Knee injury freshmen year and...

<p>My plan in high school was to play tennis all four years. In middle school, I was pretty damn good - I can't remember my exact rank, but on my middle school team, I went undefeated in our team's Top Singles spot (Naturally, I wouldn't tell colleges my middle-school accomplishments...)</p>

<p>However, I did tear up my meniscus pretty bad in freshmen year, and had to wait a year to recover. I still can't play tennis, because my knee can't handle the jerky movements. </p>

<p>Anyway, it completely changed my high school plans, so I was wondering if it was worthy of being in the "Additional Info" section of the common app. I tried drama in sophomore year while my knee recovered, and in junior year - I'd been weight-lifting the whole time to compensate for my inability to aerobic workouts - with my knee more or less recovered, I became a Discus Thrower. Not that good, but number 5 discus thrower on our team of 30+</p>

<p>Anyway, should I tell them, not tell them, or would it completely depend on my attitude?</p>

<p>I would write a short essay about how that unexpected event changed your plans and allowed you explore new things in high school after having to give up tennis. Also, you can talk about how you overcame the physical pain of the actual injury/surgery and the emeotional pain of losing your ability to play tennis. You can ue this essay to shpw tenacity, flexibility, a willingness to try new things, and maturity. Good luck.</p>

<p>well, it depends really on how much you got into other activities when you could....if you explored and discovered new activiies in a thorough way, than jsut "trying" something, </p>

<p>Did you do more than drama and discus?</p>

<p>I ask because if you sort of tried new things, its not the same as really getting into new things when life shifted on you</p>

<p>I was pretty awful at Drama. I just played the good-looking guy who didn't say anything the entire time. </p>

<p>But throwing has become a real passion of mine, since I stared in junior year, I havent' stopped training, and this year, my coach told me that I may even be able to reach the number 2 or even 1 slot on our team.</p>

<p>I like Bessie's suggestion. Assuming you're a good writer, this could be a great topic for one of your main essays. Adcoms love to read this kind of stuff; they know you'll face adversity and setbacks in college, and an essay showing how you've been able to overcome it in the past is right on target!</p>