"People judge you based on what they want you to be" - experience Common App

The Topic
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

My grandma used to tell me, "People judge you based on what they want you to be. But it does not change who you are and who you can be." When I entered high school people that did not really know me doubted my abilities, both academically and athletically. However, I always knew who I was and how hard I would work each day.

During my sophomore year of football I was placed on Junior Varsity. My head coach never gave me shot, telling me I was too small. Throughout my life I was always the smallest player on the field, so I had to play especially hard to have success. My sophomore year did not present any opportunities, so all I could do was continue to work hard and be ready when the time came. There was another setback during my junior year. My mom had lost her job and I was unable to play that year. Senior year began the same as sophomore year, and quite frankly, it was frustrating. The coaches dismissed me for my size, but I kept telling myself this time would be different. During a preseason tournament at Rutgers, the starter in front of me struggled to cover a wide receiver during a crucial game. I was called in to replace him. I knew this was the moment and it might be my only chance to prove I could play. I went on to have several interceptions and many big plays. We won that game and finished in the top 16 out of 84 teams, which was a big accomplishment. I still fought hard to keep my starting position and ended up earning 1st Team All-League and All-County Honorable Mention. The Rutherford Bulldogs finished 10-1 with an undefeated regular season, but lost in the State Semi-Finals. It was Rutherford's first league title in several years.

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Other than sports, school itself presented another situation for me. In high school, students are judged on who their friends and what clubs they join . My classmates used to tell me , "How did you get an A? You are not smart. You do not even study." They based their judgments on who my friends were and the sports I played. However, these people did not know that I got home at 7:30 after sports and studied past midnight on most days. I remember specifically a day of my freshman year in Honors English when a classmate asked me, "Why are you even in this class?" The tone she said it with and the fact that she said it in front of several classmates truly hurt me. It was only the first couple of weeks of the year, and I did not even know the name of this girl. This experience bothered me for a while. It stuck with me, but it did not change what I thought of myself. She had no idea the kind of person I was and am. Maybe I could not change her opinion, but maybe her opinion simply did not matter. I kept working hard, and earned maximum honors every year.

For my entire life I have been prematurely judged again and again by people that do not know me. Based on first impressions, they assumed my characteristics, doubted how far I could excell in activities and studies, and how hard I worked to become who I am. However, what doubters said or thought did not change the person I was, and the person I strove and am striving to become.

Good luck!

They based their judgments off of on who my friends were and the sports I played.

This is a powerful essay! I am grateful that you posted it, because I think it will make a lot of other people feel better about their own potential. You wrote this in a way that captures a powerful feeling of frustration, but you also express powerful determination.

To give it a little more detail, I think you might want to tell about how this experience affects you. Certainly, you will not do to others what was done to you... you will not judge people prematurely. But is there something more? You mention the "person you are striving to become," so maybe you could tell the reader how this experience of being prematurely judged affects the development of the personality of that person you are striving to become.

:-)