Luke Kenworthy's Common Application Essay: Pivotal Moments In My Life

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I sat there, holding my dog, barely able to breathe, bursting in tears and trying to understand what was happening… Every single person experiences moments that pivot the way they interpret every day occurrences in life. Whether these experiences are triumphant or devastating, our perspectives and the way we morally grow are influenced as these pivotal moments avail their importance over time. I never truly thought about pivotal moments in my life until my ninth grade literacy class’ first unit. Some of the most impacting moments in my life occurred only in the past couple years, and when I’m suppose to write about how they have affected my perspective and what my moral growth is from them, what if I don’t know yet? What if someone

In, “Luke Kenworthy’s Common Application Essay,” Kenworthy informs his readers about his alcoholic mother, who was always not a suitable role model, and how his mother’s absence had affected his life. Kenworthy talks about how the absence of a mother, made him extremely shy and timid for a couple of years, “I had always been shy as a kid and the absence of my mom exacerbated this problem as I tried unhealthily suppress my insecurities and fill her absence with others’ approval” (2). He furthermore describes his shift of perspective that occurred over years, from originally being afraid that he would become his mother, “I have no way of knowing if my life would be any different from hers”(3), to no longer worrying about others’ opinions of him, “I began to understand[...] I cannot walk in my mom’s shoes, and thus, no one else can truly walk in mine. The way others perceive me is inherently inaccurate, so I do not need to concern myself with what others think”(4). Finally, Kenworthy talks about how he gain moral growth of learning to express himself from this experience after seven years, “I am thankful for the lessons I learned from my mother; the pain I felt was a necessary step in the process of becoming the person I am today, someone who is unafraid to express himself”(6). Even though, his alcoholic mother did not help him positively,

When fourteen year old Tan’s minister’s family was invited to her Christmas Eve Dinner, Tan was devastated. She worried that they, including the minister’s son Robert, would be disappointed in her Chinese culture, “I cried. What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?What terrible disappointment would he feel seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food?”(2). Tan had already expressed that she, herself, was embarrassed for looking Chinese and wanted to fit in and look ‘American’, “For Christmas I prayed for[...] a slim new American nose”(1). This cause Tan to act rude and silent throughout the night, “Dinner threw me deeper into despair”(5). At the end of the night, Tan’s mother gave her inspiring advice that helped her to accept that she is Chinese, but Tan told her readers that she did not understand and learn her mother’s advice, until years later, “[...] my mother said to me, ‘You want to be the same as American girls[...] But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame’[...] It wasn’t until many years later[...]that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson”(7-8). For me, it took some terrible friends to help me grow