Corresponds to Prompt 2:
Background
-I recently returned to the United States after living abroad in the Middle East for 8 years
-the primary language of communication was not English in said country. (important)
-upon returning, I was quite sure I was ready to take either the SAT or ACT. (also important)
The Gist of the Essay
-The setback: dealing with a language barrier after living abroad for a substantial period of time, when preparing for national testing and preparing my application.
-How I deal with this: My first comment after the discovery was somewhere along the lines of “well, how can I improve this?”
I’m willing to do everything it takes to overcome a setback. The existence of some sort of barrier in way of achieving a goal excites me and motivates me to tear it down.
Hence the existence of a language barrier motivates me to tear it down, study harder so I can get a score I’m satisfied with.
How (I hope) it reflects on me
-I’m a very goal oriented person; at any given moment, I will be looking for the next thing I need to improve.
-I’m very ambitious from a very young age; it’s something that has been driving me to do the impossible for a very long time. I have a vivid memory of myself around age 6 or 7 being determined to become a successful and important person in my adulthood.
-I’m very perseverant (determined); I’ve been knocked down many times, but never failed to get back on feet and continue trying to achieve my goals.
-My love for learning and curiosity; weather it be new words, or the latest research in medicine and science or in economics. Motivates me to study more.
How I’ll deal with this challenge
Because I want to tear down the barrier, I’m doing things involving literature and language.
-I’m easing into reading books again; I used to enjoy reading before school got too crazy, so I think it would be fun starting to read more again.
-I try to understand the definition of words that I’m unfamiliar with, or vaguely recognizable but haven’t been used in a while.
-As for the exam itself; I enlisted the help of a tutor, and do all of the homework she assigns. The key is practicing more, and eventually I’ll reach a point where I can take the test and be happy with the score I get.
What I take from this
-Be realistic; I tend to be very hard on myself, sometimes I also tend to put unrealistic goals or expectations on myself, and criticize myself when I don’t achieve them. I may want to adopt a more realistic perception of the world, and stop criticizing myself for things beyond my control.
-Keep working hard and be prepared to keep working; the fact I’m out of schools doesn’t mean I can be complacent and slack off, there will always be another thing to do. Life doesn’t stop being busy.
-To appreciate myself more as I am.