This is my essay, topic A for UT Austin Please give constructive criticisms and grammar correction! Please and Thank you!
Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.
One cannot tell by simply looking at a human's face, whether he is expressing his true emotions or, shielding it with a mask. Emotions are like actions, one may not know if their intentions are sincere and genuine, or deceitful and sinister. Through my eighth grade education; I had a teacher who always screamed at me, and reprimanded me in front of the class when I failed my tests. In my perspective, this teacher disliked me and wanted to torture me. I was so naĂŻve to have missed the underlying message of her actions, the shouting was to make me work harder, and the embarrassment in front of the class showed that she knew what my abilities were. She was not Charles Manson, but a motivator and inspiration that made me work harder to achieve my goals, and pushed me to my fullest potential.
The first day of eighth grade was when I first met Ms. Krishnamurthy or Ms. "K". Ms. K was my algebra I and history teacher. My first impression of her was that she is a kind person, but my intuition told me that she is hiding another side. We got along well for the first few months, until one day she was in a bad mood which triggered the side that she has been shielding. I became the target for her to release her frustration upon. Whenever I made a seventy or below on a test, she reprimended me in front of the class. I can still feel the rush of embarrassment as everyone's eyes watch my face turn red. When I made an eighty on a test, she would say, "Tran, you can do better than this." I just shook my yes, but my mind responded saying, " I completed the test to the best of my knowledge." The turning point in our relationship occurred when I was entering into the class punctually, she yelled at me to get into my seat. I became frustrated at being her punching bag because I didn't understand why she has to direct her anger towards me. My reactions to this abuse were an attitude towards her whenever she got angry at me, and mocking the way she wrote her X's. Towards the end of my eighth grade year, she told me that I was a good student, but she never apologized for all those abuses that was thrust upon me. I realized that she was a great teacher because I passed the algebra exam, which would allow me to take geometry as a freshman.
The effect of the lesson of pushing to my fullest potiential happened immediately in my freshmen year, as I was trying out for the Longview High School volleyball team. I struggled to keep up with my teammates in volleyball. I kept on fighting as the running became harder, and the people were very skilled. I told myself that I have worked too hard to give up, I must keep on fighting. My hard work paid off as I found out that I made the team. I struggled in my first two years in volleyball because I had problems adjusting to my new teammates. But my coaches compliemented on my determination and work ethics. My work ethics led to two great seasons of volleyball, I was named most valuable player on the junior varsity, and was a starter on the varsity team. As the years progressed, my academics continued to remain in top shape, but what amazed me was making an A in Latin. This showed that through my hard work I was able to excel through my hard courses. I continue to challenge myself by taking AP Statistics, AP Biology, and AP U.S. Government. I want to push myself, so that I may be prepare for many challenges that I am going to encounter in the future.
My attitude has changed over the years. I was afraid of accepting challenges, and pushing hard because it required soul searching. Ms. K became my motivation to push myself because when I looked past her cruelty, I saw that she believed in my abilities, when I thought that I was hopeless. I realized that Ms. K knew what I was capable of, therefore she reprimanded me for the seventies I made, and push me to make an A whenever I made an eighty on a test. I used the push from Ms. K, and applied that throughout my high school life. Finding out that someone believed in me, gave me hope to push, and become successful. Without her, I would not have made it to all-regional finalist in art, and most valuable player in volleyball. These two areas required me to apply my full potential to succeed.
The summer of 2012, I went to visit her at my old middle school, to find out that she had left after I had left eighth grade. If I could see her one last time, I would tell her that she crushed me whenever she was in a bad mood. She left me confused, and angry at why I was a punching bag. But I would tell her that I have accomplished great things because of those abuses. I wouldn't have taken another look at my life, if she was not tough. I would thank Ms. K for being hard on me; it allowed me to see that I am capable of doing many things, if I push myself to do so.
