<p>great!! your welcome@UKgirl23</p>
<p>BUMP! ten char</p>
<p>Iâll post mine from my accepted and waitlisted schools as I can get on a computer.</p>
<p>Hereâs mine, for something I was passionate about. It isnât amazing, but Iâm proud of it nevertheless.</p>
<p>The echoing thud of foot on concrete punctuates the last few notes of music. The tune flowing from the outdated boombox trails off, and my adrenaline fades.
âWhy am I even here?â I ponder aloud, limbs aching from exertion.
âAgain!â My teacher snaps. Incomprehensible singing, the syllables melting into each other, indicates the start of the melody. Assuming my position, I ignore my protesting muscles.
I was first exposed to dance at the insistence of my grandmother. As a culturally aware yet strictly traditional woman, she was opposed to my tendency to lethargically watch television instead of engaging in any physical activity. After observing my supposedly âmonotonousâ lifestyle, she brought me to an Arangetram.
Thatâs when I was introduced to Bharatanatyam.
Introduction: A deceptively easy combination of eye movements and dance moves that allows the dancer to develop an interest in the arrangement.
The agility and emotion displayed during both the elaborate steps and simple gestures captivated me. It seemed effortless, and I wanted to be that dancer onstage. I was unaware of the years of practice behind the delicately executed composition.
First, Second, and Third Jhati: A rigorous workout consisting fast paced steps, encouraging the dancer to challenge themselves and prepare for the rest of the dance.
For the first two years, I was physically tested beyond any other activity I engaged in. For everything else, I set a good reputation and cruised on outcome alone. In Bharatanatyam, I needed effort to advance. I had never felt so motivated.
I discovered persistence, and I trained harder than I ever had before.
Fifth and Sixth Jhati: Unique sequences where the melody changes, the steps become difficult, and fatigue sets in. The dancer has to adapt their form to style changes.
As I entered middle school, balancing time between schoolwork and extracurricular activities became difficult. I had to modify my schedule to incorporate both dancing and homework.
I learned how to transition from phase to phase, from elementary to middle school, from âAllaripuâ to âJhatiswaramâ.
Abhinaya: Where the mood is defined and emotion is added. This is the dancerâs chance to release their own individuality, to show what they feel during the performance.
I learned to dance reflecting emotion. I didnât know the pride of being named heir to the throne, but I understood the satisfaction of being voted into the position of club co-chair. The superiority in my eyes was the same as I portrayed the mood.
Bharatanatyam dared me to express my emotions when society urged me to not wear them on my sleeve.
Arithi: The conclusion of the piece, where the melodies are united to articulate the main theme and provide closure.
Ambition drips off of me with perspiration as the âJhatiswaramâ ends. I can now answer my question.
Spending every Sunday at the Nrithyanjali Institute of Dance taught me perseverance, determination, and balance. These were lessons I would never otherwise learn, as I had never struggled before. Dancing was an outlet for emotions and a diary without words. Most importantly, it offered me what I unknowingly longed for.
Bharatanatyam gave me the most exhilarating challenge of my life.</p>
<p>@purpleswirl, Nice essay!</p>
<p>I saved all my essays on a flash drive and canât find it. Iâll post if I do.</p>
<p>I thinks this could be the very best one I did⌠How I got rejected? :(</p>
<p>Ambition is one of the most ambivalent values anyone can identify with.
