Project #1
Throughout my life, I have done a
variety of things. I have met many
people, participated in several different activities, and spent time in some
influential places. Over the years, my
passions have varied, from “My Little Pony” and tea parties, to tree climbing
and rollerblading, to boys and make-up.
When I was five, I was convinced that I was going to grow up to be an
artist. Later, I realized that being an
artist was completely unrealistic—I was going to be a ballerina. The point is, my life has been shaped by my
interests and the effects that they have had upon me. Now that I am older and do not have time to
play with Barbies, my passions have somehow morphed into more “grown-up”
things. It is important to understand
whom I have become, what made me the way I am, and how my experiences have
predetermined the path on which I will travel as I make my way into the
future. I have come to realize that
through it all, I have been consistently passionate about one thing—people.
I believe that who I am has led me
indirectly to my passion. As far as my personality goes, I am obsessed with
perfection. I am a hardworking
individual who has a need to excel at everything I do. In school, I have always been concerned about
grades and I feel that I usually put more into my schoolwork than do my
peers. Though I would not go as far as
to say that I enjoy schoolwork, I enjoy the challenge and I ultimately enjoy
learning, though it is sometimes hard for me to realize. When I attempt to do
something and do not feel that I did a good job, it severely affects my
confidence level. It is always my hope
to do my best and achieve my goals, in and outside of the classroom.
I was not driven to set goals for
myself outside of school until I began swimming. However, I did not have much
of an interest in swimming at first. One summer when I was in elementary
school, my parents forced me onto a summer league swim team. It was okay, but I did not, by any means,
love it. When I got a little older, I
was even less excited to be put on a year-round swim team called El Paso Aqua
Posse. This team was very serious and
much more competitive. I was miserable
for the first few months, but, gradually, I began to like it. In fact, I would
have to say that I only began enjoying it after I had found some friends.
Eventually, I grew to love it more than anything else in my life. I cannot explain in words what it feels like
to train hard with your teammates, pushing yourselves to your limits and seeing
what your bodies can achieve. Swimming
can be rewarding, but only if you invest everything you have to give.
I made some lifelong friends on Aqua
Posse. I looked forward to spending time
with them at practice every day. Though
we worked hard, we made it fun. I
learned so much about sportsmanship and teamwork, and swimming greatly changed
my perspective on life. It made me much
more goal-oriented and my teammates helped me find a competitive side of me
that had never existed before. I saw
that my determined attitude in school transferred to the pool as well.
When I went into high school, it
only seemed natural to try out for the Coronado High School Swim Team. I enjoyed high school swimming even more, and
made many friends. I even grew closer to
the girls who would become my three best friends, who are shown in the picture.
Unfortunately, by my junior year of high school, I began to feel burnt
out. I
The 2005 CHS Swim Team²
no longer liked swimming, and I hated getting in the pool to
practice every day. I had lost my
passion for swimming, but I cared so much for the team that I knew I had to
stay.
Now that I am no longer in high school, I miss high
school swimming so much—not for the swimming, but for the friends I’ve left
behind. I have countless memories of the
people on the team and will never forget the time I’ve spent with them. Our team had such remarkable unity—the common
goal brought us all so close, and we formed friendships with one another that
will last a lifetime. The picture shows my entire team and my coach with our
tie-dye shirts we made before the District Meet.
Senior Exec. Homecoming float³
While I was
in high school, I developed another interest.
As a freshman, I was overwhelmed by all of the amazing organizations on
campus. I became involved with many of
them, including Student Council, National Honor Society, and PAWS (Protecting
Animals With Students). I was also involved in a club called Clean Sweep, in
which I cleaned up trash at my school and around the community. It felt so
right doing things to help others. My favorite
and most meaningful position, however, came my senior year when I was elected
to the Senior Executive Committee. In
Senior Exec., I had the privilege of representing my grade and working on many
projects for our class and the school.
We organized many events, put on fundraisers, and voted on several major
issues. The picture shows the
Grecian-theme float we made for the annual Homecoming Parade. For me, the most memorable event was Talent
Show, for which I was made head of the Decorations Committee. The ideas came easily to me, and I enjoyed
being in charge and planning out what needed to be done.
Though being involved with so many
clubs sometimes made my life hectic, I somehow enjoyed staying so busy. I think one of the major reasons I stayed
with the organizations throughout high school was because of all the people I
interacted with. Not only were many of
my closest friends involved, but I was able to help others and meet many new
people in the process. I will never forget the countless hours that I spent
picking up trash, visiting the Animal Rescue League, doing community service,
and helping to make our school a better place.
I did not always enjoy the work, but the energy that surrounded me in these
situations was so positive, and it was inspiring to be around people who cared
about the same things that I did.
