Undergraduate / Soccer Essay. Common App 150 words or less [2]

Elaborate on one of your activities

Any opinions or suggestions will be much appreciated. Also any grammar or spell checks would help too. Microsoft word won't work so I didn't have grammar or spell check.

"This is our year. Our time to break through the barrier and prove everyone wrong by making it to the state playoffs." This was the consensus for everyone on the soccer team. It seemed like nothing could stand in our way.

However, our dream was shattered when we allowed key games to slip out of our hands. When I realized the playoffs were no longer in reach, disappointment spread throughout my body. Thoughts of quitting the team quickly arose.

I then took a look at my teammates. Flashbacks of doubles practice entered my mind. I recalled how they helped me fight through when I felt like passing out from exhaustion. They helped me believe in myself and taught me how important teamwork and friendship is. I made an obligation to them all when I joined the team and there was no way I was going to abandon them now.

Thanks for reading my essay :).

Undergraduate / the horror of my dreaded alarm clock - Common App Essay [2]

Any opinions of my essay will be much appreciated.

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

The ear-piercing sound coming from the most painful invention ever created by

man startled me. It was the horror of my dreaded alarm clock.

Initially, the unfamiliar noise, which I hadn't heard for months, left me baffled.

Lying in bed, and terrified at the prospect of beginning the day earlier then desired, I

considered ignoring the obnoxious alarm and resuming my period of serenity for at least

3 more hours. Luckily, I originally planned for this very moment and made sure the

alarm clock was not within arm's length. Hearing the distant cries coming from my

parents' room, pleading for an end to the raucous, I surrendered to my fate of beginning

my day earlier then expected. After gaining full consciousness, I recalled my logic for

using the deafening machine. It was the third week of August which meant only one

thing to me and the rest of my soccer team. It was the first day of doubles practice.

I hopped into the shower where I would be able to contemplate the reasons for

my voluntary participation in this suffering. The next two weeks would involve four

grueling hours every morning of fitness, drills, fitness, ball work, and more fitness. Why

would anybody allow his or her body to undergo such an excruciating process?

Then I remembered a quote my 5th grade teacher would constantly stress to

the class. That quote was:"Strength comes from adversity." This scintillating statement

was so substantial to my teacher that he made an obligation to personally make and

distribute laminated cards with this slogan to each student at graduation. Thus, it is

this statement that describes the reasoning behind my participation in varsity soccer

doubles practice.

Like anything worth doing in life, soccer requires hard work and determination

in order to score a favorable outcome. Every practice, every run, and every drill are

meant to improve each member's ability and that of the team as a whole. Even though

my body is aching and my lungs are gasping for air at the time, I always feel a sense

of accomplishment after practice with the knowledge that I persevered even when I

felt like I could not go any further.

This is best represented when we step onto the pitch on game day against

opposing teams who have annihilated our team in previous years. We engage in our

80 minute battle and surprise the other team when we show that we can compete. The

fact that all the hours of preparation and hard work have most definitely paid off

becomes very apparent to our opposition, our parents, our friends, and, most

importantly, to us.

Therefore, as I emerged from the shower to begin preparations to commence

in two weeks of suffering, I felt an odd sense of joy inside me. I thought to myself that

the experience will be very rewarding when it is completed. As I walked out the door, I

felt confident knowing that whenever life calls, no matter how early it is, I will not bury

my head under a pillow and ignore the alarm. I will answer the call, I will endure the

obstacle, and I will achieve.

THANKS FOR READING MY ESSAY :)