For a lot of people it has negative connotations, implying greed, selfishness and destruction. I would prefer to stress its positive aspects which, in my own life have been manifest.</p>
<p>Oscar Wilde so appropiately observed that âAmbition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds.â
This would seem to me to be very true, as I have applied it to my own attitutde to life, with very beneficial results.</p>
<p>Last year I had the good fortune to participate in a somewhat unusual housing program, which very ambiciously proposed to construct homes
for thirty families in a deprived mountainous area of my country, Mexico. The constructions had to be one hundred percent
ecological and cause as little impact as possible on the environment. The designers and builders had to stretch their
imagination to the limit in order to fulfil this requirements. I am proud to say that our ambition paid off: today those
thirty families enjoy a healthier and reasonably comfortable place to live owing to our unflagging commitment to complete
our ambition. Far from being negative, ambition enobled and compelled us to levels of generosity and ability which many of us
did not know we had. In this sense ambition can be seen as wholly positive for everyone concerned, specially me.</p>
<p>When ambitions are achieved, we are inviewed with a deep sense of satisfaction that spares us on to greater achievments,
in a selfless manner. In this, Wilde was completely right. I am presently happily envolved in the collection, transportation and
distribution of used worn clothing for poor people in native communities in the often freezing mountain areas of my state. Our
aims are high, to be able to help a large section of the population to acquire protection against dangerously low
winter temperatures. The more elemental and selfless our ambition is, the greater the extent to which it ennobles us. To
have the ambition to do my best for others has had a dramatic effect in my life so far. I sincerely hope that this streak
of ambition in my personality will grow and inspire me to serve my fellow man to the greatest degree.</p>
<p>Several other very positive traits are involved in realizing ambition. Dedication and perseverance come from a firm commitment
to our goals as we identify them. They are all born of the germ of ambition.</p>
<p>What could be interpreted as a negative value by a very selfish person is transformed into a fruitful one when channeled
towards selfless actions for others. It produces or at least that is how it has worked in my own life, I desire to spread
wellbeing and to make life a little easier for others.</p>
<p>Impicit in ambition is the obligation to raise standards in whatever endeavour to which we apply it. For example, a social
program to distribute vital nutrients to babies and young children will inevitavely and rapidly provide a drastic improvement
in the quality of life now and in adulthood, for those concerned.</p>
<p>Ambition has been a very positive and ennobling force in my life and my hope for the future is that I will consistenly mantain such an important value present in
my life in all my activities, to be employed for my own good and that of others, with whom I come into contact. A world without ambition is a world without
drive, energy, vigor and innovation. A world with ambition has the inspiring potential to be the best it has ever been in its history.</p>
<p>This is the Andover essay that got me waitlistedâŚ</p>
<p>Discuss a matter you once thought you knew âfor sureâ but of which you are no longer certain.</p>
<p>Everything we do in life seems to boil down to the essential quest for success. From the inspiring tales of self made men retold in Middle School classrooms, to the tears and coffee spilled in the quest for a university degree, the message is apparent - success and acclamation, as it is generally perceived, matters.</p>
<p>I had spent most of my life nervously planning for that day I would realise my dreams, and receive recognition from all surrounding society. By the time I was twelve I had already carved out a definite path for my future as a molecular biologist, that led to the reception of awards and newspaper features. I envisioned myself older, successful, complete; a purveyor of gene therapy, recognised by millions.
I had fallen madly in love with the idea of success - or rather, that I must be perceived as successful in order to feel complete.</p>
<p>Then, the summer rolled over, and my leg muscles mysteriously contracted. My condition had me visiting doctor after doctor, in desperate hope of a diagnosis. My parents were making fervent plans for our moving to Canada, while I stayed indoors, handicapped and terrified, and read across a wide range
of disciplines.</p>
<p>The imminent fear of disease (and frequent terrifying comments by doctors who were unable to make a clear diagnosis) made me realise that I was really clueless as to what I wanted to do with my life - or at least, clueless as to what I had set out to do at twelve would make me truly happy. I read James Joyce,
and wrote diaries of questionable quality on my disagreement with Friedrich NietzscheÂs prominent philosophies. I stumbled upon the bewitching world of competition math, and tempered with readings on the wave-particle light duality. I indulged in many fields so readily and aimlessly, and the concept of
success never crossed my mind a single time.</p>
<p>I had never felt as fulfilled in my life as I had in the span of those three months, when, despite the chaos of a new life, I was able to explore myself and the surrounding world so aimlessly. My leg condition may have fully recuperated, but I have yet to utilise the knowledge I received in any award-winning manner. I have yet to carve out a name for myself by innovating in either of the fields, or help thousands through
my insight.</p>
