Undergraduate / 'Senior Year' Georgetown essay- it is too long what should I cut? [3]

Senior Year is about the future. Everyone's talking about what they are doing after high school and with their lives. There is a lot to do and many plans., all leading up to the inevitable- moving day. A lot of people are worried about moving away from the comfort of a their home state. And though I'm nervous about the changes, I know I'll be ready for the challenge because I've done it before.

I remember this feeling three years ago as I approached my new school, nervous but excited about opportunity. My dad is a Marine, and our family was moved 1500 miles from small town North Carolina to Fort Worth, Texas in the middle of freshman year.

Keller High School was a huge three-story brick building that sprawled for what seemed like miles. The main parking lot alone was hundreds of sports cars wedged between huge trucks. As I walked in the doors I knew starting over would be hard, but I dreamed that the school would be abuzz with the rumors of the tall brunette girl from up north.

First stop was guidance. I whisked through, quickly put into completely different classes than those I was taking. Honors classes were replaced with high level AP's because Keller did not offer the former. After, Jessie, a perky blonde senior with a slow southern drawl, showed me the school informing me "it has 3 gyms, 3 parking lots, and a football stadium big enough to hold 10,000 people." Coming from a school of 400 I felt overwhelmed.. I was deposited at my locker and left, clutching a map, to find my way around. I prayed that I wouldn't get lost on my first day. Then the bell rang, and the halls filled with a sea of 3000 students.

I studied the students around me, wondering how two schools could be so different. In North Carolina, I knew everyone. I knew the right way to talk, what to wear, how to act. I had four best friends, and we spent all our time together, studying, going to class, and hanging out. We knew our whole neighborhood, and we were free to walk or ride our bikes all over base, to the pool, movie theatre or local convenience store. School was easy, with few advanced level classes offered and plenty of people to study with.

Life in Keller was the complete opposite.. The girls walked to class, carrying their Coach bags and dressed in brand name blingy jeans I had never seen before, clutching sonic cups.. The boys were huge, strutting around in letter jackets and cowboy boots. I shuffled through the day, barely noticed. I wasn't new and exciting but another face in the crowd. Most of the kids had gone to school together for years, some since kindergarten. If a student didn't recognize you they assumed you had just never met, and were happy to keep it that way. I stood there a study in opposites. My wardrobe, accent, even hair did not fit in, yet no one really noticed me. I stared at the classroom clock's black hands, wishing for the moment when I could climb in the car and say " The was a HUGE mistake- Let's go Home!" The excitement that I had felt coming to Texas had turned into deep regret . Even after school at swimming, a sport I loved, had become a strange place where I found no comfort. I swam with younger kids, unable to keep up with those my own age and unused to the intensity. My new team was huge, with hundreds of fast kids from all over North Texas. Compare to North Carolina, where my team was small, 20 kid team swimming together a few times a week.

For a long time I hated Texas, I hated the military and my parents for moving me. I believed I would never acclimate, that it would never be home. But over the next few months, I learned a lot. I learned to join in. I moved up swim groups, and made friends. I made the high school team. It was great to be part of a motivated group. Keller taught me to push myself . I realized that I had not challenged myself in NC because winning was easy. I learned to succeed in school. The curriculum at Keller was much more advanced than in North Carolina with AP classes offered much earlier. Classes were hard and fast paced, with no one to coddle you... I studied hard to catch up and worked smarter. I also enjoyed the challenge. I met people and pursued new interests through clubs. And as time passed, school got better. And just like that ,when I felt like Texas was home, it happened again. My dad got orders to Rhode Island. I was thrown back into the world wind of unknown. School, swimming, friends, I would have to start over . But this time I was ready for the challenge. The move to Texas taught me to take the risk and jump right in in RI. I got involved with my school and took the hard classes. I challenged myself to swim my fastest and helped lead my high school team to a second place finish at the state meet. I am the team captain after only one year. Looking back, moving was the best thing for me. I was quickly and unceremoniously dumped outside of my comfort zone, and I had to adapt to my new surroundings. For a while it was hard, but the difficulty has also taught me a lot my own inner strength. I learned to reach out, make friends, and seek things that interest me without the security of the familiar.

And so as I hear my peers express their fears of moving away, moving on, I don't' share those same feelings. I know that I am ready. I have always moved where the military has sent my dad. I am excited that this next step is my choice. I am not worried about being too far from home. Texas taught me that I will make my home wherever I am.

