Describe, in less than 300 words, a short essay on a subject of personal importance to you. You may choose any topic. Examples include: an event which has influenced you or a family member/friend/person who had a significant influence on you:
For fifteen years, I have been living in my comfort zone and pampered by my parents. I used to be a self-centered and lazy person that relies on others to get things done. I can still recount the times I shed tears for I had disappointed my teachers, teammates as well as myself for screwing up in the National Chinese Orchestra Competition in 2006 mainly due to my incompetence and lazy attitude. I was haunted by disgrace and humiliation as I had put all my teammate's effort to waste. I took all the blames that were pointed at me. After this incident, I realised that life is not easy, there's a price for everything. I swore to work harder and do my best in tasks I have taken up, taking every day as a challenge. I also learned how to work as a team.
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. The incident helped me realized that success can only be obtained through hard work and sheer determination. Two years after that incident, I was destined to return to the competition, that year we were given another chance to perform on the same stage with the same team. That year our school emerged as the national champion, all because of our hard work. Other than excelling in co-curricular activities, I also studied hard in order to become a well rounded student. When I was studying form 6, I wasn't the brightest student in the class, I took much more time than others in understanding any concept and academic lessons. I had to attend tuition classes at night in order to catch up with my studies. All my effort was worthwhile as I excelled in my STPM exam and scored straight A's.
For fifteen years, I have been living in my comfort zone and pampered by my parents. I used to be a self-centered and lazy person that relies on others to get things done. I can still recount the times I shed tears for I had disappointed my teachers, teammates as well as myself for screwing up in the National Chinese Orchestra Competition in 2006 mainly due to my incompetence and lazy attitude. I was haunted by disgrace and humiliation as I had put all my teammate's effort to waste. I took all the blames that were pointed at me. After this incident, I realised that life is not easy, there's a price for everything. I swore to work harder and do my best in tasks I have taken up, taking every day as a challenge. I also learned how to work as a team.
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. The incident helped me realized that success can only be obtained through hard work and sheer determination. Two years after that incident, I was destined to return to the competition, that year we were given another chance to perform on the same stage with the same team. That year our school emerged as the national champion, all because of our hard work. Other than excelling in co-curricular activities, I also studied hard in order to become a well rounded student. When I was studying form 6, I wasn't the brightest student in the class, I took much more time than others in understanding any concept and academic lessons. I had to attend tuition classes at night in order to catch up with my studies. All my effort was worthwhile as I excelled in my STPM exam and scored straight A's.