<p>I am currently a senior and will be applying to colleges next fall. I just wrote my personal statement and I am new to all of this so any advice I can get on this would be greatly appreciated. I know it is really long it need some revising. </p>
<pre><code> A typical week in my life consists of coming home to loads of AP homework, studying for tests, leading and attending club meetings, reviewing for Academic Decathlon, going to cheer practice as well as cheering at games, and going to the gym if time allows. I feel that each day is a new challenge to be met and conquered. There have been challenges along with significant experiences that have shaped me into the person that I am today. However I have seen other people face adversities far greater than mine. I have witnessed these challenges for six years and I believe that helping other people face and cope with these difficulties have help me to overcome my own.
My out look on life changed on that October 14, 2007. My mom was driving and I was sitting in the back seat with the window rolled down. I could smell the crisp autumn leaves as my hair was blowing in the wind. The sky was crystal clear with patches of white randomly dispersed above. As we pulled up to the pumpkin patch were I would be volunteering at, it seemed bare with no signs of life. However just to the left of it there were fields of life size sunflowers. The yellow and orange rays of petals brightened up the atmosphere; showing at least some signs of hope. These scents and images will always hold a distinct place in my mind, for this day has changed my life for the better.
As I walked in I saw a dozen tables with festive table cloths. Upon the tables were food, desserts, drinks, and candy; everything needed to put on a perfect party. There was a rack on the right side that had Halloween costumes ranging from; Batman to Cinderella. The women in charge of this event informed me that I was would be assisting cancer patients. As children and their families started entering the pumpkin patch; my heart sank. The children were all wearing the most adorable little clothes each of them with a green mask coving their mouth. Little did I know, this desolate pumpkin patch was actually full of life; many lives hoping for the future, hoping for just that one more day, hoping for new start.
I walked up to a family and they had two little girls both cancer patients; one was five and the other was seven. I never actually realized the severity of cancer and the affect it had on the victims it took hold of until this day. I could see the sadness and despair in the parents eyes as they were talking; their worlds were turned upside down, not once but twice. These parents were knew that the journey ahead of them was a marathon, not a sprint. However their two girls were brave little warriors tried to make the best of their situation while they were battling something that was larger than life. This made me realize that the situations Ive had to face, the walls Ive had to climb, the stress Ive had to bear have been ever so minuscule in the big picture called life.
Both of them were holding my hands, their smile was illuminated through their eyes. As we were on the ride they were both smiling and laughing; their happiness was contagious. Despite their triumphs these two girls were facing, they had an incredibly positive outlook on life; and this is what I found most inspiring. I felt as if this connection could be best described as a mutualistic relationship. That day these girls seemed as if cancer was the least of their worries; they were having the time of their lives but little did they know that this contagious aura made my worries and stress of my life to vanish as well. I felt as if I had known these two girls forever. They have made an indescribable impact on my life.
Ever since that year I have never failed to return. I realized that unfortunately, for some children the battle with cancer doesn't always end in the word "remission" or "cure", but sometimes in death. I do not have the solution or answer of how to cure what they are facing and I dont know when that time will come. However ever since then I have continued to work with Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation.
Im sure the future will hold many more hurdles and hills that will try to get in between me and my goals and aspirations. However the memory of those girls will always be vivid and they will continue to remind me that giving up is ever an option. These to girls, both so little, yet ever so strong, made realize, When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. (unknown)
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