Hey guys I just finished my common app essay! Please tell me what you think about it so I can make changes to it.
Lugogo, Uganda - a serene football stadium that is home to Proline Soccer Academy- was where I met one of my closest friends, Isaac. There is a significant difference in our backgrounds. He is an underprivileged orphan whose parents passed away when he was still in his tenderness whereas I come from a middle-class Indian family. Language was a big barrier to our relationship as he could speak very limited English and I spoke broken Lunganda we still managed to express our thoughts and feelings.
I admire him as an individual because he never seems to give up. Despite the fact that his mother died while giving birth to him, his father was murdered when he was six and he is affected by HIV; he has managed to put all all these problems aside and has grown into a person who treats other people with respect, practices openness to new experiences and above all values each and every individual he meets I, on the other hand am more of an introvert, I keep my thoughts to myself, never having the courage to express and easily lose hope.
As time went by, our relationship became stronger and stronger, he used to stand up for me whenever the other kids at the training camp celled me names as I was one of the very few non-African players at the academy and I used to give him advice on how to handle certain issues as he was an extremely short tempered and easily used to get irritated when things didn't go his way. He used to cheer me up with his witty comments when I was down and I used to pull a few pranks on him when he wasn't aware. Small details like these had tightened our bonding. We both had common dream, wanting to become professional football players and enjoy the posh life of David Beckham
There was a day after training where he had got injured and was unable to walk, being his close friend I had taken the responsibility of taking him home. As soon as we reached his home I was shocked, shocked to see the poverty he was living in, it hurt me from the inside to see him living in a dirty shack. I also found out for a living he used to sell boiled maize in a taxi park to get him and his grandmother one satisfying meal.
Later that day I reached home, I got annoyed by the fact that I was taking a lot of things for granted at home while Isaac never had the privilege to take things for granted. He is put through so much suffering, but he was still well motivated to overcome his daily problems without complaining like any other individual. This was the incident that made me change my goal in life; I wanted to become a person who helped people like Isaac to bring a significant change to their lives.
In mid 2010 my parents sent me off to India to finish my high school education, at first I thought it would be hard for me to adapt to this new environment but instead I saw myself fitting in fine. I am finding it much simpler to interact with people and make new friends, handling myself calmly in rough situations and most of all appreciating people for who they are.
If it wasn't for my experiences with Isaac, I would be a very different person. My perspective of looking at other people would have been very different and I would be easily judgmental. Spending time with him has showed how to appreciate and individual and not come to a conclusion about the person after a first impression and treating people with the the respect they deserve to have. I may accept he never changed me into a perfect human being but he has a had a huge impact on a lot of areas in my life
This summer I went back home to visit my parents, after a long time I got the opportunity to meet Isaac, I was happy to see he was moving on in life. He had achieved his dream; he has become a professional football player who players for a Division II club in the Ugandan league. He had somehow got the club to sponsor his house and education. I was happy to see he was doing better in life while I am still chasing my dreams.
Lugogo, Uganda - a serene football stadium that is home to Proline Soccer Academy- was where I met one of my closest friends, Isaac. There is a significant difference in our backgrounds. He is an underprivileged orphan whose parents passed away when he was still in his tenderness whereas I come from a middle-class Indian family. Language was a big barrier to our relationship as he could speak very limited English and I spoke broken Lunganda we still managed to express our thoughts and feelings.
I admire him as an individual because he never seems to give up. Despite the fact that his mother died while giving birth to him, his father was murdered when he was six and he is affected by HIV; he has managed to put all all these problems aside and has grown into a person who treats other people with respect, practices openness to new experiences and above all values each and every individual he meets I, on the other hand am more of an introvert, I keep my thoughts to myself, never having the courage to express and easily lose hope.
As time went by, our relationship became stronger and stronger, he used to stand up for me whenever the other kids at the training camp celled me names as I was one of the very few non-African players at the academy and I used to give him advice on how to handle certain issues as he was an extremely short tempered and easily used to get irritated when things didn't go his way. He used to cheer me up with his witty comments when I was down and I used to pull a few pranks on him when he wasn't aware. Small details like these had tightened our bonding. We both had common dream, wanting to become professional football players and enjoy the posh life of David Beckham
There was a day after training where he had got injured and was unable to walk, being his close friend I had taken the responsibility of taking him home. As soon as we reached his home I was shocked, shocked to see the poverty he was living in, it hurt me from the inside to see him living in a dirty shack. I also found out for a living he used to sell boiled maize in a taxi park to get him and his grandmother one satisfying meal.
Later that day I reached home, I got annoyed by the fact that I was taking a lot of things for granted at home while Isaac never had the privilege to take things for granted. He is put through so much suffering, but he was still well motivated to overcome his daily problems without complaining like any other individual. This was the incident that made me change my goal in life; I wanted to become a person who helped people like Isaac to bring a significant change to their lives.
In mid 2010 my parents sent me off to India to finish my high school education, at first I thought it would be hard for me to adapt to this new environment but instead I saw myself fitting in fine. I am finding it much simpler to interact with people and make new friends, handling myself calmly in rough situations and most of all appreciating people for who they are.
If it wasn't for my experiences with Isaac, I would be a very different person. My perspective of looking at other people would have been very different and I would be easily judgmental. Spending time with him has showed how to appreciate and individual and not come to a conclusion about the person after a first impression and treating people with the the respect they deserve to have. I may accept he never changed me into a perfect human being but he has a had a huge impact on a lot of areas in my life
This summer I went back home to visit my parents, after a long time I got the opportunity to meet Isaac, I was happy to see he was moving on in life. He had achieved his dream; he has become a professional football player who players for a Division II club in the Ugandan league. He had somehow got the club to sponsor his house and education. I was happy to see he was doing better in life while I am still chasing my dreams.
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