Please be very critical and tell me if there are any awkward wording. Thanks!
Prompt: "Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?"
I'm standing in front of a door, nervous and sweaty. A million thoughts race through my mind. One of them is that I am afraid that she will reject me like the other organizations have. Anyhow, it is either now or never. Gripping the flyers tightly in my hand, almost wrinkling them, I robotically raise my fist and knock on the door. Knock, knock. I wipe my sweaty palms across the front of my jeans, not quite sure where I should place them. Suddenly, the door swings open and I plaster a smile onto my face. The time has come to engage full force with the Master Boss, quite literally.
Being nervous was one of the obstacles I had to face when I implemented my service project. That summer several of my friends and I established the Arts and Music Education Fun for Funds Club in order to give back to the public and inspire young children to learn music. As our first project, we planned a two week long music and arts camp for children in which all proceeds we earn would be donated to the school district and my high school band. One of the challenges I had was finding a venue. I wrote letters and met with managers of various daycares, activity centers, and churches. With all of them turning me down because of problems with liability, scheduling, or money, I felt like I would never be able to bring this project to fruition.
When my mom took me to visit her friend, it dawned on me that I had not thought to ask our family friend, who was also the owner of a daycare, to lend me a hand. I immediately took this opportunity my mom gave me to ask Mrs. Grace if she could provide a few rooms to host my camp. Surprisingly, she gladly agreed to let me borrow her facility. Relieved that I had finally found a place for my program, I believed that the rest of the work was already cut out for me.
However, my world came crashing down one night. As I was checking my email, two of the friends who found the club with me suddenly messaged me one after another, saying that they were quitting because they were too busy and they could not handle it anymore. I stare at the computer screen in horror, rereading everything over and over again. Their reasons seemed so simple and obvious, and even though I knew they had other priorities, I still couldn't believe it. We've spent so many nights perfecting everything together, but they have already given up, leaving only me and one other person. Not only did our productivity fall, but my sources of comfort also disappeared. That night, I cried, from frustration, disbelief, and despair that I could never finish what I've started.
While trying to decide what my new action plan would be, I realized that I could prove to my friends that I had what it takes to make this possible. I also knew that the pressure was not only on me, but also on my other friend. Trying to save whatever work and friendship we still had, I threw myself into action. Even though we had recruited volunteers, created forms, a flyer, and a website for our camp, I still needed to collect borrowed or donated instruments, plan the curriculum, make schedules for private lessons, find customers, and much more. I didn't let my insecurities overshadow my new responsibilities.
That summer, I raised over three thousand dollars by teaching children how to play music and make arts and crafts. To me, the amount of money I made didn't matter as much as the enjoyment and sense of accomplishment I felt when I saw children smile as they learned something that was not only enriching but fun. I feel like my character and my will has become stronger, harder to break. No matter what hardships I encounter, all I need is the courage to persevere. This isn't the end of my club, however. I'm not done trying to improve my community, nor do I expect to anytime soon. I'm looking forward to the next time something challenges me. After all, I know that in the end, I will come out as a better stronger person.
Prompt: "Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?"
I'm standing in front of a door, nervous and sweaty. A million thoughts race through my mind. One of them is that I am afraid that she will reject me like the other organizations have. Anyhow, it is either now or never. Gripping the flyers tightly in my hand, almost wrinkling them, I robotically raise my fist and knock on the door. Knock, knock. I wipe my sweaty palms across the front of my jeans, not quite sure where I should place them. Suddenly, the door swings open and I plaster a smile onto my face. The time has come to engage full force with the Master Boss, quite literally.
Being nervous was one of the obstacles I had to face when I implemented my service project. That summer several of my friends and I established the Arts and Music Education Fun for Funds Club in order to give back to the public and inspire young children to learn music. As our first project, we planned a two week long music and arts camp for children in which all proceeds we earn would be donated to the school district and my high school band. One of the challenges I had was finding a venue. I wrote letters and met with managers of various daycares, activity centers, and churches. With all of them turning me down because of problems with liability, scheduling, or money, I felt like I would never be able to bring this project to fruition.
When my mom took me to visit her friend, it dawned on me that I had not thought to ask our family friend, who was also the owner of a daycare, to lend me a hand. I immediately took this opportunity my mom gave me to ask Mrs. Grace if she could provide a few rooms to host my camp. Surprisingly, she gladly agreed to let me borrow her facility. Relieved that I had finally found a place for my program, I believed that the rest of the work was already cut out for me.
However, my world came crashing down one night. As I was checking my email, two of the friends who found the club with me suddenly messaged me one after another, saying that they were quitting because they were too busy and they could not handle it anymore. I stare at the computer screen in horror, rereading everything over and over again. Their reasons seemed so simple and obvious, and even though I knew they had other priorities, I still couldn't believe it. We've spent so many nights perfecting everything together, but they have already given up, leaving only me and one other person. Not only did our productivity fall, but my sources of comfort also disappeared. That night, I cried, from frustration, disbelief, and despair that I could never finish what I've started.
While trying to decide what my new action plan would be, I realized that I could prove to my friends that I had what it takes to make this possible. I also knew that the pressure was not only on me, but also on my other friend. Trying to save whatever work and friendship we still had, I threw myself into action. Even though we had recruited volunteers, created forms, a flyer, and a website for our camp, I still needed to collect borrowed or donated instruments, plan the curriculum, make schedules for private lessons, find customers, and much more. I didn't let my insecurities overshadow my new responsibilities.
That summer, I raised over three thousand dollars by teaching children how to play music and make arts and crafts. To me, the amount of money I made didn't matter as much as the enjoyment and sense of accomplishment I felt when I saw children smile as they learned something that was not only enriching but fun. I feel like my character and my will has become stronger, harder to break. No matter what hardships I encounter, all I need is the courage to persevere. This isn't the end of my club, however. I'm not done trying to improve my community, nor do I expect to anytime soon. I'm looking forward to the next time something challenges me. After all, I know that in the end, I will come out as a better stronger person.