<p>Perhaps success is not as clear-cut as my twelve year old self would have hoped to believe. Perhaps my views stem from a disappointment in never having had attained the kind of success society revels.</p>
<p>While writing this, I am more uncertain than ever of what Âsuccess constitutes, or how much it matters
to me - but I am set on enjoying the journey, and learning on the way.</p>
<p>THIS IS MY ANDOVER ESSAY, MY FAVORITE.</p>
<p>BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN, HOW HAS IT CHANGED THE WAY YOU SEE YOURSELF AND OTHERS?</p>
<p>I once heard a piece of advice which immediately struck me as both strange and paradoxical: âThe best advice I can give you is to never take anybody´s advice!â </p>
<p>For some people this could be relevant, but in my opinion that would be to lose an important asset in life, which is to be able to acces the vast wealth of experiencewhich those who have gone before us can offer. Though people are always ready to give their own opinion and advice, specially to the young people, the most appropiate course is to be selective in the advice you follow.</p>
<p>It is not an easy decision to chose just one piece of advice, but, if pressed, I would chose the few words which have helped me enormously and have, in fact, guided my life. The phrase is simple: âBe Yourselfâ</p>
<p>Taking this piece of advice has multiple implications, all of which are intimately connected to the formation of the best person I can be. Many young people are insecure about not following the crowd, but I feel that being myself really comes down to being an individual, which is always a good thing; not going out to impress people is important too, I have to be true to my own principles.</p>
<p>When I was younger it was vitally important for me to fit in with all my peers. I later realized I could not always do that, so I made de decision to express my own opinions and defend them with passion. We could interpret this as the precise definition of a succesful individual. </p>
<p>The superficial society we live in today means that people set out to impress others. When a person is sincere he will encourage people of alike mind to follow him.</p>
<p>Being myself has enable me to see other people with a certain transparency. I am now able to distinguish the valuable from the false in human nature. An attitude based on appearances will never bring true happiness and fullfilment. It is better to be one self, and not to adopt the crowd mentality.</p>
<p>For me, being myself implies trying to attain the best qualities of a succesful human being: Individuality, independence of thought, initiative, respect, compassion and succes. If I´m not at complete ease with myself, I would be in no position to be a productive member of society and to help others. </p>
<p>I take literally Polonius´s advice to his son Laertes in âHamletâ:</p>
<p>âTo thine own self be trueâ</p>
<p>I hope that this invaluable precept will always guide me in the future aspects of my life.</p>
<p>St.Paulâs Essay: Waitlisted
Living in four different states over the last fourteen years has allowed me to discover something about myself each time we have moved. It was in California and Pennsylvania when I began playing piano and percussion and discovered my undying love for music. It is in the interplay of the beat, melody, harmony, and rhythm of the music that I find the beauty in life. These individual concepts come together and blend to create an unspoken language, which is why I find beauty in music. The beat represents the intonation of this language while the melody and harmony represent the voice and the rhythm represents the speed of which the language is spoken. The beat, melody, harmony, and rhythm all combine to make the audience and musician communicate. When the audience taps their foot or shows the slightest change in facial expression, they are communicating their emotion with the musician thus initiating the conversation. This conversation is like a rollercoaster, constantly changing speed and intensity as the tempo and dynamics of the song changes. As the speed and intensity increases, so does the emotion. Music connects the audience and the musician through those emotions allowing all to become one. Even though there are different styles and origins of music we are connected through its unspoken language. The beauty of this unspoken language is that the connection that is creates stretches to infinity. No matter how unlike it appears that two types of music are, they are really closely connected through the underlying beat, melody, harmony and rhythm. Some folks may see music as just entertainment, but I see it as something greater. While there are so many things from which we can find beauty, I find it in music because of what it creates in me and in those around me.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss Essay: Accepted
My parents have always modeled community service for me stating that our family lives by the triple Tâs of time, talent, and treasure when it comes to giving back to our community. They taught me, as a citizen of the world, that I have a responsibility to give back to the world as my community. When I was younger I would accompany them on their volunteer efforts whether at a food bank or serving food to the families of sick children at the Philadelphia Childrenâs Hospital. I then requested that I do more and while my parents said they heard me they did not have the time in their schedule to fit in the more that I wanted to do. I believe I wore my mom down so in 2010 I started the â------â foundation to help needy children in the areas of homelessness, education, and health. For my first project, I donated toiletries and over 600 hand and face towels to Primo Center, a homeless shelter for women and children, to symbolize my desire to wash away homelessness in children. I was excited earlier this year when my foundation received its 501(c) 3 designation from the IRS as this should help to expand the things we can do with the receipt of more donations. My foundationâs current project began in late 2012 when I partnered with the ------ organization to collect new and gently used clothing and money for school children in Liberia. Many of the students in Liberia cannot afford to go to school with some starting kindergarten as late as ten years old and those who can attend school usually only have two sets of clothes; one for school and one for play. So far, my foundation has collected over 150 clothing items for Liberia. This is what I am doing for my community.</p>
