Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful?
"Get over it." As a child, I adhered to this bittersweet piece of advice given to me by my older sister, and have followed it for nearly ten years. This became my motto in life. Any fear, self doubt, or anxiety vanished with these three words. This approach may appear to be somewhat cynical, but it is more of a motivational factor that has pushed away all hurdles in my path.
Jump! Hurry up! Come down! This was the first time I heeded my sister's advice. As my neighbors shouted at me to jump off the tree I miraculously climbed, I froze. My knees locked up and my vision blurred behind tears. My nine year old body would surely be dismantled if I fell, but I knew I had to get down one way or the other. My grip tightened around the branch so hard the pine needles broke off. After a short mental debate with my sense of reasoning, I decided to simply get over it. Fear of falling had cornered me into this predicament and I figured it wasn't worth being feared. So I jumped. After that incident, a couple of bruised knees and scraped palms could not hold me back. My fear of heights was gone and that mentality transferred into every aspect of my life. In 2003, I was troubled when my family moved and I had to leave everything behind to start over. After an awful first day as the new kid in the fourth grade, I held on to my motto and got over it. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and made the best out of my new life. Five years later, I anxiously waited for the first day of high school. Receiving my acceptance letter into the specialty center at Cosby was the proudest moment of my eighteen years, as well as the most nerve-wrecking. My mind was clouded with negativity about not going to my home school and starting over in a place where I knew no one. Again, my motto helped me make the decision to accept submission into that school, a decision that set in motion the domino effect that led me to where I am today. My personal uniqueness is centered around my positive mindset. This characteristic is not necessarily difficult to attain, yet many people lack it. I do not make the mistake of underestimating the value of a positive outlook. There is a tremendous different between those who cry over a sprained wrist and those who shrug and move along. I could have spent the last four years ignoring piles of homework and sleeping in class, but I didn't. Yes, being in the specialty center and taking advanced classes entailed a great amount of extra effort but, just like everything else, I got over it. I knew all along that if I wanted to be the best of the best, then I would do what it took to get me there. There is no need to trouble the mind with thoughts of how, when, or why. I learned to go through each day with my goal in sight, and each day I move a bit closer. Plain and simple.
"Get over it." As a child, I adhered to this bittersweet piece of advice given to me by my older sister, and have followed it for nearly ten years. This became my motto in life. Any fear, self doubt, or anxiety vanished with these three words. This approach may appear to be somewhat cynical, but it is more of a motivational factor that has pushed away all hurdles in my path.
Jump! Hurry up! Come down! This was the first time I heeded my sister's advice. As my neighbors shouted at me to jump off the tree I miraculously climbed, I froze. My knees locked up and my vision blurred behind tears. My nine year old body would surely be dismantled if I fell, but I knew I had to get down one way or the other. My grip tightened around the branch so hard the pine needles broke off. After a short mental debate with my sense of reasoning, I decided to simply get over it. Fear of falling had cornered me into this predicament and I figured it wasn't worth being feared. So I jumped. After that incident, a couple of bruised knees and scraped palms could not hold me back. My fear of heights was gone and that mentality transferred into every aspect of my life. In 2003, I was troubled when my family moved and I had to leave everything behind to start over. After an awful first day as the new kid in the fourth grade, I held on to my motto and got over it. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and made the best out of my new life. Five years later, I anxiously waited for the first day of high school. Receiving my acceptance letter into the specialty center at Cosby was the proudest moment of my eighteen years, as well as the most nerve-wrecking. My mind was clouded with negativity about not going to my home school and starting over in a place where I knew no one. Again, my motto helped me make the decision to accept submission into that school, a decision that set in motion the domino effect that led me to where I am today. My personal uniqueness is centered around my positive mindset. This characteristic is not necessarily difficult to attain, yet many people lack it. I do not make the mistake of underestimating the value of a positive outlook. There is a tremendous different between those who cry over a sprained wrist and those who shrug and move along. I could have spent the last four years ignoring piles of homework and sleeping in class, but I didn't. Yes, being in the specialty center and taking advanced classes entailed a great amount of extra effort but, just like everything else, I got over it. I knew all along that if I wanted to be the best of the best, then I would do what it took to get me there. There is no need to trouble the mind with thoughts of how, when, or why. I learned to go through each day with my goal in sight, and each day I move a bit closer. Plain and simple.
