<p>Ive always been the different kid. During grade school recess, I was the kid who ran around barking like a dog. I was the kid who watched Animal planet and read Darwins origin of species...for fun. Yeah, I was that kid. The fact is, I just wasnt concerned in what other kids my age were interested in. They gossiped about crushes while I held lemonade stands for puppies in puppy mills. My family calls it maturity, but I think its actually my ability to critical think. Being different has aided me in developing my person. However I dont think just being different would have been enough. It's been a menagerie of experiences that have established who and what I've become.
The first grade school I attended sucked. There's not getting away from that. It was the kind of place where not only the students ostracized you if you were different, but so did the adults. If I didnt fit into the 'box', or social norm I was expected to, I was assumed stupid. Deep down I knew it wasn't the truth, but when your young, things like that are inescapably hurtful. From this early experience with education, there came a disdain for learning, as well as the education system in general. So naturally, I found refuge in another passion: animals. I've come to think the real reason behind my animal obsession was the need for me to stand up for those who had no voice, like I had felt in school. Every day was something animal related; researching shelters, rescue organizations, generally anything I could learn. As comforting as it all was, this made me even more of a social pariah. In accordance, my mother eventually took notice and insisted we begin searching for a new academic enviornment.
The next school was different, and fortunately in a way that nurtured my own strangeness. Here, instead of sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher lecture, we went camping, rock climbing and canoeing. We were told to focus on what these experiences could teach us about ourselves. It was a little bit liberal, Ill admit, but it was definitely what I needed. I felt comfortable learning and voicing my opinions because the student and teacher bodies were willing to hear them I gathered a new sense of independence and, in turn, I was able to excel. There weren't any boxes to fit in to, no social expectations... there was just me.
High school was a culture shock, coming from the progressive, hippy haven to complete structure and academic rigor. I had been taught to be a free thinker, not to memorize how to diagram sentences. To make matters worse, I was blindsided by diagnosis of a learning disability in math. Collectively, it was all disastrous to my grades and therefore my self confidence. I started to think that maybe being different wasnt a good thing, and perhaps everything I'd come to consider myself to be wasn't politically correct.
Then came the worst, with the terrible timing.
In the fall of Sophomore year, my alcoholic father tried to strangle my mother. To give a little background, my dad never really was a pleasant man to live with. You could never really anticipate what emotion would come next, good or bad... And he was particularly hard on me. I wasnt like Suzy down the street, an honors student on varsity tennis, albeit a normal child. I was different. It wasn't long before my parents divorced and my family, as I knew it, deteriorated.
While the structure in my life dwindled, it became clear that my independence would be key to defining my future. I was going to have to figure things out on my own. I chose not to be angry but instead redirected my emotions into productivity, responsibility and integrity. In the months after the event, I isolated myself. I didnt focus on school or relationships. I became introspective, reflecting on who I was and who I wanted to be. I came to the understanding that in order to be taken seriously and to fulfill my desire to be viewed as the intelligent person I knew I was, I had to focus on my education. I concluded that the reasons I wasnt succeeding in high school werent because of my lack of intelligence or the fact I was different, but because I had never given myself a chance to take a hold of those qualities and mold them. I was finally able to solidify who and what I was about.
Its been hard, and I mean that in the least pity-party-poor-me fashion I can muster. I have implemented my smarts into academics and I have made myself stand out. The improvement from sophomore year is so drastic its hard for me to even put into words. With each year, I have become more and more accepting of my differences, and have done my best to make use of them. My ability to critical think is now perfected (scoring me a thirty-five on the critical reading section of the ACT). My differences, experiences, and personality have only made me a much stronger person. I know who I am now and I know what I am capable of doing. I have an outlook on the world different from anyone else. ®</p>
<p>Simplify your essay more. Too many modifiers… Combine single sentences. Make your word choice a little more… Hmmm, “smart sounding?” lol. (just keeping it real) I think your essay was original besides the fact that it was a little cliche. (kid who doesn’t fit in society so he/ she has a strange obsession, in this case animals) Also, make your essay a little more memorable & relatable. How can your uniqueness influence your community or the school you’re trying to attend. Overall, good essay. I recommend you getting a English teacher to revise your grammar mistakes, as there is TOO many for me to correct. Keep your essay simple, sweet . & to the point. But make it mean something to the ready. Good luck!</p>