<p>Andover: Rejected</p>
<p>This essay is kinda personal, but oh well 
It answers the prompt, âWhat is the most valuable piece of advice you have been given? How has that advice changed the way you see yourself, others, and the world?â</p>
<p>Inspiration is a beautiful thing. It evokes the imagination, creating the innovative ideas of an engineer, the swirling colors of an artistâs canvas, or an architectâs blueprints for towers that soar towards the sky; inspiring others. My source of inspiration is less glamorous, but impacts my life more than anything else ever can. My grandfather is my inspiration; his words of wisdom and selflessness have made me who I am today. He passed away a few years ago, but I still miss him dearly. I can still recall walking around my hometown with him on beautiful summer afternoons, waddling around on my chubby toddler legs. He returned home to Cambodia when I entered middle school, creating a distance of more than 8,000 miles. Iâve only visited him there once, the summer before 7th grade. He passed away the next summer. My remaining memories of him drift in and out of focus even now, and the only things that still remain clear are his words.</p>
<p>Everyone in my family says that my grandfather favored me. I am the daughter of his beloved son, and he adored my mother just as much as he adored his own children. I was the only grandchild that he named. Growing up, I would always ask my mother what my Chinese name meant. She always answered that she didnât know, but for what it was worth, the second character meant âwantâ in our native dialect. From a search on the internet, I deduced that the first character meant âway.â Although Iâve often pondered this particular combination of characters, after his death, I finally realized what he had been trying to tell me all this time.</p>
<p>âIf you want something, there is always a way.â</p>
<p>In essence, âkeep trying even when life gets hard.â That is the best advice I have been given, and when life becomes difficult, all I need to do is remember those two charactersâwho I am. My grandfather gave me the gift of inspiration, and although he is gone now, I know that his words will never die. They have inspired me to keep moving on in the hardest of times, and to find things to smile about even when I am at my lowest. These simple words have made the world less overwhelming, and have made me believe that all one needs for success is a desire to do well, and the passion to put oneâs dreams in motion. These words have inspired me to not only believe in myself, but to help inspire others to realize the same thing about themselvesâtheir potential to do great things.</p>
<p>The most beautiful thing about my grandfatherâs wisdom is that I found his greatest advice hidden within my nameâI found it hiding within myself.</p>
<p>My computer crashed last week, and with that, my applications went poof! Sorry guys! I wonât be able to post any essays anytime soon! :(</p>
<p>January Roses that is beautiful!! I am so sorry you were rejected. Hope you got in somewhere where you will be happy. That is such a great essay! I cried!</p>
<p>@Juanuaryrsoses I loved the ending, its so emotional!</p>
<p>Exeter:
- Tell us about something you learned on your own
Decision: waitlisted </p>
<p>The classroomâs red carpet consisted of basic shapes - triangles, squares, and circles. I was back in kindergarten playing with blocks, but this time as a teacher, not a student. </p>
<p>What could I possibly learn here? I walked the stage and got my kindergarten diploma ten years ago, I could count to one-hundred, and my sharing skills were in the 99th percentile. I could even build a block bridge by heart, just as Mrs. Hamilton taught me back in my golden days: âtwo blocks on each side, two in the middle, and four above them to make a road.â Jaylen, one of the four students in my group, was losing interest, so I asked him to try building a bridge. He put two blocks on each side, as I had once done, and four on top for the road. But, rather than putting two in the middle for support, he put two above the side blocks to offset the weight. âHow does this look Mr. Brad?â he asked, seeking my approval. I rarely used the term âexcellentâ and instead praised efforts, but there was no better word to describe Jaylenâs bridge. It was superior to the one I made in kindergarten and created completely from natural instinct. </p>
<p>Jaylen was unaffected by the pressures to do what is considered normal because he was a child. Therefore, he built something different, which turned out to be even better than a typical bridge. It is the process of innovation. Just as in natural selection or creative destruction, diversity is essential. Attaining diversity, however, is unfortunately inhibited by the comforts of conformity. There was no pressure on Jaylen to build a normal bridge, so he built one from his imagination, which ended up surpassing the conventional model.</p>
<p>Thinking differently is absolutely essential in solving problems and innovating. The lesson that lies in this block bridge applies to any stumping challenge from a complex algebra problem to a solution for clean energy. One must think of new ideas, rather than relying on the old, to overcome such challenges. New solutions are vital for the problems we face in the future, so we must take a step back and try something different.</p>
<p>@Fayasi, we have the same Andover essay O_O Iâm WL there also.
