I’m happy with who I am today, just as everyone should be. But if I could change anything about myself, I’d want to have more motivation to do things. In the mornings before school I can barely get out of bed because I’m so tired and don’t want to go to school. I’m exceedingly intelligent but I don’t have any drive. I procrastinate on most of my work, and sometimes I just don’t want to do the work. Right now I’m rank 14 in my class but I could’ve been higher if I had any drive my freshman year. I don’t think about how my decisions now will impact me later and when I do, I don’t really care. I also don’t have much motivation to do things in sports activities. Last year I played volleyball and I never had that much playing time. Never being able…
“One of my coworkers called her over, gently sat her down, and typed the letter. It was a simple act. Yet never has a Harvard student seemed great to me as in that moment of reaching out.” Asgedom meant by, to recreate vivid image for the reader, one of a Harvard student helping an elderly woman type a letter. Asgedom is reminded of his mother’s advice to “remember where you came from.” Notably, Asgedom uses all caps. I TAUGHT HIM TO WORK HARD AND TO RESPECT OTHERS. NOW LOOK WHERE THAT HAS TAKEN HIM. Asgedom emphasize how proud his father would have been to see him and give them his commencement speech. Especially, Asgedom uses personal reflection and imagery. “In that sense we carried a home, a community, a sense, of mutual responsibility wherever we went.” Asgedom meant by this that the lesson he wants the graduates and readers to understand, that you must give back to your community and help others. Even though he worked hard to get where he is, he never forgot where he came…
I have heard many people around me saying that you should go walk the Brooklyn Bridge at least once and I never have a chance to fulfill it. Through this opportunity, I called my friend up to accompany me to walk the Bridge for the first time. Based on the information from the history of the United States, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883 and considered as an engineering marvel for that time. It remains as one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. During mid-1800s, the ferries connected Manhattan and Brooklyn. Ferries was a major convenience transportation for us, the people of that day were used to oars and sails to ride boats. These faster, more reliable ferries helped Brooklyn grow until the bridge was build. When…
If I could paint anything on Beta Bridge, it would be “make your bed.” This is inspired by the commencement speaker at The University of Texas at Austin in 2014, Naval Adm. William H. McRaven, ninth commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. He started off his speech by telling his audience that “if you wanna change the world, start off by making your bed.” At first, this sounds like a strange comment. However, upon further thinking, I realized this is something to live by. I would paint “make your bed” on Beta Bridge because it serves as a reminder to all that see it that the little things in life matter. McRaven says this task will give you a sense of pride, it will encourage you to do additional tasks, and reinforces that if you cannot…
As a particularly curious and proactive member of society, I consider myself to be civically engaged; although the degree of engagement can be argued. Personally, I believe that small things make up the larger picture, so my engagement is mostly interpersonal, as small interactions can set of chain reactions. Speaking out on issues with (or to) friends, politely engaging strangers in conversations and presenting different points of view, and constantly seeking to better myself is how I remain aware and knowledgeable on current issues, and also how I continue to learn new things and refine my thoughts. Not everyone is born to take center stage, and so we must all strive to do what we can, even if it’s simply a few words of encouragement or a…
Nearing the end of the tube I can almost see the shore, It feels as if I've been riding this wave for days. This wave is my hurdle in the ocean that is life, choppy at the beginning but slowly passing by. The ocean has many waves, one for each surfer to ride, my specialty wave happened to be dyslexia. It was in the second grade that my teacher first realized I was different from the other students, because I had yet to read my first book. My parents had found this odd as well, and took me to see a neurologist, who diagnosed me as having dyslexia. I did not quite know what this meant at the time, I only knew that it was the reason I could not comprehend the topics as easily as my classmates.…
There has been many cases in which I have helped an outsider feel welcome. One time in particular is when I played tag with this little boy at church since he was new and no one else played with him. Originally, I was outside eating candy and talking to my friends at church. I noticed that this little boy was standing all alone watching all the other little kids play without him. I thought that maybe he was upset so I went over to him and asked if he wanted the rest of my gummy worms. He seemed nervous at first, but eventually he started talking to me. I learned that he was five years old and he was visiting his grandparents for the weekend. His older brother was outside playing basketball with some of the other older boys at the church, and…
