I have taken the essay as an opportunity to show Tech who I am. That being said I have chosen to go with a less formal writing style because it conveys my meaning better.
"I hope it’s not too much of an issue but this writing isn’t as formal. I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation that you are giving me a chance at regular admission. This whole deferral thing was an eye opener. When I first saw the deferral, I thought that it had been a mistake. It took about 10 or 20 refreshes before I could accept that it wasn’t going to change. After that, I started thinking about why I wasn’t accepted when everyone else was. I thought I had done everything right. I did robotics, took as difficult and as many math and science classes as I could and I’m Distance Calculus. I started to doubt my intelligence but after some moping, I boiled it down to one main thing. It’s not that I’m not smart enough to get into Tech, it’s that I haven’t done anything. Maybe I’m the dumbest person on Earth or maybe I’m the smartest but it doesn’t matter because you can’t tell. Georgia Tech isn’t looking for the smartest people. They’re looking for people who will add something, who have something to show that proves that they’re not only smart but can and have utilized that gift to do something amazing. And it’s true. I looked to my friends and saw it immediately. The president of the Robotics club, an active community service member, and a nationwide award winner. Then there’s me with nothing to show but grades. But that’s not quite true. I have my personality to show and that’s not something I have really put forward. If you’ve read my Common App essay then you know that I was bullied as a child. There’s a lot of stuff that I wanted to put in that my parents suggested I tone down, but seeing as it didn’t work then, I’ll try my way. When I was younger, I hated myself. I hated who I was. I hated that I was a nerd. So I tried to change myself. I wanted to become more social so that I was able to talk to people and finally find a place I could fit in. So I went to the one place I knew people wouldn’t judge me and that’s what started my biggest passion and hobby which is video gaming. Not just the games themselves but the community that surrounds them. This is where I first found a place that I fit in. A place free from bullying and teasing. A place where I for the next couple of years would break my shell and start to become the person I am now. When I got to High School, I took the opportunity of a new place to spread my wings and see if all that time playing games had been worth it. I made a few friends my freshman year but it came at the cost of my grades. They weren’t bad but I’ll admit looking back they could have been better. At the time, I didn’t care. I was finally becoming social and starting to find a place I fit in. My sophomore year I learned to balance both a bit better and by my Junior year I had a group of friends that I could count on. Today, I have a solid group of friends some of which I have known for the entirety of High School. I used to look back and think that I should’ve focused on school more. It took getting deferred for me to take another look at my life and see what I’ve accomplished. I don’t have perfect grades or test scores but I do have something that I will take with me through the rest of my life. My personality and that is something I can be proud of. "