Hereâs an essay that got me WL @ Exeter.</p>
<p>How has your neighborhood shaped you?</p>
<p>The American childhood consists of growing up on one street, having neighbors that have watched you grow up, and the same bedroom youâve known your entire life. I didnât live the American childhood. My first move was after living in France for three months, and so far I have moved seven times. When someone asks about my neighborhood, I immediately think of my school. Iâve been with the same group of people since grade six; The Gifted and Talented Education program at â and â has been my home for almost four years. We have classrooms where the houses should be, books instead of trees, and kids- well here, everyone is a kid. This is where I learned what a neighborhood is. On my first day, I feared of having to go to a new school where the same kids had different voices and faces. However, the kids in GATE arenât nerds, jocks, or kids that are too odd to be in a regular class. We are all misfits. The class clown is the smartest boy youâll ever meet, and the dancer loves to rap. Nobody here fits any stereotype. My class of sixteen was by far, the most accepting, loving, and unique class I have ever had. These kids showed me my first true neighborhood and what it entails: caring for one another, a sense of family, and the sheer warmth of having a place to be able to call home. They took in misfit me, and showed me that we are the island of misfit toys, but itâs the best island in all of the sea because it was where we found the joys of being ourselves together. Yet as we grew up, we also grew apart. Like any family, a time comes when you usher your kids out of the house and wish them the best, and our family of sixteen is just about ready to leave the nest. Looking onto the horizon, I see the arrival of tomorrow, where weâll be moving to our separate high schools on their own islands, and this neighborhood will no longer be our homes. We will never walk these halls, laugh at these jokes, or be a family as we are today, tomorrow. However, I look forward to walking away for the final time, looking behind me, and seeing a misfit kid walking into town with their own family of sixteen.</p>
<p>Andover Essay: Accepted at Andover, WL at Exeter (I reused the essay)</p>
<p>E. If you were given one day and a budget of $1,000 to make a difference in your community, what would you do? Whom would you involve? What would you hope to achieve? (Andoverâs prompt)</p>
<pre><code>A soccer ball smashed into the back of my head for the third time in as many minutes. Wearily, I turned away from four-year-old Lucy contentedly coloring, and faced the troublemaker, Lucyâs older brother Lucas, who was grinning gleefully. I started to explain to him yet again why he shouldnât throw things, but before I could finish, he threw a tambourine at me. I sighed. My weekly volunteering sessions at the Goose Hollow Family Shelter, which houses homeless families while the parents search for jobs, was turning out to be a lot of work.
Bending down to retrieve the tambourine, I heard a wail from behind me. Lucy had finished the coloring book, and after a quick inspection of all the other books, she found them full of other childrenâs coloringsâtotally unacceptable. As the wails progressed to anguished screams, I frantically tried to distract her by tapping out a rhythm on the tambourine. The screaming turned to sniffles, then silence, as she nodded her head to the beat. She grabbed the tambourine from me and started tapping out her own rhythm. Lucas, not wanting to miss out, ran over and added his own contribution by banging a marker on a toy xylophone nearby. Before long, all the children were singing or playing an âinstrumentââbeating pots and pans, blowing kazoos, and glissando-ing on harmonicas. The enthusiastic playing was so different from all my other experiences at the shelter, and at that moment, surrounded by such zeal and beautiful cacophony, I realized that I really wanted to help these kids.
I introduced Goose Hollow to my Girl Scout troop, and we volunteered multiple times by entertaining the kids as Kid Time Hosts, doing the laundry as Helping Hands, and providing dinner. Additionally, we held food drives at our local middle school and neighborhoods, overflowing the storage cabinet with food; and made blankets for all the children. I want to continue to contribute to the shelter to create more moments like the ones I got to share with those children. This is what I would use my $1000 for.
