Undergraduate / 'spent all my life in Georgia' - Furman Supplement essay. [2]

I have to submit the essay today or tomorrow, please help me improve the essay.
Thank you very much indeed. here is the essay:

As you look back over your life up to this point, what things have you done that provide clues about who you are and who you are becoming?

Of all the presents we could be living, we happen to live right here, right now. We are here because the path we followed couldn't have taken us anywhere else. But it was no straight line; of all the choices we could have made, we did the right ones, as all others would have taken us elsewhere. Whatever we do today will define what our tomorrow will be.

I have spent all my life in Georgia and if I were to describe myself I would say I am Georgian, with Georgian traits and characteristics. I am a unique individual, but the environment in which I spent my past left a deep trace on my character. I am confident that my interests are the result of my experiences. I'm interested in physics or generally in science, because my interaction with the spheres was pleasing and exciting.

Our comprehension that is the consequence of never-ending trial and error method is derived from the past. As I look back over my life I see numerous connections of my actions and surroundings that eventually resulted in me and my character.

Undergraduate / 'the painting competition' - (Grinnell Supplement) [2]

The essay is in a terrible condition, please anybody can help and correct.
Thank you very much, here is the essay:

What was the most memorable advice, good or bad, you have ever received? Did you follow it? What happened? (approximately 250 words):

Once, when I was 8 years old, my father took my several paintings to the painting competition. I did not have any hope of the paintings' success and I told my dad that it was senseless to take the paintings to the competition, he answered: If you never try, you'll never know. Although my paintings did not win the competition, the advice was the most profound and valuable I have ever received from anyone.

After that my whole life was driven by the advice. As a kid I often used to say that I did not like something because of my prejudice, I used to estimate things according to their look from the outside. The advice changed everything. When there appeared new possibilities, after I have received the advice, I never hesitated to utilize them; I tried to be engaged in various eclectic fields. I found that "trial and error" method was not functional only in science, but it helped me a lot in my life. I often involved myself in spheres that seemed unfamiliar or bizarre to me. I was not always satisfied with the "trials", but the "errors" were priceless experiences. I got well-known with the fact that if I don't try, I'll never know what could have happened; and if I try, even if my attempt is fruitless, it gives me something costly: experience.