This is my UF essay.
Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.
It was a bit of a slap in the face when I walked into the emergency room with a chest pain I thought was insignificant, but was unable to walk out when told that the pain I had been withholding for five days was in reality a collapsed left lung. In five seconds, my parent-forced, humorous thirty minute hospital visit abruptly took a new course into a two week nightmare not only because of the health hazard, but also because I entered the hospital two weeks before AP testing.
I was enrolled in four AP classes, so the upcoming tests were throbbing in the back of my mind - even while a ten inch suction was tube jabbed through my aching ribs and into my lung cavity. If I was not in ruthless pain, I was induced with strong pain medications that put me to sleep - both scenarios making it difficult to perform everyday tasks, such as eating, let alone studying. After several attempts to naturally heal my lung, the doctors decided I would have surgery, with a mandatory stay-home recovery time of two weeks - which meant regular AP testing was out of the question. Now, with a month of absence from school, deciding whether I should take the makeup tests or not became an internal battle.
My parents, doctors, and even teachers told me not to be concerned about the tests, that my health was more important, and that situations like these were beyond my control. Some told me that if I did not pass the makeup tests I should not blame myself, but instead blame the inconveniently "popped" lung and the pain medication. Others were telling me to not even take the makeup exams, and that colleges would understand. All of these suggestions seemed to soothe me with the comfort that I was longing for. This newly found reassurance eventually swayed me into believing that passing the exams was impossible under the given circumstances. Before I realized it, I found myself repeating these words of relief to others just to hear them reaffirm my helpless position. I found myself making excuses.
It's as if I was embracing the consolation given by my surroundings to find justification for failure; I was conforming. I realized that, although sometimes unpleasant incidents will be beyond my control, how far I let the incidents limit my capability is entirely up to me. Life will sometimes creates hardships that act as obstacles between me and my goals; however, I can attain my goals by not cultivating boundaries and edges of conformity around what I can accomplish. Through this experience, I decided that I will allow no excuses or scapegoats when facing the countless obstacles in life, but accept full responsibility for achieving the best possible outcome by letting my will and integrity shine through. I will not jeopardize progress because of an innate human desire to remain in my comfort zone. This is how I will enter UF - with this resolute, unrelenting attitude.
Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.
It was a bit of a slap in the face when I walked into the emergency room with a chest pain I thought was insignificant, but was unable to walk out when told that the pain I had been withholding for five days was in reality a collapsed left lung. In five seconds, my parent-forced, humorous thirty minute hospital visit abruptly took a new course into a two week nightmare not only because of the health hazard, but also because I entered the hospital two weeks before AP testing.
I was enrolled in four AP classes, so the upcoming tests were throbbing in the back of my mind - even while a ten inch suction was tube jabbed through my aching ribs and into my lung cavity. If I was not in ruthless pain, I was induced with strong pain medications that put me to sleep - both scenarios making it difficult to perform everyday tasks, such as eating, let alone studying. After several attempts to naturally heal my lung, the doctors decided I would have surgery, with a mandatory stay-home recovery time of two weeks - which meant regular AP testing was out of the question. Now, with a month of absence from school, deciding whether I should take the makeup tests or not became an internal battle.
My parents, doctors, and even teachers told me not to be concerned about the tests, that my health was more important, and that situations like these were beyond my control. Some told me that if I did not pass the makeup tests I should not blame myself, but instead blame the inconveniently "popped" lung and the pain medication. Others were telling me to not even take the makeup exams, and that colleges would understand. All of these suggestions seemed to soothe me with the comfort that I was longing for. This newly found reassurance eventually swayed me into believing that passing the exams was impossible under the given circumstances. Before I realized it, I found myself repeating these words of relief to others just to hear them reaffirm my helpless position. I found myself making excuses.
It's as if I was embracing the consolation given by my surroundings to find justification for failure; I was conforming. I realized that, although sometimes unpleasant incidents will be beyond my control, how far I let the incidents limit my capability is entirely up to me. Life will sometimes creates hardships that act as obstacles between me and my goals; however, I can attain my goals by not cultivating boundaries and edges of conformity around what I can accomplish. Through this experience, I decided that I will allow no excuses or scapegoats when facing the countless obstacles in life, but accept full responsibility for achieving the best possible outcome by letting my will and integrity shine through. I will not jeopardize progress because of an innate human desire to remain in my comfort zone. This is how I will enter UF - with this resolute, unrelenting attitude.