Portlandâs homeless rate, following national trends, has skyrocketed in recent years, which impacts the next generation profoundly, as homeless children often suffer from lack of education, as well as depression, low self-esteem, and lack of social skills. Many federal programs target education, but very few focus on raising self-esteem and confidence, which are most easily gained through self-expression. Everyone has interests and talents that make us feel good about ourselves. With the $1000 as start-up funds, I aim to create a program that enriches homeless childrenâs lives through self-expression by providing workshops in music, theatre, art, dance, athletics, and other areas. My program would give the children a chance to discover what they enjoy and are talented at, and consequently raise their confidence, self-esteem, and perception of self-worth.
</code></pre>
<p>Exeter Essay: WL at Exeter</p>
<p>Write on a topic or activity about which you are passionate.</p>
<p>My heart dropped to my stomach as a shrill whistle blew. Heart drumming in my ears, I approached the starting line. Everything fell silent. I stared down at my spikes, trying to remind myself that this was just another cross country raceâexcept that it was State Championships and my teamâs success depended on my race. I gave up suppressing my thoughts and let the adrenaline sweep over me, as the gunman told us to take our marks.
BAM! The pack surged forward. I felt the familiar, steady pounding of my legs against the ground, so different from the irregular beat of my heart. We hit the first, monstrous hill, and the burning sensation of exertion settled in my abdomen as I pumped my way up. Seconds turned into minutes as I worked my way through the overzealous runners who had given too much too early into the race. By now, my initial rush of adrenaline was gone, and the fast first mileâ5:30, was taking its toll. Each breath cost my lungs, and the exertion had risen into my chest.
I saw my coachâs face through the haze of exhaustion. He was yelling at me to âbe a difference-maker.â My body sped up, but I could feel my will draining. What if I canât? Wouldnât it feel so good to stop right now? I started slowing down. NO! A voice exploded in my head. How bad do you want this? You can do this. I calmed my gasping breaths and set my sight on the next pack.
The figures drew closer through my half-open eyelids until I came alongside them, and we entered the track together. The cheering, clapping, and bellowing from the bleachers was deafening. My competitors sped up. I had no more energyâno, I did. I drew level with them again. Around the bend, and into the home stretch. This is it, my chance to make a difference. I brushed past them and sprinted home, burst past the finish line at <strong>:</strong>, and promptly threw up.
Looking back, that was the day I realized I loved running, and that itâs a game of mental powerâthe ability to want something and believe you can so badly, that the rest just comes as an afterthought. We all would like to make a difference, but whoever wants it and believes they can the most, will end up being the âdifference-maker.â</p>
<p>Accepted to Hotchkiss, Exeter, Groton, waiting from Milton.
My essays were kind of similar. Iâll post one. If youâd like me to post more, I will.
Hereâs one of Exeterâs:
Discuss a time when you were challenged or overwhelmed and how you dealt with it.
When I was younger, school was always fun and nearly always easy. I had consistently been told I was smart, I had never gotten bad grades, I was ÂgiftedÂ, and, I (unjustly) felt superior in some ways. In the sixth grade, we took a placement test in math to see whether we would take a more or less advanced math class the next year. My older brother had gotten into the more advanced class, and while math has never been my forte, I thought that I would get into the advanced class without a doubt. I wasnÂt placed in that class. I was and am a perfectionist, and that stung me. I didnÂt know how to react. In hindsight, this wasnÂt important by any means. But at the time, I felt like a complete failure. The next year, math got harder for me. I would sit in my room at my desk, all my homework done but Algebra. I was afraid to ask questions in class, or to ask anyone for help. I thought that was a sign of weakness. I was doing fine in the class on paper, but I wasnÂt making sense of the material, and felt again like a failure. I couldnÂt even succeed in the less advanced class! I was completely overwhelmed.
