dyland321
Dec 11, 2009
Undergraduate / Air Force Academy 500 word essay - ethical dilemma [3]
I am a very strong mathematics student, but I am not nearly as strong a student in English.
Please help me!! =] I appreciate your opinions and critiques. I had a lot of trouble writing this, but I did the best I could. I'm semi-embarrassed to show this to my english teacher, so here it is.
Topic: Describe a setback or ethical dilemma that you have faced. How did you resolve it? How did the outcome affect you? If something similar happens in the future, how would you react?
Alcohol is an almost unavoidable substance in the present day high school setting. In my junior year of high school I was left out of almost all of my close friend's weekend activities due to their awareness of my disapproval of underage alcohol consumption. The genesis of our friendship was freshman year on the high school soccer team, all five of us becoming newly acquainted with each other. The two years following freshman soccer we all became very close, spending weekends at each other's houses, and weekdays partaking various club activities. Our friendship was obsolete until the last few weeks of the summer between sophomore and junior year. At this time one of my closest friends began experimenting with alcohol. His new girlfriend insisted he start "living life on the edge", seeing as he will soon be considered an upperclassman, so he did so. As a result, instead of spending his weekends with his close friends, he went out partying, smoking, and having sex. This lifestyle attracted my other three close friends, leaving me isolated. They were all aware of my disapproval of their activities, yet they attempted to influence me to ruin my body by consuming alcohol at a delicate age. They said it was "so much fun" and "not that big of deal", but in the end it was me influencing them that it was a big deal, showing them fact sheets about alcohol that prove that what they were doing was not at all worthwhile. Not only were their actions illegal, but they went against everything that I believe in. I did everything I could to influence them not to drink, but to no avail were my actions. Inevitably, I dissociated myself with them, explicitly ending the close friendship that started freshman year.
Although dissociation with them was not the resolution I desired, it was in my best interest. If they chose alcohol over me, I must not have been very important to them as I thought I was. I do believe, however, that I handled the situation appropriately, and that it was right for me to chose my personal health over my desire to keep my close friends. As my former friends tried something new, so did I. I began running, eventually discovering that it is something that I love to do Instead of continuing my high school soccer career, I joined the high school cross country team, a decision that I am very glad I made. Not only did running every day allow me to clear my head and focus on the future instead of the past, it allowed me to make new friends. If something similar were to happen in the future I would trust my instincts and deal with the issue in a reasonable matter, as I believe I did in the past. I hope to not put myself in the same situation in the future, but if the situation did erupt, I would act in a manner that reflects my beliefs.
I am a very strong mathematics student, but I am not nearly as strong a student in English.
Please help me!! =] I appreciate your opinions and critiques. I had a lot of trouble writing this, but I did the best I could. I'm semi-embarrassed to show this to my english teacher, so here it is.
Topic: Describe a setback or ethical dilemma that you have faced. How did you resolve it? How did the outcome affect you? If something similar happens in the future, how would you react?
Alcohol is an almost unavoidable substance in the present day high school setting. In my junior year of high school I was left out of almost all of my close friend's weekend activities due to their awareness of my disapproval of underage alcohol consumption. The genesis of our friendship was freshman year on the high school soccer team, all five of us becoming newly acquainted with each other. The two years following freshman soccer we all became very close, spending weekends at each other's houses, and weekdays partaking various club activities. Our friendship was obsolete until the last few weeks of the summer between sophomore and junior year. At this time one of my closest friends began experimenting with alcohol. His new girlfriend insisted he start "living life on the edge", seeing as he will soon be considered an upperclassman, so he did so. As a result, instead of spending his weekends with his close friends, he went out partying, smoking, and having sex. This lifestyle attracted my other three close friends, leaving me isolated. They were all aware of my disapproval of their activities, yet they attempted to influence me to ruin my body by consuming alcohol at a delicate age. They said it was "so much fun" and "not that big of deal", but in the end it was me influencing them that it was a big deal, showing them fact sheets about alcohol that prove that what they were doing was not at all worthwhile. Not only were their actions illegal, but they went against everything that I believe in. I did everything I could to influence them not to drink, but to no avail were my actions. Inevitably, I dissociated myself with them, explicitly ending the close friendship that started freshman year.
Although dissociation with them was not the resolution I desired, it was in my best interest. If they chose alcohol over me, I must not have been very important to them as I thought I was. I do believe, however, that I handled the situation appropriately, and that it was right for me to chose my personal health over my desire to keep my close friends. As my former friends tried something new, so did I. I began running, eventually discovering that it is something that I love to do Instead of continuing my high school soccer career, I joined the high school cross country team, a decision that I am very glad I made. Not only did running every day allow me to clear my head and focus on the future instead of the past, it allowed me to make new friends. If something similar were to happen in the future I would trust my instincts and deal with the issue in a reasonable matter, as I believe I did in the past. I hope to not put myself in the same situation in the future, but if the situation did erupt, I would act in a manner that reflects my beliefs.