Undergraduate / Georgetown essay on what activity or sport do you participate in- concerned about length [2]

My wailing alarm pierces the air. I roll over in bed, holding on to the last bit of warmth from the blanket wrapped around me. My mind shouts, "You can do this," even as my body aches for more sleep. I hear my coaches voice calling, "Time to get up! Time to work hard! Every morning you sleep is a morning your opponents beat you!". My eyelids droop as I eat a Hot Pocket and drink chocolate milk (the breakfast of champions), before I saunter to my car, bag in hand. I scrape ice off my window and shiver as I exhale fog into the cold air. Though it's only fall, the weather does not notice. I pull my ugly fleece lined parka, a must have for morning practice, around me.. As I stare through my windshield at the stars shining in the black sky, I ready myself. This is my last chance to go back to bed. Instead, I start my car and drive, sarcastically grateful for the poor heating my old Volvo provides,. The cold air blasts through the vents keeping me awake. It's just me, the delivery trucks, and a few deer poking out from the trees. I pull into the lonely parking lot and sit, soaking up the last minutes of peace before I wake every cell in my body by plunging into frigid water. As I rub my eyes, I notice how dark my surroundings are: the pool doors are closed, no lights are on, and there are no other cars around me. I quickly grab my phone-maybe I missed the blessed text that says practice has been cancelled. I could go home, crawl into my bed, and gain a few extra minutes of precious shuteye before school. I grin at the thought, turning up the radio's volume. I finally notice the time. It is 2:30 AM. 2:30? How can that be? I have somehow gone all the way through my morning routine 3 hours early. I am both angry and elated. It might be 2 in the morning, but that means I have a full 3 hours of sleep to go. I set my phone alarm (I pray this time it will work correctly), and pull up the hood of my parka, happy that I still have time to sleep.

Beyond the rare glitch when telling time, I love swimming. It has been my haven, my support, my focus and my family in many ways, for as long as I can remember. Even when moving from state to state, it provided me with a sense of normalcy and a source for quickly forming friendships. During high school, I moved to 3 different schools in 3 different states. Swimming was always my safety net. It helped me to meet a welcoming group of people as I moved from a school of 400 to a sea of 4200 students, and then to a school of 1200. Swimmers have a common understanding of early morning workouts, 20 hour weeks in the pool, and long weekends at swim meets, all of which provide for great friendships and fierce loyalty. Even when competing as rivals, we remain true to our friendships. Last year, 7 girls from my USA team competed as rivals for 5 different high schools at the Rhode Island State Meet. Despite the fact that we were competing for different teams, we all supported, cheered, and celebrated each other's wins because of our bond.

Swimming has provided me with a routine and a pattern to my life. I have embraced being an early riser, even in the summer when my classmates sleep. I have learned to manage and balance my schoolwork, knowing that I am obligated to be at the pool every afternoon. The physical activity keeps me in shape, and the workouts provide me with discipline.

Through swimming, I have learned to set goals, work to achieve them and take pride in what I have accomplished. Last year, I set the goals of being all-state, making goal times and qualifying for sectionals. Along the way, I took risks in the pool by learning to swim my races differently and pushing myself to be better. I reaped the rewards by accomplishing my goals. I placed 2nd at the RI state meet, traveled to New York and North Carolina for zones and sectional meets and accomplished my goal times. I have assumed a leadership role this year as the captain of my high school team. I want to help encourage our team as a whole to set goals and work hard to achieve them. I am very excited to teach others what I have learned from swimming.

In the end, every swimmer reaches a point when they question why they do it and whether the sacrifice is worth it. Ultimately, some feel the benefits and rewards do not outweigh the sacrifices that must be made, and so they quit. I too have had many internal battles over the things I miss because of swimming. Repeating lap after lap in the pool is physically hard, emotionally tiring and, at times, mind numbing. But, I believe the lessons I have learned from swimming, including loyalty to friends, a strong work ethic, and an ability to push myself beyond what is possible to accomplish my goals, make all the sacrifices worth it. I have not yet accomplished my ultimate goal, which is to continue to swim competitively through college. I am excited for a new aspect of competition, along with meeting a new group of teammates who are willing to work hard for their goals and believe that determination and perseverance are what it takes to achieve them. Swimming has taught me all of these values, and to always carry a sleeping bag in my car-just in case.