The MIT prompt A
Tell us about an experience which, at the time, really felt like "the end of the world" -- but had it not happened, you would not be who you are today. Describe the process through which you discovered value in the negative.
I really liked my ideas for this essay, but everytime I write it, it feels like I am not expressing what I want to get across.
A Unity of Worlds
"Why are you crying?" I gazed into my mother's caring eyes as we walked away from the football field. No words could explain the way I felt.
My mind wandered to the moment when my journey began. I recalled my sophomore football season ending abruptly when I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). In a split-second on the field, my whole world collapsed before my eyes. It was the world of football that I diligently built with countless hours of hard work, the only world I possessed. Before the incident, I dedicated all of my time and efforts into making myself a better athlete, but in the days following my injury I could not help but wonder what was to become of me. I was a football player, yet I couldn't play football. I had no choice but to have surgery and start attending physical therapy; I needed to rebuild my world piece by piece.
I desperately wanted to return to my world of football, I could not even lift a one-pound weight after surgery. Thoughts raced through my mind. Would I ever play football again? Would I even be able to walk? In my darkest moment, I found light from a different world.
That is how I started to attend math club. It was not that I gave upon football, but rather that I came to terms with my injury. I planned to work hard and return to football as soon as I was ready, but in the meantime I would make the most of my time.
Math had been my favorite subject since I was a little boy, but football had always taken precedence in my life. Consequently, I was surprised to find that my experiences at math club ran parallel to my experiences on the football field. Like football, math club gave me the opportunity to compete against others and challenge myself. I was able to, once again, work closely with a team and experience both the bliss of victory and disappointment of defeat. My newfound passion gave me hope that allowed me _____.
In one moment, the events of my sophomore year culminated into success. It was not the success of regaining what I once had, but rather the success of what my world had become. Along the way I found balance. What had once been such dissimilar ___ were now unified into one single world that I could call mine.
Even though my senior football season ended, I did not feel the despair that I felt two years ago. There was a new presence in my life that balanced my being. A balance only someone who had lost so much could understand. Regardless of my future in football, math club, or anything else for that matter, I knew that I would find passion. I told my mom "____________".
I wanted to write about how i only had football, until my injury opened me up to options. I ended up really loving these other options though i never gave up on football. They are my two main EC's math and football. I am the president of my math club and a starting varsity football player. I qualified for the USAMO and won first place at HMMT.
I wanted to show that no matter what I did that I was passionate about it and that allowed me to succeed.
also, i felt that this would be pretty unique because I tore my ACL, but it wasnt just about the hard work i put in to recover from the injury.
Please help me, because i've really been getting stuck with this essay :(.
Thanks so much!
It was not that I gave up on football, but rather that I came to terms with my injury.
This topic is perfect, and personal. It shows what you're made of and how a tragedy can become a blessing in disguise. It taught you that you have other strengths and passions to nurture, and made you a more well rounded person. Also great that you are still playing football, that shows a wealth of perseverance and character. Good essay!
:)
Kevin
