When I came into Minuteman on my very first day of High School, I had no idea where I would be four years down the road. What shop I would choose, who my friends would be, or any of my plans for the future. But as I sit here, with graduation fast approaching, it’s amazing to see how far I have come. My academic performance freshman year was subpar to say the least. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand what we were learning, I just didn’t have the motivation to apply myself. At least now I can honestly say that I have learned from my mistakes. After freshman year, I got my priorities straight and was able to focus on what I really wanted; to get good grades and have a successful, promising future. To this day I have been doing much better in school, completing all of my work, studying hard, and staying after class for extra help, if needed. While attending Minuteman I have participated in many extracurricular activities. I am captain of the Arlington Boys and Girls Club Swim Team, a team which for which I have swam since the fifth grade. I am captain of the Minuteman Swim Team which I have been a member of for all four years of High School. I can still remember my first high school swim meet, feeling like I wasn’t going to be good enough, and feeling so nervous as I stepped up to the block before a race. Well this year the nerves haven’t gotten any better, but I have definitely come a long way. Without the support from my teammates, Coach Farkas, and Coach Bernstein I wouldn’t have been able to make it this far. It’s because of their encouragement over these years that I finally stepped up during my junior year and decided to swim the 200 IM. It is because of them that I will be continuing my swimming career in college. As I swim... ... middle of paper ... ...vities has made me a much stronger leader than I was four years ago. I have learned so much about teamwork, problem solving, and perseverance and these are all things that I will take with me as I further my education in the future. . My goal for the future is to continue onto college where I would like to study in the field of physical therapy. I would like to work in a hospital setting dealing with sports injuries. In the fall, I will be studying Applied Exercise Science with a Pre-Physical Therapy concentration at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. I will also be completing a minor in Spanish, with hopes to study abroad in Spain either my sophomore or junior year. As I end this chapter of my life, I am very eager to start the next one. It is sad, yes, to leave all of the friends and memories behind. But there is a whole world waiting for me.
As I reflect on my college life, I wonder about the choices I have made that have led me to where I am today and that will guide me into shaping who I long to become. The things I have had to sacrifice, the support and experiences I have had with family, friends, strangers and work colleagues. I don’t know what I will be doing three months or thirty years from now but I do know that I want to have new experiences. When I graduated from high school, I knew I didn’t want to be that person that moved back to the same town and stayed there for the rest of my life. I even contemplate leaving the United States in my adult life. Who really knows, maybe those cards are still in the deck. For now, I know my immediate goals include focusing on completing my college education the best I can, and moving away from my comfort zone, broadening my horizons and taken risks.
...hool and work and life in general. I did not strive to do my best in high school and especially my dual enrollment classes. I was not ever thinking about my future and started not coming to classes. Once I accepted God in my life Junior Summer, all that changed. I realized I was on a negative path and God helped me turn my life around. Senior year is going wonderful so far, my grades are the best they have ever been and I am busy as ever with work, school, church, and volunteer work. I love it this way, I believe staying busy requires me to stay on task and get a lot done, that is the lifestyle I have to take to college. Although that bad patch in high school lowered my grades and performance, making it more difficult to get into college, I am thankful it happened so I could learn from it before heading off to a new chapter in my life, hopefully at Auburn University!
I have been a four year letter-winner in volleyball and basketball. Athletics have been a crucial part of developing my character and work ethic. In sports, you must work together with your team to reach your goals. Trust and communication skills are vital and are tested every day. The failure and setbacks I have faced through sports have helped me to believe in myself and have the self-confidence that it takes to be successful in athletics and in life. As a senior captain of the volleyball and basketball teams, my leadership has improved tremendously as high school has progressed. Being a leader holds me accountable and I aim to be a role model for younger teammates on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.
It challenged me more than usual. Even though I love math, my teacher challenged me to be better at it. But while I was in a specialized high school in DC, I thought everything would be very easy. It became more difficult because it felt like I was behind in the learning process. But managing my positions and school was very hard. I tend to take sports more seriously than academics. Once I transferred schools, it became more difficult because it felt like I was behind in the learning process. By the end of my sophomore year, I was learning that my GPA is very big. I admit. I messed up but now that I know, I do not play around and I take my work very seriously. I found this through my teachers and guidance
The first day of my junior year I was extremely overwhelmed by this class; all the essays we were required to write in the first week didn't help much either. However, since the beginning of the year I have learned so many useful and important lessons which have guided my learning throughout this first semester and, I'm assuming, will continue to guide me for the rest of my high school experience and beyond. In addition, I have made many goals which pertain to essays I have written, and I believe I have met those goals.
