If this is bad, I guess everyone around me just are amazing writers and I never had a shot in the first place.
If you could only do one of the activities you have listed in the Activities section of your Common Application, which one would you keep doing? Why? (Required for all applicants. Approximately 100 words)
Music. If I could only continue to do one activity, I would play and share music. There is a reason music has existed in all cultures throughout history -- it’s the universal language that connects all of us. Every other week, I travel with a group of friends to a less fortunate school in Connecticut to bring music to several classes of first and second graders. As I play and talk about music, to all these young underprivileged kids, I immediately realize that even though there are so many differences between us, our love for music is the same.
Essay #1 (Required for all applicants. Approximately 250 words) Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.
There are five hurdlers on our high school men’s track team. I am the only senior hurdler which drives me to be a positive influence for the group and also to motivate and teach the younger hurdlers. By no means am I an amazing hurdler, however, I always strive to improve.
Hurdling is like an art and requires the perfect form, the perfect amount of steps and the perfect jump. The best way to progress is to help everyone, including myself, to realize and understand our own errors. I use my phone to film each person running and jumping over hurdles, and then we play it back in slow motion, to see our own mistakes and discuss ways to improve in the future. My mantra is to stretch and push yourself and to not be set back by failure.
Nothing hurts more than when your leg gets caught on the hurdle and you faceplant into the ground. When you get up, you aren’t sure what is more damaged: your arms, your chest or your pride. We grow from sharing our stories of failure, teaching the younger hurdlers to understand that it is okay to fail and it is part of the road for success. All hurdlers fall down but winners get back up, and keep going.
We are a small band of brothers who motivate each other to strive to never give up. “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” -Henry Ford