In the August before my sophomore year of high school, a challenge emerged. My dad had passed away. Of course you would read that and automatically think about how that would affect me in many ways. However no one, not even myself, was aware of the many challenges that went with this.…
I have experienced winters with and without snow. I have experienced both diverse, and homogeneous worlds. I have friends from boarding schools, as well as, friends from schools in urban neighborhoods. And I love it.…
My greatest influences are my parents and my brother. My brother suffered from Guillain- Barre Syndrome when he was eight. He lived in the hospital on an artificial ventilation for 97 days and later he had to continue physical therapy for at least ten years as he was completely paralyzed. My parents and my brother devoted their few years completely for his treatment. Today, my brother is a successful engineer working in the bay area. I learned that with dedication, determination and diligence we can achieve our dream in life…
Walking into the locker room about to get ready to go to our last football game of the season. I could smell the sweaty equipment from the kids who never take their pads home. The Hempfield Spartans 7th grade team would be ending their season 0-7 if we didn’t win today. As I was changing into my pads my friend mike walked in the room. I said “you ready for tonight”. “Heck yeah” replied Mike.…
Warfford, Anita Angeline. “The Development and Impact of Gender Roles in Sparta.” The Catacombs. 12 Oct. 2008 < http://home.triad.rr.com/warfford/ancient/spartagen.html>.…
Every morning, after I see Renji off to office, I close the grill door behind me ,put a chain around and lock it……
Have you ever had a reoccurring challenge in your life? The one that sticks out the most is my challenge to still get on and ride with my knee. Every time I ride it could be my last. I still get back on every time though.…
Later in my high school career, now bigger and stronger, I tried out for an elite summer softball team. My new coach was unlike any coach I had had before. He would scream in my face, and point out my flaws in front of the entire team. However, most importantly, he challenged me to grow as a person and to confront my biggest fear, which is failure. He pushed me to my limits, making me want to quit and wishing I had never played the game. Despite these challenges, I persevered and became mentally and physically…
My mother, “Regina Hopkins,” has been a positive influence in my life. She has raised 6 kids all by herself as well as earned a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from a City College in Gainesville, Florida. My mother has been through pretty much everything a person can go through outside of war and was still able to be there and provide for all 6 of her kids. In high school, my mother wanted to play football and couldn't because she was a girl and back-in-the-day women were not allowed to play football with the guys. However, she remained strong by raising 6 kids and independently took care of all of us on her own. My mother has several qualities that I would love to develop. The first quality she has is balance; she certainly knows how to make…
Success through struggle is a story of one young soldiers attempt at something great. Through the struggles that I endure in this story of my attempts of joining an elite military organization are a testament to Army Values and the warrior ethos. You will learn that even if you do not succeed at first you will find success in other avenues. This story is not for quitters it is for those who enjoy tales that show triumph of the mind, body, and spirit.…
Albert Einstein, a wise scholar, once stated, “The only mistake in life is the lesson not learned.” Furthermore, I have come to comprehend that I have learned a major lesson throughout my teen years: the importance of responsibility.…
Moving on is easy but what you leave behind is what makes it hard. Once you get to a certain age in your life you know you have to move on sometime. I know times are hard but you have to push yourself toward what you really want in life even if it means moving away from what you love.…
In my sophomore year of high school I was faced with adversity on the basketball team. The coaches showed a lot of favoritism and I was not one of their players they favored. They would put me in positions to fail, like placing me as a Center when I was more suited to play Small Forward or Power Forward. They expected me to not perform well and wanted to punish me and take playing time away, but instead I worked hard and performed well enough that they could not afford to keep me on the sidelines. When I was playing in the game if I did anything wrong, something so small that it is hardly even considered a fault, my coach would pull me out of the game and yell at me. When someone else did the same thing or something worse, he would pat them on the back and tell them "You'll do better next time," or he would completely ignore it and not say a word.…
Throughout my life I have encountered many circumstances that have shaped me into the person I am today. I was born in Moroleon, Guanajuato, Mexico. I attended school in Mexico all the way to second grade. In the summer of 2006 I moved to Cumming, Georgia. It was the hardest thing to do because I left everything that I care the most about. We lived in a trailer which was not the nicest place and in the middle of the forest. I started school at the beginning of August. I had always loved school so I was so excited for the first day. I knew it was going to be hard because I would have to conquer so many obstacles on the way. At this time the only English I knew was probably counting from one to ten and some of the colors. My Father knew some…
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.…