Undergraduate / 'to mentally block the physical pain' - UC essay #2 [3]

Rough draft, let me know what you think!

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is
important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does
it relate to the person you are?

Mesa on three! one! two! three! Mesa! That is the phrase me and my teammates yelled before every cross country race. I joined this sport as a freshman, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. On the first day of summer practice I immidietly learned that this sport was the most physically and mentally draining thing I had ever done. The landscape around me, scorched by the hot summer sun was my battle ground. Not against some external enemy, but with myself. I had to keep running even when my entire body told me to stop. I had to learn to push my boundaries, to never give up, and to mentally block the physical pain. All these abilities would be needed and routinely tested.

Fast forward to senior year, I had been running for four years, three of which I was on Varsity for. The race was league finals, and it promised to test me harder than any race before it. Wearing our green racing bibs, me and the team head to the starting area. The race course was my least favorite, the weather was miserable, I had a bad case of shin splints and I was tired from a hard week of studying for finals late into the night. Everything was against me, i knew it, and so did my coach. My coach came to me while we were doing strides and asked if I wanted a teammate to sub in for me. I thought about it for a minute before realizing I had way too much time and energy invested in that moment to throw it away, I told coach i was gonna run it. The team gathers in a circle of our pep talk and mesa chant before getting on the line. "POW!" the gun goes off and so does the line off 300 runners. 17 minutes and 34 seconds later I crossed the finish line with a medal and a new personal best. I am proud of this experience because even in the face of diversity, when everything was against me I still managed to give it everything I had in me and accomplish alot. This experience relates to what kind of person I am in that it shows that im a fighter. I never give up, I always push myself to improve and excel. I always fight to reach my goals. This part of me does not only come out in practice and races. It manifests itself f in all aspects of my life, weather they be athletic or academic.

Undergraduate / 'can anything ever be this good again' - UC 1 [8]

Prompt:

Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations

can anything ever be this good again?[i][/i]

After a long drive in a car cramped with my mother, my father, my sister, my grandmother, myself and even the family dog, we finally arrived at our destination. The destination was my aunt and uncles house. The purpose of our visit was family Thanksgiving dinner. We piled out of the car and were greeted by our hosts and a chilly San Bernardino wind, and quickly made our way inside. Upon entry, i was immediately re acquainted with the familiar smells of home-made stuffing, rolls and my aunts famous bacon wrapped shrimp. The house was decorated with candles and table cloths and you could hear the crackling of the warm fireplace in the living room. The music was non seasonal but felt strangely appropriate. The song Ever Long by the Foo Fighters came on and I couldn't help but wonder "If anything could ever be this good again?" You see, my aunt and uncle were losing their house and this was the last time the whole family would get together there. With that in mind, I set out to enjoy the little time we had in the house together as much as possible.

My dad is quite the barbeque aficionado and so me and him got to work barbequing the turkey, well, he got to work, i was mostly watching and trying to learn. After the barbeque had been filled with charcoal and apple wood, the cleaned and seasoned turkey was placed on the grill and left alone for most of the day.

Now it was time for another tradition, football. Every year for as long as i can remember, me, my dad and my uncle have always gone to the backyard and thrown the football around while the turkey was cooking. We played for about an hour, got tired out, and came back inside. In the living room I saw my grandmother teaching my aunt how to crotchet and my sister and niece watching tv. I joined my sister a niece for a while while the adults finished up all the preparations for the meal. Before long my dad called me over to help him with the turkey. We checked the temperature and concluded it was done and brought it inside to the kitchen.

Before long, all the food was cooked, plated, and the table was set. The table was covered with a deep burgundy table cloth, white plates, blue candles, and name cards held up by ornate little owl figures. One by one we got our share of food, sat down and gave a little speech about what we are thankful for.

Ok, so basically after the first paragraph i just ran out of steam and it sounds really terrible, and help/advice would be awesome!