Today was the day. The big day. My election for Lieutenant Governor of Division 2B for Key Club, an international service club, was today. Fear and anxiety pricked my skin in rapid movements emanating from every pore. I rehearsed my speech for the fifth time that day. Upon arrival at the Fairfax Library, I urged myself to remain calm. I quickly scouted out the other girls who were present; one girl was dressed professionally with a folder in her hand. I knew that was my competition. The girl spoke eloquently and genially, she radiated enthusiasm and a certain warmth that I did not have. With every question that was asked, she answered with a smooth smile and high-pitched tone that was dripping with sincerity. I bristled inside; I had just been slapped. I was shrouded in a cloud of anxiety and anxiousness. Suddenly, I was dragged from my reverie.…
In seventh grade I wanted to tryout for volleyball. I was very nervous because I had never played it before. I was super happy when I found out all my friends and I made the team. We had a lot of practices in December to get ready for games in January. I was really nervous for our first game. Our first game was supposed to be right after christmas break ended, but we had a snow day so it was cancelled. I wished it hadn’t been so I could just get it over with, but i was gonna have to wait. We were scheduled for another game later that week. I woke up with a phone ringing and an answering machine saying that school was cancelled due to boiler issues. I sat in bed thinking I had once again gotten lucky and we had no game, I was wrong. We were…
time for me to begin my 10 minute warming up. I move my head side to side, stretch my legs, and I begin to walk briskly. I drank my water because I need to stay hydrated. When I was ready I sprinted out like a rocket. My brother began to time me. It took me 12 minutes to finish my one mile. Once I felt that my heart was pounding, my stomach started to develop painful cramps, and my My throat was as dry as a bone. I stopped and took deep breaths in and out. I took a five minute break and finished my 3 miles by walking. Once I finished my three miles I felt proud of myself and motivated for the next days to…
Learning from mistakes is a key part of life. I myself have had to learn from my mistakes. Over the summer I cut my foot outside. I spent the whole night in the worst hospital, then I got 18 stitches in the bottom of my foot. It also set back my ability to play football. My mistake was going outside without shoes, now I wear my shoes all the time.…
Traveling into the Indian Territory, we were being angrily chased down by three Indians furiously shouting at us. Dashing through the thick forest, the savage Indians were throwing spears and shooting arrows that narrowly missed us. Although neither Gideon nor I was mortally injured, I did suffer from a nick from an arrow piercing near my ear. Thankfully, a group of burly fur traders approached from the side, which frightened the Indians to run away. Acknowledging that Gideon and I were inexperienced travelers in the west, they offered us protection in exchange for some valuable possessions. As a consequence, knowing that they were our best alternative for survival, we gave them our antique gold pocket watches and assumed the identities of novice fur traders. From that point on, we followed them through the west and adopted their skills for efficiently hunting animals and keeping warm in the harsh, cold weather. During one of our rest points, we approached a large Cherokee settlement located in Park Hill in which our group leader was friends with the Cherokee leader John Ross.…
As Hannah knows, I had to take my car in for some unexpected repairs today so am a little short on money at the moment.…
I remember day after day going to swimming lessons in the summer of 2002 at the Mount Vernon pool. Almost every day I walked by the ladder that seemed to go on forever. I used to sit on the pools edge and watch the older kids do flips and other cool tricks off of the high dive. Many times I had gotten half way up the ladder but couldn't bring myself to go all the way up. For a seven year old going off the high dive was like a right of passage and a way to be seen as "cool" in the eyes of the older kids. Today I will be telling you about the first time a braved the high dive.…
Most teenagers do not have a clue about what they want to be when they grow up. Most young adults also do not know where their path is in life. Even some full-blown adults are still trying to figure out their purpose. I was lucky. I knew exactly where I belonged from about the time I was seven up until now, at the decently young age of nineteen. I do not see my path changing anytime soon; in fact, I know it will never change. But, I did not just wake up one day as a child and know what my path was, while that would be impressive. Defining moments in one’s life defines who they are. There were lots of things I experienced in my life that made me realize my purpose, my absolute passion. I had four of these defining moments in my short span of…