Questbridge essay #2: Describe an experience that caused you to change your perspective or opinion.
Leading up to my sixteenth birthday, my parents never failed to remind me to enjoy my freedom, because soon they would be putting me to work. In a family where each additional dollar determines whether you get McDonalds or an actual nutritious meal, children have to pull their weight. Thus I was thrust in to the uncertain world of job hunting. Searching for a job has many nerve-wracking components all leading up to the harrowing interview. When I got the call that I had received an interview for a local restaurant called Steak-Out, I was initially very excited but then the wave of anxiety soon followed. Most aspects of the interview did not phase me; however, I was almost catatonic from distress over the interview questions. My anxiety caused me to spend hours scouring google for the most popular questions asked and then even more hours standing in front of the mirror reciting my responses. Every question was fairly straight-forward till I came to the one that was the catalyst for my first existential crisis. What are my biggest weaknesses? I felt like this question was a catch-22. The interviewer wants to know my weaknesses, but any answer I give could hurt my chance since weaknesses are seen as inherently unfavorable things. I went through all of my weaknesses with the feeling of impending doom. I am a perfectionist, almost to the point of neuroticism. My self-confidence on a scale from one to ten has never reached a five. I am not a genius by any means, and all of my success has come from hours of hard work. Going through all of my weaknesses and trying to pinpoint which one would make an appropriate answer, quickly made me feel incapable. Once the heavy breathing of a rising panic attack started, my yogi of a father stepped in to give me his words of wisdom which have stuck with me ever since. He told me that my weakness was not my weaknesses, but it was that I was allowing myself to think it terms of weaknesses. I had wrote myself off from the moment I started thinking of my flaws. By becoming focused in all the things I could not do, I forgot what I was capable of, and what I was capable of overcoming. This led to a new era in my development. Indeed, I am a perfectionist by nature, but I do not have to let my limits limit me. I still am often unsure of myself, but now I take a deep breath and trust my instincts and my resolve. I may not be a math whiz, but I make up for it in dedication and work ethic. These days whenever asked I say my biggest weakness is that I do not let myself think in terms of weaknesses. As long as I maximize my abilities and try to overcome my limitations, I am more than content with my faults.
Leading up to my sixteenth birthday, my parents never failed to remind me to enjoy my freedom, because soon they would be putting me to work. In a family where each additional dollar determines whether you get McDonalds or an actual nutritious meal, children have to pull their weight. Thus I was thrust in to the uncertain world of job hunting. Searching for a job has many nerve-wracking components all leading up to the harrowing interview. When I got the call that I had received an interview for a local restaurant called Steak-Out, I was initially very excited but then the wave of anxiety soon followed. Most aspects of the interview did not phase me; however, I was almost catatonic from distress over the interview questions. My anxiety caused me to spend hours scouring google for the most popular questions asked and then even more hours standing in front of the mirror reciting my responses. Every question was fairly straight-forward till I came to the one that was the catalyst for my first existential crisis. What are my biggest weaknesses? I felt like this question was a catch-22. The interviewer wants to know my weaknesses, but any answer I give could hurt my chance since weaknesses are seen as inherently unfavorable things. I went through all of my weaknesses with the feeling of impending doom. I am a perfectionist, almost to the point of neuroticism. My self-confidence on a scale from one to ten has never reached a five. I am not a genius by any means, and all of my success has come from hours of hard work. Going through all of my weaknesses and trying to pinpoint which one would make an appropriate answer, quickly made me feel incapable. Once the heavy breathing of a rising panic attack started, my yogi of a father stepped in to give me his words of wisdom which have stuck with me ever since. He told me that my weakness was not my weaknesses, but it was that I was allowing myself to think it terms of weaknesses. I had wrote myself off from the moment I started thinking of my flaws. By becoming focused in all the things I could not do, I forgot what I was capable of, and what I was capable of overcoming. This led to a new era in my development. Indeed, I am a perfectionist by nature, but I do not have to let my limits limit me. I still am often unsure of myself, but now I take a deep breath and trust my instincts and my resolve. I may not be a math whiz, but I make up for it in dedication and work ethic. These days whenever asked I say my biggest weakness is that I do not let myself think in terms of weaknesses. As long as I maximize my abilities and try to overcome my limitations, I am more than content with my faults.
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