Each game, my passion grew. Each team, new memories and lifelong friends were made. Sports sometimes make me feel disappointment and at loss; but it taught me to be resilient to a lot of things, like how to thrive under pressure and come out on top. Being the team captain of my high school’s football and lacrosse team showed me how having a big responsibility to bring a group together to work as one is compared to many situations in life. Currently playing varsity football, varsity lacrosse, and track I take great pride in the activities I do. Staying on top of my academics, being duel enrolled at Indian River State College, working three nights a week, and two different sport practices after school each day shaped my character to having a hard work
When I first came to college, I did not have a solid idea of what the experience would be like, but I was excited for this new chapter in my life. I enrolled in courses I though I would excel in but a couple of weeks into the quarter, I felt unprepared for the fast-paced courses that I seemed to be struggling in but that my peers seem to of been excelling in. Early on this cause me some hardships suddenly I did not feel that I was as smart or accomplished as they were. As a result of this my grades in my courses suffered early on. As time progressed, I became friends with a group of people who were also in my similar situation, they were first-generation college students, students, this great support network of students allowed me to gain more confidence in my academic ability and with the help of my lab work, I began to see that I could excel in college.
I was not ready, focused, or dedicated and as a result it reflected in my poor grades. This left me feeling like a failure, and my confidence was low in my abilities. It would take years before I would I feel confident enough in my abilities to return to college. As years passed I became focused, goal oriented, confident, and realized the path I wanted to pursue. It was a constant gnawing feeling to return to college. Once I felt confident in my abilities to succeed in college, I enrolled. As a result my grades improved to a 3.27 GPA. My academic strengths are my ability to focus, endure, prioritize and study. My deficiencies would be time management. I have set aside a time frame for study time this is what helped me to succeed in my undergrad program.
I had a difficult time learning in school. I became a few years behind my grade level and my parents considered having me repeat a grade. My learning support teacher worked with me one on one for months and taught me how to study and work hard. I continued working hard and started getting better grades, and soon I became top of my class. I kept studying and strived to get the best possible grades throughout middle school and high school. I looked to challenge myself and took advanced placement classes. I don’t think I would have worked hard in high school, if I had not struggled earlier on, I would most likely be on a completely different life
Grades are one of the most important factors of my high school career. My grade point average and my SAT's determine what college I go to. They determine my effort at high school. I must do whatever possible to keep my grade point average above 3.0. My GPA currently is ok, but if I could increase it by just .2 I would be much better off. Grades are very crucial for getting acceptance to college. They are one of the major things that colleges look at to accept you (or so I have been told). So I will keep pushing myself so that my grades will increase this year, making it possible for me to hopefully enter a better school then I can right now.
It has been nine weeks into my freshman year and I have gain so much knowledge from each class that I take. I have learn that procrastinating and waiting until the last minute to do assignments and to study is not a wise decision. I have also learned new study skills and habits. I’ve learned how to walk up the hill like I have a purpose in life so that I make it on time to my classes and not be tardy.
Every freshman will have their own individual problems that occur to them that could affect how they do in school. For me my complications of money, working, and putting in no effort as a freshman helped me to realize what I need to do to finish school. These complications helped me to realize that even though sometimes it feels impossible to stay on top of my schooling , I need to try my best and to not give up.
Remembering the feeling of embarrassment whacked against the side of my face as I realized that how horrendous I was at swimming. I can reflect back to that moment and say it motivated me to become such an astonishing swimmer. It began when my best friend Anthony, who also recruited me into tennis, was helping the empty swim team recruit members. Anthony was the type of person who would share his thoughts about a particular event and recommended it. “You’d be in shape for the tennis team if you join the swim team, it would also be helpful if you joined since we’re lacking people,” he explained. Participating in the swim team was one of the most remarkable experiences during high school.
The start of the 2002 track season found me concerned with how I would perform. After a disastrous bout with mononucleosis ended my freshmen track season, the fear of failure weighed heavily on my mind. I set a goal for myself in order to maintain focus and to push myself like nothing else would. My goal for my sophomore track season was to become a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles. I worked hard everyday at practice and went the extra mile, like running every Sunday, to be just that much closer to reaching my goal. The thought of standing highest on the podium in the center of the field, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, overcame my thoughts of complaining every time we had a hard workout. When I closed my eyes, I pictured myself waiting in anticipation as other competitors names were called out, one by one, until finally, the booming voice announced over the loudspeaker, "...and in first place, your 2002 100 meter hurdle champion, from Hotchkiss, Connie Dawson." It was visions like these that drove me to work harder everyday.
I was able to overcome many problems and challenge myself in different aspects. At the very beginning of the year, I was very sensitive and having a bad experience meant a bad life to me. Later on, I started to realize what I am doing in school, and why I am here… I understood that life without ups and downs means you're died.