That is when reached a turning point. I realized that asking questions in class when I was lost or confused was not a sign of weakness. Instead, it is a sign of determination, interest, and engagement. I woke up early and went into math help when I didnÂt understand the homework. I began to feel changes, and not just in math. In every class, my hand rose more. I asked and answered questions, adding my thoughts and opinions whenever possible. I learned to appreciate the struggle that some things took, and when all classes became more difficult, I was prepared. On paper I was the same, but I knew I was different. Seventh grade math could have taken me two ways. I could have let myself become completely overwhelmed and challenged by my classes, but I chose not to. I knew it was important that I used that challenge to my advantage, that I get it under control. IÂm so glad I did, as it has brought me the success and confidence that I now have today.</p>
<p>PLEASE DONT PLAGARIZE⌠Got me into Episcopal and I hope to put it in an autobiography one day.</p>
<p>Episcopal High School Essay </p>
<p>Courage
Courage is my favorite word in the dictionary. Courage is âthe quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face difficulty, struggle, or danger without fear.ââ(<a href=âhttp://wwwâ>www</a>. Dictionary. Com). Many do not realize that courage can be demonstrated in a myriad of situations and actions. When we hear the word courage, we often think of the men and women in the armed forces. Yet, every day people can show as much valor and fortitude as a superhero. In my life, I have faced many difficult situations that I have had to handle with courage. Courage
At a young age, whether it was playing up a division in football, enrolling in first grade at the age of five, or speaking at my fatherâs funeral. I have had to face difficulty without fear. Having courage may seem easy because it is defined as a mind set. A part of that mindset is having no fear, which makes it challenging. For instance, when they asked me if I would speak at my fatherâs funeral, I had no difficulty to prepare my speech as my mind was set to do it, but it was overcoming the fear to deliver the speech in church without my Dad that made me courageous. I couldnât be scared to speak on behalf of my father. Having endured this tragedy it has helped me learn how to apply courage into my everyday life. As I ran for middle school student body president I plead my case to eighty of my peers and eleven of my teachers. Although my school is very small, it was very hard to articulate what my agendaâs would be as president. However, courage kept me in tact, as I stood composed in my earnest try to appeal to my classmates. The last main example in which I have had to be courageous is in football. I have never been the smallest boy or the skinniest, but I have always carried a chip on my shoulder. After two years of domination of the nine and ten year old divisions, I found myself on the perilous and daunting twelve-year-old division as an eleven year old. For much of my life has been spent with children a year older than me, this was completely different. I worked very hard to earn second quarterback on the depth chart, when God called me into action. Our starting quarterback broke his arm, thrusting me into the spotlight. I needed courage to guide the team and to face my fears. Courage is what keeps me from breaking down under pressure and it drives me into accomplishing my life goals.
There are also many professions that require this courage. Soldiers who fight for our Country demonstrate courage everyday of their lives. They are the epitome of courage. Whether they are in the heat of battle or retired, they know what it means to endure a tough ordeal without fear. Firefighters are another group of people who show us their courage every time they go to extinguish fires. Football playerâs play through pain week in and week out, even though they may be scared of severely injuring themselves. The doctors of our world are courageous to take on the lives of others, even though they know that if they fail someoneâs life could end. There are all kinds of jobs and people that show courage everyday, although they may not risk their lives, bodies or minds in their display. These heroesâ courage adds to why courage is my favorite word.
I believe that having courage is not only the show of mettle when doing something challenging, but it is also having the resolve to endure hardship. Courage is my favorite word because it can be shown and displayed in many different forms. My mother being a doctor helps me realize the courage it takes to have someoneâs life in your hands. Having courage is not something that can be learned, it is a natural propensity to stand tall and fight, for what is right and just. Courage is a word that is apart of my moral code. Without courage we would not be who we are today. Without courage there would be no America, imagine if the colonists did not fight England. Without courage maybe Hitler would have conquered the world. But it is indeed courage that separates men from boys. It is courage that compels the meek to let their voices be heard. And it is courage that helps me get through everyday.
Courage is my favorite word. Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face difficulty, struggle or fear. Courage is to rise against adversity, courage is sometimes temerity and audacity, but courage is most importantly motivation. As the boarding school experience nears, I know I will to have courage to leave my mother and my school behind. Yet as my late father told me, â Courage is compulsory in every tough decision. The true task is finding whether you have the courage or not.â Truthfully I believe that I have courage but I need to harness this courage and use it to my advantage. Courage.</p>