I'm just finishing it up, and I think it's ready to be sent in. Please give me some feedback...
STATEMENT 1: At a recent Commencement Mass, LMU's former President, Fr. Robert Lawton, S.J. said: ''So what is the answer to this deep insecurity we all feel? The answer, I think, is to embrace the adventure of becoming deeply, and fully, ourselves. This is what God is really calling us to. It seems like the riskiest of all journeys, this journey to be one self. But it's ultimately the journey that leads us to happiness, that leads us into God's dreams for us.''
QUESTION 1: Why do you think Fr. Lawton says the ''journey to be oneself'' seems the riskiest of all journeys? What risks lie ahead as you embark on your college career, and the ''adventure'' of discovering and becoming yourself?
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"You are your biggest critic", ''Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it", "Life is an echo. What you send you - you get back. What you give - you get." These may merely be clichés; however, these clichés embody what it is to embrace the journey in becoming ones self. Not one person on this planet can find me except for me, and it is up to me alone. This is the reason why this journey is the riskiest of them all; because it is traveled alone. Of course there are those who help along the way, educators, parents, peers, but ultimately, I am the only one with the eyes to find myself.
As I am about to embark on my college career, obviously a degree is the main goal in sight. But I'm not just going to college to earn a diploma; that is just the physical reward of getting an education. During my journey through college, I look to grow mentally and spiritually as well. My Sifu (martial arts instructor) has a quote famous throughout the academy: "Do you know what the biggest room in the world is? It is the room for improvement." Improvement is what I want to gain from my college career, betterment as a scholar and as a man.
College is the beginning of a sink-or-swim stage in life called adulthood, and I am very eager for this new challenge. Independence manifests the risks of this journey. During these formative years, I am going to have to bear 100% of the responsibility for myself, maintain my personal beliefs and values, and become the self-reliant, confident, and generous man that I know I will become. There will be influences surrounding me at all times, both good and bad, and it is up to me to recognize the differences. Decisions will have to be made, priorities will have to be set, and personal growth will occur. In the end, I know I can overcome these risks.
Though it is a given that the journey will be difficult, it is a necessity to fulfill myself to the fullest. Not taking or embracing the journey is equivalent to not accepting the challenge of life. Victories are only rewarding because of the obstacles that were overcome. If there is no internal debate over morals, necessity to rely upon myself, and only me, and growth academically, then have I really gone on the journey to become myself? No. It is the risks, and the ability to conquer them that makes the journey the journey, and what makes it worth it in the end.
I don't know if God has a plan for me, but I do know that I have a plan for myself, and I can depend on myself to follow through with the plan and the first step is a college education. The plan includes constant improvement, constant growth in knowledge and character.
I strive on and yet, I always find myself sitting in the same room, the room for improvement.
I also am writing one of the LMU essays (different topic).
I really liked your essay. I feel that the three phrases listed below do not read as soomthly as the rest of your essay. Just my suggestion... :)
Very nice, though.
Good Luck!
the eyes to find myself.
it is a necessity to fulfill myself to the fullest
necessity to rely upon myself, and only me,
