Scholarship / "the great gift of talent in English" - Gates Millenium Scholarship Essays [5]

I thought the due date was the 15th rather than today so I am rushing to crank all these essay out with the best quality in the time allotted. Any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Discuss the subjects in which you excel or have excelled. To what factors do you attribute your success? (7800 characters maximum length)

I have been blessed with the great gift of talent in English. For as long as I can remember I've had a knack for spelling, grammar, and syntax in the English language. My spelling tests were always graced by a gold star in elementary school and I was even selected to participate in several district spelling bees. I was shocked to find that in middle school I was already reading at a college level based on tests. As the subject of English began to require more and more thought and creativity rather than just a good vocabulary, I saw that my essays had a cookie-cutter quality to them; nothing distinguished my essay from the person sitting next to me. I pushed myself to stylize my writing and break away from the formulaic mold my middle school teachers instilled in the class. The potential I saw in myself to do better caused my writing ability to sky-rocket to what it is now. I can only attribute my natural connection, intolerance fro mediocrity, creativity to my success in this crucial subject. Many people who read some of my writing tell me that I should be a writer. I always make an effort to not simply present facts and reasons but use the best of syntactical ability and rhetoric to portray topics with intelligence and my own unique flair in order to engage whoever's eyes fall upon one of my essays.