This is an essay that discusses who am i and what do i want from college. The professor likes VERY VERY forumlaic essays. Very straight to the point, and does not care too much for "big, verbose" language.
College and I
Who am I? I feel outgoing, yet I feel timid. I have a sense of humor, yet I know when to be serious. I can be strong, but sometimes I am weak. Despite these conflicting traits that I possess, there are three main qualities that define me. I am a self-disciplined, determined, and a confident leader who wants to become an open minded, activated person in college while learning why things happen rather than simply how things happen.
I am self-disciplined. Being a self-disciplined individual has served me well as there have been an enormous amount of distractions that I have faced. High school was a change from the sheltered life I was used to living. High school offered me opportunities to smoke pot behind the gym, ditch class just for fun, and get drunk from a water bottle in class. Such temptations tested my ability to withstand the peer pressure that many others failed to resist. Throughout high school, I was determined to be effective and efficient in every activity I engaged in. When I was on the Varsity tennis team, president of the mock trial team, and vice president of the business club, I was swamped with an overwhelming amount of work. I had to rely on my self-discipline to ensure I stayed balanced with my five AP classes and extracurricular activities. I practiced time management as I focused on my school work first and then my additional activities. However, my personal life was lacking due to the amount of effort I put into my studies. I decided to put aside Friday and Saturday nights as my time to relax from anything work-related. I balanced work with play by going out with friends, visiting new places, and spending time with the family. I learned the importance of having an occasional leisure time aside from the continuous "rat race" of school. I know that this quality of self-discipline will guide me to become successful in college.
I am determined. From a young age, I have always strived to complete every obstacle that comes my way because my parents have always taught me to try my hardest. I believe that accomplishing the more difficult tasks, proves to be the most rewarding. In high school, I learned that the number one thing most adults feared was public speaking. Determined to not be a part of this generalization, I was the only freshmen to join the speech and debate class on campus. In a classroom setting of 15 students, I was the youngest and least experienced public speaker. Being a timid person, I found it tough and nerve wracking to voice my opinion in front of an audience. I struggled with every speech that I had to give, but I did not give up because I was determined to improve and learn a new skill. The more I struggled, the better I ended up executing on my speeches. Soon thereafter, I began to notice a vast improvement in my performance; to a point where I could speak in front of a live audience loud and clear, without hesitation. I walked into the class fearful of the unknown, and walked out with a personal sense of satisfaction. It was enough for me to realize that this same determined feeling is applicable to all aspects of my life. I now look at any challenging activity as a puzzle that is simply waiting to be solved.
I am a leader. I do not look to others to approve or disapprove own my actions, but rather look to others for guidance. Upon this guidance, I march to the beat of my drum. I am a leader because of my ability to break out of my "mold" and explore new things that others are fearful to try. Being president of my high school mock trial (law) team, I was always presented with new obstacles. My high school was very "sports-focused" and did not support academic clubs as strongly as athletics. I took it upon myself to visit numerous law firms to solicit support. Encouragingly, two firms: the Riverside District Attorney's office and the offices of Varner and Brandt accommodated our requests by offering funding and two pro bono lawyers to make our team successful. As we started to compete amongst 30 Southern California teams, we began to gain respect from other schools for our hard work and perseverance as we ranked in the top 25% of the schools. Our team was viewed as a real eye opener for local high students to show the importance of academics, teamwork and public speaking. I know that in college, I will be a leader and make an impact on others.
Due to these three characteristics that define me, I know what I want to gain out of my college experience.
I want to learn rather than memorize. Most people associate memorization with knowledge. But it's just not true. For the first time, I am determined to learn things, not simply memorize and accept things. As John Meiland supports, "The difference (between college and high school) is that college work requires that students engage in a different kind of intellectual activity, in addition to the activity of understanding the material that is presented." (Meiland, 2) One of the biggest differences that I have already seen in college, are the way my classes are presented. In chemistry, the teacher does not present the class with formulas and expect us to memorize them. Rather, he teaches us the concepts and expects us to apply them. I want to learn this from college because it will help me in the future. When joining the workforce, I will have to mold my knowledge from college to be applied to a multitude of situations. Memorization will not provide me an answer. Thus, learning the why, rather than just the how will further my role as a leader.
I want to become more open-minded in college. I am at a college where there are numerous people from different countries, cultures, and mindsets. I want to be exposed to this in order to make myself a better leader. I need to understand the theory of multiplicity which states that every person has their own perspectives to a situation. By being open minded, I will be able to reduce the natural tendency of being biased. I will be able to see both sides to a situation and clearly make the best objective decision. Mill supports this in his essay 'Of the liberty of though and Discussion" by stating that knowledge is fundamental to the growth of the self and society. (Mill, 23). This shows that by being more educated in others perspectives, that I am not only helping myself to grow, but to contribute back to society through being more open-minded and accepting. During the first weeks of school, I went out of my comfort zone and began to interact with people of different backgrounds. Initially, this was a difficult task for me as I have grown up in the same city my entire life. However, I convinced myself that I needed to break out of my comfort zone in order to gain the most out of University of the Pacific. Meeting new people has caused me to be exposed to a variety of mindsets, and customs. I am ready reach out of my comfort zone to become more open-minded in the way I retain knowledge, make new friends, and gain an optimistic attitude about life.
In college, I want to be more activated. In high school, many of the activities I did were fueled by the desire to get into a good college, rather than actual passion. Now that I am in college, I want to explore more of the clubs, volunteer work, and sports that I find intriguing. I want to become not only a part of these clubs, but activated in the clubs as a contributing individual to a certain cause. Rampton and Stauber support that activism is a path to enlightenment and enriches our lives through personal contact with informed, committed people - who are determined to make the world a better place. (R + S, 20) Therefore, I have already joined many clubs on campus that have an extremely strong appeal to me. However, I did not join these clubs (cancer-free, club scope, pre-dental etc) simply because it would strengthen my resume, but rather to satisfy a yearning to experience something new and become informed. I will make myself activated in college to prepare me for the future - to make the world a better place.
College is a place where I will refine and make my characteristics stronger. I know I am a determined, self-disciplined leader who is ready to improve from my experiences in college. I want college to be a learning place that pushes me out of my comfort zone to activate me for myself and society.
