Undergraduate / "One in a Million" -Texas A&M University- a person who ha made an impact in your life [2]

One in a Million

Traditionally, the best way to learn is the hard way; also the most effective. Being the only male child in my family, it is only right that I should not be trained to see life as a bed of roses. My father was once a teacher, a strict educationist as I deduced and also is a loving father. This gives the mixture of strictness, love and care. With his rigid posture and firm stature one would think that he is someone who doesn't want to know anything about anybody but deep down, he has a gentle heart .Flint, as he is fondly called by his colleagues is someone who has definitely impacted my life. Dad as I would call him is loving beyond the level anyone could think. As caring as a mother (I say that because mothers in most cases are the softer ones so this attributes their care), strict and exceedingly smart; this is why the odds are against me if I try to outsmart him. While I was growing up, my dad emphasized on honesty and hard work. Never did he compromise that. He is a kind of person that when he sees somebody doing the right thing, he would not applaud the person, because that person is doing what is expected of him. You only get his appreciation when you exceed your limits and do something great. I always wanted to please him so I knew I needed to work extra hard and do things extra better. This has helped me because when I do something I always want to do it exceedingly well; I love being appreciated; it drives me to do better. Wherever I go wrong, he is always on hand to correct me just immediately, through talking or if the need arises he canes me. An aspect of my life which needed to be corrected was the organization part of my life and my dad was keen to mend this part. I wasn't very lazy; lazy, but not to the unbearable limit, but my dad couldn't bear it. Some lackadaisical traits were innate in me. He always said that the little things we miss out in life matters the most because they keep piling up and one day surpass the limit we can overlook them, they become a burden onto us. They way I knot my tie for a job interview could influence the personnel's decision to give me the job or not, regardless of my qualifications. So he made it clear to me that organization is an integral part of a success story. He was keen on this and did all he could to let this trait be imbibed in me. All he did is important to me because everything I have learnt would help me face the challenges outside and I don't see anybody training me any better than my dad has done. He is really a firm educationist and father. Without any of the things he has impacted on me, I would have been a mere boy not knowing the values of things and why we should take every bit of life seriously. I have come to realize that the little things people overlook always has a significant value which is not matched to the way people look at it. He is very important to me not only as a mentor but as an extremely loving father who would always be on hand to help and whom you can confide in.

Undergraduate / "Changing schools" - Georgia tech. Explain an Aspect of Your Academic Background. [4]

Explain an Aspect of Your Academic or Extra-Curricular Background That You Feel is Especially Important to You and That Will Help Us Know You.
Blissful Memoirs
Changing schools was not the best idea for me, especially in a crucial time like Grade Six. I had to move from a state in which I was born in and at that time thought I lived the best part of my life in, to a more unfamiliar yet better civilized and ethnically diverse state. I hoped that wouldn't pose a serious problem because I have a trait of easily adapting to different places Schooling was next, I was only to spend two terms in the school before graduating to high school so I had to make a long lasting superb impression about myself and my academic excellence in a short-while. Something done by other pupils in six-years was left to me to do in two-terms; not even a year. Failure to accomplish this task was not an option and I had my mind set. I was never a pessimist; I grew up to be optimistic about the future. I read up text books, studied farther than I was taught, took the extra step to cover up and was on my best behavior to get an all round performance. I barely had time to catch up on the latest movies or to get the newest soccer game but I still got my family's support with me. That pushed me and made me prevail. On a Friday morning, I walked into my classroom and just as I opened the door, everybody began cheering and applauding, it took me a minute to figure if it was directed towards me but after noticing the contented smile on my counselors face and the paper he was holding which had my name boldly printed on it, I was sure the it was all referred to me; I had won the prize of the highest in the whole state in a common entrance test and also highest in a private placed secondary schools' entrance test. I could not be more satisfied On the day of my graduation, seeing my name in the auditorium as the top in the hall of fame was not just enough to comfort me. After such hard work I expected more. Little wonder did I express my final sigh of relief when called up on the stage as the best graduating student and was handed over my accolades. I could not help but smile all the way after thinking that I had barely been in the school for a year and has influenced everything around the place; it was an achievement of great honor to me and I could not hold responsible anything but hard work and sacrifice.

Undergraduate / "if I make it to the school.." - If You Had An Opportunity to do something again [3]

IF YOU HAD A SECOND CHANCE-THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING OVER AND DO IT DIFFERENTLY-WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO DO OVER AGAIN AND WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU MAKE.

As much as I have no serious regrets in life yet, if I had an opportunity to do something differently, It would be no more than making up for lost grades in high school. I wasn't a total fiasco in high school; nothing near it, in fact, I was a bit above the average high school kid; but being in the top quarter of my graduating class wouldn't have hurt. After my graduation ceremony, I looked back where I started off from, the only thing that rushed through my mind then was 'there is no second chance, the deed has been done.' Once in a while, I flashback and reminisce, things I could have done more appropriately. I always told myself all fingers are different and no man was made the same and I was doing the best I could but the truth is inevitable; I could have done better. The changes I would make is to take every bit of my school work seriously, after all, everything is being taught for a reason, I wouldn't take some things as unnecessary, moreover, teachers wouldn't give students needless work when it would also add up to their credit. I will respond to assignments on time would also be necessary to succeed; personal research and study is the best form of learning. Importantly, I would follow up during free time on every note taken down in class and things taught, that way it stays intact in the brain. What contributed about 75% of my high school complications was chemistry, I had no interest in it, I felt it was useless to say the least, and it wasn't as practical as other sciences so my mind wasn't in line to comprehend it. In a way it also made my grades in other subjects to decrease. If I had a second chance I would start chemistry on a stronger foundation and pick great interest and passion in it. Also, all the times which I would spend on the court and field would be pruned to make something useful out of it like reading, rehearsing for a school play, copying notes. I would go the extra mile, which is the difference between a smart kid and a genius. I was once told that the difference between the wise man and the mediocre is that the wise man works an extra mile farther than the closest person. This would obviously put him in the lead. Lastly, I would be more outspoken. During my days at high school, I noticed that the people leading my class were outspoken and easy going people, I would avoid being timid and shy and also become easy going and sociable. I am not the kind of kid that easily gets distracted during a lesson only if I know what is being taught or there is an easier alternative to learning it; only then would I look at the cute girl on the opposite side of the class; Distraction has never been a problem and even when faced with it, I do a good job of overcoming it. After all these, the reality of things is that there is no second chance, at least most of the time or in my own case, and I know whatever I do would make or mar my future, I had a bit of that in my head at high school, the right way to live is to live without regrets but that is near impossible. Even though I wasn't a great kid academically in high school, I take pride in knowing that throughout my years I never picked a cigarette or drank an alcoholic drink, something that was common among high school seniors. I believe that everyone is made special and different and I don't need straight A's in my certificate exam to prove to anyone that I am a good writer nor a B+ grade in chemistry, something I never achieved to prove that I am as good an economic genius as a basketball star. Well, I still have a chance to be in the top quarter of my graduating class in my dream university, Purdue and I am positive, if I make it to the school, if asked to write on this topic again in future, the content would not be the same content as this.

Nnadozie Ekeocha.