Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
When I entered high school my freshman year, I remember writing a letter to myself about who I was to send to my future self. The pages of paper began to go one by one as I wrote about my friends, the TV shows I watched, and even what I ate. What I didn't write, simply because I avoided it, was what would hide behind a wall of emotions throughout half of my high school endeavors, my sexuality. This secret would continue to hide behind it's wall of lies until the summer before my junior year.
It was a blistering hot summer day in August, and the beach was bustling with people from all over. I sat on the boardwalk during my break at work and I stared out into the distance, watching anyone and everyone pass by me with grins bigger than anything I've ever seen. People were just enjoying being who they were, and where they were, something that I haven't personally taken a step back to observe.
"Am I happy where I am in life?" I thought to myself as my break began to end almost too soon.
The thought plagued me for the rest of the work day, and every time I did address the question, there would be one thing that would come out of hiding and slap me over and over, my sexuality. I went through each hour of my shift pushing the thought to the side, but when I put my punch-out card in the machine so I could leave, the question came back, only now with a friend.
"Am I happy where I am in life? Am I the person I want to be?"
At this point, I wanted to end this all, so on the car ride home I texted my best friend, Vivian, and asked her if she could talk to me later that night. She agreed, and I got home, thought long and hard about who I was, who I want to be, and where I am in life. I came to the conclusion in my bathroom in front of my mirror.
"I am gay." The room was completely silent, and I could feel the words echo throughout my whole body and break a part of the wall that was plaguing me for so much of my life. I look up and I see in the reflection someone new, someone I wanted to be, and it gave me the strength to say those three words to my best friend. When I did tell her those three words, I felt like a new person, and the wall was broken. I felt mature, and I felt like a true individual. Because of that day, I was able to enter my junior year of high school with the upmost confidence and pride of who I was, which felt liberating.
That hot day in August shaped my life, and who I am today. I learned to be proud of who I am, and not to let anyone force me to be someone I'm not. It shaped my culture, pushing me to become more involved in movements for sexual identity awareness and LGBTQ+ rights. It let me become an unique individual in my community and even when communicating with my peers. Most importantly, I became someone who doesn't hide behind lies like I did for nearly all of my life.
Any criticism is welcome! I really like this essay, but I'm afraid it doesn't match with this prompt.
Thank you so much!
When I entered high school my freshman year, I remember writing a letter to myself about who I was to send to my future self. The pages of paper began to go one by one as I wrote about my friends, the TV shows I watched, and even what I ate. What I didn't write, simply because I avoided it, was what would hide behind a wall of emotions throughout half of my high school endeavors, my sexuality. This secret would continue to hide behind it's wall of lies until the summer before my junior year.
It was a blistering hot summer day in August, and the beach was bustling with people from all over. I sat on the boardwalk during my break at work and I stared out into the distance, watching anyone and everyone pass by me with grins bigger than anything I've ever seen. People were just enjoying being who they were, and where they were, something that I haven't personally taken a step back to observe.
"Am I happy where I am in life?" I thought to myself as my break began to end almost too soon.
The thought plagued me for the rest of the work day, and every time I did address the question, there would be one thing that would come out of hiding and slap me over and over, my sexuality. I went through each hour of my shift pushing the thought to the side, but when I put my punch-out card in the machine so I could leave, the question came back, only now with a friend.
"Am I happy where I am in life? Am I the person I want to be?"
At this point, I wanted to end this all, so on the car ride home I texted my best friend, Vivian, and asked her if she could talk to me later that night. She agreed, and I got home, thought long and hard about who I was, who I want to be, and where I am in life. I came to the conclusion in my bathroom in front of my mirror.
"I am gay." The room was completely silent, and I could feel the words echo throughout my whole body and break a part of the wall that was plaguing me for so much of my life. I look up and I see in the reflection someone new, someone I wanted to be, and it gave me the strength to say those three words to my best friend. When I did tell her those three words, I felt like a new person, and the wall was broken. I felt mature, and I felt like a true individual. Because of that day, I was able to enter my junior year of high school with the upmost confidence and pride of who I was, which felt liberating.
That hot day in August shaped my life, and who I am today. I learned to be proud of who I am, and not to let anyone force me to be someone I'm not. It shaped my culture, pushing me to become more involved in movements for sexual identity awareness and LGBTQ+ rights. It let me become an unique individual in my community and even when communicating with my peers. Most importantly, I became someone who doesn't hide behind lies like I did for nearly all of my life.
Any criticism is welcome! I really like this essay, but I'm afraid it doesn't match with this prompt.
Thank you so much!