Undergraduate / My primary goal is to major in mass communications and get involved in the field of journalism [2]

Prompt with 250 word max limit: As you start your college career, what is your primary goal as a student and how have you prepared to meet this goal, how do you plan to succeed, how do you feel you will do at VCU?

My primary goal as a student is to major in mass communications and get involved in the field of journalism. I want to expand upon the basic foundation of my education I have received up until this point. I took photojournalism at my school and joined the crew of my school's morning announcements, G-News, in order to help me prepare for my goal. This allowed me to gain insight into the changing environment of journalism on a novice level, but still gaining valuable experience that will lead to achieving credentials as a professional journalist one day. Since I loved filming and editing videos so much from being in photojournalism, I started a YouTube channel in which I film and edit short videos. I also signed up for Yearbook to further my interest in journalism by covering events and interviewing people at my school. To achieve my goal, I will be dedicated and driven in my major. Journalism is not easy because it can be very nerve-wracking being on camera, being behind the scenes, or covering an event. I will not let these fears get to me and I will put myself out there, as I did by creating my YouTube channel and being a reporter for my school. I feel that I will thrive at VCU because it's a very diverse and open-minded college that enriches the students. VCU will allow me to use the skills I have at hand and improve upon them throughout the next four years.

All feedback is welcome, ESPECIALLY on any grammar issues you see, please point them out and help with corrections if you see them. I'm pretty content with what I wrote, my deadline is Thursday and I'm just making sure everything is as perfect as can be!

Undergraduate / I was in a cheering sea of red - my first football game - essay about challenging situation [3]

Please provide feedback on any grammar issues you might spot. I'm pretty confident about what I have written, (after perfecting it for like five months and having NUMEROUS people read over it) but I just want to have at least one more person read over these for grammar issues, but any other constructive criticism is welcomed as well!

Word limit on both is 250 max.

1st prompt:
(Describe a challenging situation you've faced. Briefly state the situation, how you responded and why, would you have done anything differently, has it affected or shaped who you are today?)

I was in a cheering sea of red. The laughter of my schoolmates in the stadium echoed for miles. I wasn't as excited as my peers as I experienced my first football game. Anxiety was the only thing I could feel. I was not used to loud crowds and people screaming in your ear. I tried to tell myself it was part of the experience but I was at the game for less than an hour before I left.My social anxiety has been an uphill battle since I was 10. My social skills have strengthened over the years because I put myself in situations that required me to interact with others. From joining multiple clubs, to competing in competitions, to helping out my community, I've taken baby steps to increase my social awareness. When a baby first starts walking, it usually falls a lot and gets frustrated. Just like a baby, that's what happened to me. I would fail at being social and it would frustrate me. Nevertheless, babies get back up when they fall and that's what I did. I would get back up and try again. Social anxiety is a never-ending ride of mistakes but I've learned from them.My first football game told me two things. 1. I really don't like football. 2. Every experience, may it be bad or good, shapes who I am today for the better because I learn and grow from it.

MOD comment:One essay at one time is allowed, sorry

Undergraduate / I signed up and paid my five dollar dues to join DECA - College essay for VCU [4]

Feedback would be very much welcome, be honest and don't be afraid to point out grammatical errors or just anything that doesn't sound right. I'm honestly not even close to being a decent writer and this is sort of a rough draft so any and all help is welcome! I honestly don't even know if what I wrote makes sense, sounds right, or anything and I just don't resonate with any of the other common app prompts and if I do I can't talk about them in detail/at length.

I chose the prompt: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

As my teacher explained that as students in a marketing class, everyone would have the chance to join DECA, all I can recall thinking is, "What is DECA?" In hindsight, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up and paid my five dollar dues to join. After the induction ceremony, my teacher suggested I compete at Districts. Still not knowing what the purpose of DECA was, I decided to do research on the organization. The goal of DECA is to: "prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe." The definition was clear enough to me and despite my wariness of competition and uncertainty in my own ability, I agreed to take the chance.

About two weeks prior to the competition at Districts I began practicing with my sister for my event, restaurant & food service. We rehearsed my responses twice daily for several different scenarios I would potentially face. I would only have five minutes to read over a prompt of a business scene and prepare what I would say. For example, if and by the night before the competition, I was feeling confident. This newfound conviction lasted right up until I actually arrived at the event, when I felt the weight of nerves settle in the pit of my stomach. I felt deeply apprehensive as I waited for my name to be called. Were khakis too casual for this sort of event? I was a novice competing against every school in my district: what had I been thinking? Before I knew it, my name was called and the too short five minutes to read and prepare my responses had ended. Desperately, I tried to memorize a planned response like I had practiced with my sister, but when the time came to answer the judges' query, my answers contained nothing preplanned.

Consequently, I found that giving frank, sincere responses helped me feel more at ease. Once I had answered all the judges' questions, I realized I no longer felt nervous at all and was actually entirely content with my performance.

In the end, placing first in my event was not the defining win of the night for me; I had won the battle against the voice in the back of my head that had told me I would never win anything. I had stepped out of my comfort zone by going to the competition, and I had not only succeeded at the task at hand, but had fun and learned about myself while doing it. I would not have won Districts if I hadn't of been dedicated to preparing for the competition because even though my confidence and relaxed demeanor aided in my win, without having the background knowledge of the event, I would have been at a major disadvantage.

More importantly, while this accomplishment might seem minuscule to some people, it was a huge feat for me because it was the first award I'd ever won in my entire high school career and I realized that if I gave it my all in something, I could truly achieve any goal I set my mind to. You have to work for what you want, it won't just come to you. That's the difference between being a kid and an adult. Being an adult means you have to earn what you seek versus when you are a kid, you don't have to work for much. I was a child once who was afraid to step out of their shell and that lacked the confidence, motivation, and trust in myself to obtain what I desired. Now I am an adult who is honestly still afraid to step out of their shell from time to time, but now I have the confidence, motivation, and trust in myself to conquer my goals without fear.