kuhrect
Jan 8, 2014
Undergraduate / 'Sitting in my first conference I was nervous.' Common App Essay: on Failure [2]
Prompt: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
Essay:
Sitting in my first conference I was nervous. I had never experienced something like it. Everyone was gathered around a large round table, all sitting in big brown rolling chairs. I was amazed at all the creative ideas everyone was pitching, it was a free flow ideas. Out of nowhere I heard "Robert what are your thoughts?" I was stunned, my very first conference and they wanted my opinion. I had many good ideas running though my head but I was reluctant to say them. What if it was a bad idea, what if I was ridiculed, and those were the thoughts going through my head. I simply responded "No, I have nothing to say". They moved on, and I sat there in disappointment.
During the summer I landed an internship at a small tech company just 15 minutes from my house. I was excited to quickly get started. Starting on the first day I was tasked to help design a website targeted to help other students manage their time. Being the only high school student at this company, I was very timid. At many different points I received many complements of my quality of work. But for some reason I still had some self-doubt in me. Throughout my life I have always self-doubted my ability both intellectually and physically. For many years I played competitive soccer, but besides all my accomplishments , I always doubted my level of play.
The reason I felt so disappointed about not speaking was because I actually had good ideas to be made. Naturally I am very quiet and conscientious. This was not the first time something similar has happen to me. Being a quiet person I tend not to open up to other people about what I am thinking. But until that conference I never really thought anything of it. That day I had an epiphany about voicing my opinion. It made me look into myself, and realize that I do have good ideas worth sharing. I realized that I had to stop doubting myself. After that I began to slowly start inputting my thoughts not only at my internship but in other places also. I learned that people do want to hear other people's opinions. Whenever I voiced my opinion I got positive feedback even if it wasn't the best idea.
That day of my first conference had a very big effect on me. It showed me that holding back your ideas is never a good idea. Although to some people this may seem like a minor event, it had a profound touch on my actions. I now truly believe that I have increasingly improved on getting rid of my self-doubt and began voicing who I really am.
Prompt: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
Essay:
Sitting in my first conference I was nervous. I had never experienced something like it. Everyone was gathered around a large round table, all sitting in big brown rolling chairs. I was amazed at all the creative ideas everyone was pitching, it was a free flow ideas. Out of nowhere I heard "Robert what are your thoughts?" I was stunned, my very first conference and they wanted my opinion. I had many good ideas running though my head but I was reluctant to say them. What if it was a bad idea, what if I was ridiculed, and those were the thoughts going through my head. I simply responded "No, I have nothing to say". They moved on, and I sat there in disappointment.
During the summer I landed an internship at a small tech company just 15 minutes from my house. I was excited to quickly get started. Starting on the first day I was tasked to help design a website targeted to help other students manage their time. Being the only high school student at this company, I was very timid. At many different points I received many complements of my quality of work. But for some reason I still had some self-doubt in me. Throughout my life I have always self-doubted my ability both intellectually and physically. For many years I played competitive soccer, but besides all my accomplishments , I always doubted my level of play.
The reason I felt so disappointed about not speaking was because I actually had good ideas to be made. Naturally I am very quiet and conscientious. This was not the first time something similar has happen to me. Being a quiet person I tend not to open up to other people about what I am thinking. But until that conference I never really thought anything of it. That day I had an epiphany about voicing my opinion. It made me look into myself, and realize that I do have good ideas worth sharing. I realized that I had to stop doubting myself. After that I began to slowly start inputting my thoughts not only at my internship but in other places also. I learned that people do want to hear other people's opinions. Whenever I voiced my opinion I got positive feedback even if it wasn't the best idea.
That day of my first conference had a very big effect on me. It showed me that holding back your ideas is never a good idea. Although to some people this may seem like a minor event, it had a profound touch on my actions. I now truly believe that I have increasingly improved on getting rid of my self-doubt and began voicing who I really am.
