Undergraduate / common app essay (talk about timing) anything i need? [2]

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

"It's alright, honey. Just keep going," my mother told me after I spoke the unbearable
news that was making the tears in my eyes turn into waterfalls streaming down my face.
It was my freshman year, and I had not made it into the musical theater program. Earlier
that day, the cast list had gotten posted around noon. As I raced towards the theater
board, my mind projected into the future, placing me center stage under a single
spotlight, belting my heart out to the world, or at least to my high school peers. But my
entire being sank back down to reality as I scrolled down the list and my name was
nowhere to be found. This feeling just extended throughout the day, that by the time I
made it home, with a glance at my face, my mom pretty much figured that something was
not right.

As I told her about my day, I couldn't help but notice a puzzling look on her face. I
paused in the middle of my "tantrum" to ask what is wrong. She looked at me and asked,
"This is what made you so down today?" I was in complete shock; how could she not
understand how important this was to me. She then explained, "You can't let something
like this affect you in such a way. You did your best and now it's time to move on, not
ponder about what went wrong. You'll just beat up yourself for no reason." Then she
spoke the unforgettable words, "It's alright, honey. Just keep going." I never thought
those words would stick as well they did. I was so frustrated with her at that point I just
marched to my room, emphasizing my disappointment with a good slam of my door. As I
lied in bed, though, replaying the past, I realized how juvenile my reactions were. My
mother was right, how could I allow myself to react in such a way? What am I, four? I
had then come to a firm decision. It was time to let go and grow up. Five minutes was the
amount oftime that I allowed myself to continue to cry and ponder. Afterward, it was
time to look at the bright side and, as my mother said, keep going.

Time flew by, new challenges presented themselves in my path, and my life didn't end.
Instead, my mother's blunt words popped into my headeach time, serving as a reminder
that I'll be okay no matter what happens. As a result, I became less stressed and happier
withmyself. I became an optimist, and it's serving me well, both in my schooling and
personal life. As school life continued, another audition came around, and I tried again;
this time in a new light. It's not how I fall, but how I will rise again and continue to
thrive, to keep going. June 12, 2007. That was the dayI got in to the musical theater
program.