Learning how to be a leader significantly changed my outlook on life.
It was not until I came to
My family and me at my graduation4
For my own happiness, I rely on others. Perhaps this is my tragic flaw. I want to be surrounded by people who love me
and care about me. Does that make me a
bad person? I know it sounds
presumptuous. To feel needed and cared
about, to feel your love reciprocated, is the ultimate gift. I am a loving and
emotional person, and this allows me to form tight bonds with my friends. However, it takes time to build up the trust
on which a friendship is based. I knew
that when I moved to
Before
moving to college, I was not often faced with the obstacle of making new
friends. I had known most of my friends
in high school from as far back as elementary school. I think that being forced to form
relationships with new people is something that will ultimately make me a
stronger person and provide me with skills that I will certainly need in the
future. Sometimes, it is necessary for
one to step outside his or her comfort zone in order to learn a beneficial
lesson. These experiences in the past
months have made me realize the tremendous effect that other people have on my
life.
Immediately
upon arriving in
In
the beginning, it was extremely difficult for me to make friends in my
sorority, and I seriously considered dropping out. However, I knew that in order to be happy, I
would have to overcome the challenge of making new friends. Though I was slower than most to find my
group of friends, I eventually did. Now,
I could not be happier with my decision to stay with Alpha Delta Pi. I believe that I will grow to love my
sorority more and more as I become closer to my sisters.
It
now occurs to me that the other things I have been passionate about throughout
my life have always involved people. It
is obvious now that the social aspect of something such as swimming, school, or
Senior Exec. was what made it enjoyable for me. This maybe explains why I look
up to outgoing and friendly people who are able to make friends easily. I think it was hard for me to see before
because I was so caught up in my life.
Now, having had everything in my life change, I have done a great deal
of reflecting on my old life and what it was that made me so happy back
then. As Ram Dass and Paul Gorman wrote,
“It’s as if you lived in a little town, and you go up to a mountaintop and,
looking down, you see how you move about in the course of an ordinary day. You see your route to work, how you go
shopping, the main thoroughfares, your shortcuts, your daily routines–you’re
seeing all that from up there”.5 Everything
has changed so much in the past month that I feel as if I am reflecting on the
life of a different person.
My boyfriend and me7
Dass and Gorman also noted, “We
don’t have to be anybody in particular.
We don’t have to be ‘this’ or ‘that.’ We are free simply to be”.6
These words are encouraging and remind me of something that, deep down,
I always knew was true. It is easy to
feel pressured to try to be what you think you should be, especially when you
feel out-of-place after moving somewhere new.
It is important to be true to yourself and not force yourself to be
someone you’re not. When I’m with my
family, boyfriend, or friends, I am able to be myself. The picture shows my boyfriend and me. I never feel like I have to try to hide who I
am around them because I know that they love me for me. Perhaps this is why I enjoy the company of
loved ones so much, and rely on them for comfort and security.
However, it is my hope that my
college experience will mold me into a new person, one who is more independent
of others and able to rely on herself for her own happiness. I must learn to have the confidence to be
myself, even in the midst of strangers.
My role models are real people,
people I see every day–adults and peers who take charge and find happiness and
success. I am not inspired by famous
people, whose lives seem shallow, dramatic, and largely unattainable. I am inspired by people who lead satisfying
lives, people who have achieved their goals and have formed wonderful
relationships with the people they love.
Sometimes, I look up to people that I do not even know—people who pass
by on the streets. I like to imagine
what their lives must be like. I know
that everyone has some problems and flaws, but it is easy to perceive someone
else’s life as better than your own. It
is my job to learn from my faults, and to use this knowledge to become a better
person.
Regardless of whether my loved ones
are around or not, I need to be sure to remain true to myself. After all, it is my driven personality and
love of people that will help lead me to achieve my goals in the long run. In the future, I hope to find a career that
makes me happy, presenting a challenge that I want to meet, one that gives the
sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that I have worked so hard for all
these years in school. I also want to form relationships with new people and maintain
the amazing ones I have now so that I will always have close friends that I can
count on. My ultimate goal is happiness.
I long to find a place of belonging, in which I am content and at peace.
(2,232 words)
Words omitted:
173
Words added: 414
Notes
1. Picture is author’s own photo
2. Picture is author’s own photo
3. Picture is author’s own photo
4. Picture is author’s own photo
5. Ram Dass and Paul
Gorman, “How Can I Help?,” in Explore
6. Ram Dass and Paul
Gorman, “How Can I Help?,” in Explore
7. Picture is author’s own photos
Bibliography
Dass,
Ram, and Paul Gorman. “How Can I Help?” In Explore
Texas, edited by Jerome Bump, Vol. 1, 2 vols. 163.