at my life, the things I do, and the things I say in an entire different perspective since that day. True joy doesn't come from the latest story floating around my high school or the way my friends and I dress. It comes from touching other people's lives and watching the way their face shines when they are truly happy because of what I've done and knowing someone cares.

One might say that it is a stretch. True Joy? Asking a boy that is mentally handicapped to sit with you is merely a small act, but it has impacted both of our lives greatly. Travis sits with me to this day at lunch. He has taught me patience by having to try to understand what he has bottled up in his mind and waiting for him to express what he is feeling. Our conversations are much different than ones I have with my other class mates but can most of the time be more meaningful. He has shown me to not judge a book by its cover and that beauty isn't found on the outside.

Travis has changed my life through meeting him. I find it insane how things can turn around on you. I never in a million years would have thought that this relationship would have benefited me so much. He allowed me to see things in a different light, transforming my shallow, hard heart, and turning my whole world upside down.