<p>The topic is: Please tell us more about yourself. Relate one or more experiences or circumstances that have contributed to your personal and/or academic development.</p>
<p>My Essay:
As a child I can say that I did not know I would be where I am today, graduating as a senior from high school not only with my diploma but my Associates Degree as well. Even when I first walked into high school my priorities were skewed. I was more focused on being appealing to the student body and growing out of this awkward person that I am. Every event that has occurred in my life has happened unplanned and unexpectedly. The reason I joined dual enrollment as a freshman is because one of my friends had told me that kids who were out of zone attending my school would be kicked out unless they did Dual Enrollment. I did it not only to stay but as a way to make my Father proud, and a distraction from what was taking place in my life at the time.
Dual Enrollment has made me less slothful. I remember when I was a freshman in my English 1 class; my teacher assigned us our first research paper. A six page research paper on Othello, at the time as a freshman that still had the mindset of an 8th grader it seemed like too much. Until I was smacked with a twenty-five page research paper my Sophomore Year then I laughed at the research paper from the year before. The catch is with both of these papers I did them wrong, my first research paper I did not do in MLA format which led to my paper not being double-spaced. My paper was much longer than what it was supposed to be and even though it was wrong my teacher still gave me an exceptional grade for it, and if I was able to prepare a lengthy paper as a Freshman that only paved the way for the rest of high school. As for my sophomore year paper I did it in one day, my teacher did not review it but I still got a good grade for it. These two task made me realize how much they baby you in high school, and how I did not want that experience for the rest of my four years. I knew that my paper obviously was not as good as it could have been if done in one day, but I knew I would still get a passing grade for it. Once I started taking my classes at Indian River State College, I had better motivation because I had been hit with the disappointment constantly in my first two years. At the time what I thought was hard to me was the kind of assurance I needed to continue Dual Enrollment.
My freshman year I remember joining the school wanting to be a part of the Student Government Association, I wanted to run for a top position but I did not because I was afraid I was not going to win. I picked up a form to become a Student Representative and ended up never turning it in, my reason being a combination of laziness and lack of peer participation. Sophomore year rolled around and I did not care for SGA until one of my friends told me that I could get into Homecoming for free if I helped out. At the time my thoughts were not I get to be in SGA, but that saves me money from my pocket. After helping my sophomore class officers decorate our building, and plan the school carnival. I realized this is the club that I belonged in. I actually had a place to be a part of in high school. I ran for SGA Historian for my following junior year, and won the position. Junior year is when all the activities hit me at once. We were in charge of Prom, Spirit week, Fashion Show, Teacher Appreciation Week, and a plethora of other events as well. I can remember being stressed out and staying up until one in the morning just to get the task done. It did take a toll on me mentally and emotionally but it also was worth it to see the outcome of the project, and see the people that were positively affected by it. Currently I am SGA Secretary, I ran for Vice President of Senior Class but I did not win, but I knew I still wanted to be in SGA, in my senior year SGA is not at all what it used to be, but I could not see myself leaving. I have put so much of my time and my heart into the Association that I want to ride it out until the end.
Outside of school, I can say since day one I have been gradually molded. I currently live with my grandmother who has dementia. For as long as I can remember, around the first grade is when my grandmother started living with us. It was not supposed to be official, but in turn of events it ended up being her permanent home. I recall my mother saying that my grandma would watch over us while my father would be at work and mother would be doing travel nursing. It was all and well for quite a while, but my mom got used to the help so my grandma stayed. I was too young at the time to entirely understand what was going on, but now that I am older it all began to click in my head and I did ask my mother questions because I wanted to understand why my grandma was not the same person I met when I was five. I remember my grandma would be talking to the wall or the empty space next to her, and I thought she was just hallucinating or being crazy, so I just told her to stop or that nobody was there, and now I realized that my family and I should have taken her condition seriously sooner. One night my father and I had driven North to Vero Beach to go visit his boss, and all I remember is within an hour of being there we were rushing back home. Apparently my grandma and mom had got into a brutal fight and the police had to come. I just remember coming home and my brother was crying in his room, and my mom was blaming my father for not being here, and all the police officer could say to my grandma is you need to take your medication. I remember my parents even sent my grandma away to New Horizons of the Treasure Coast, which is a mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation center. I did not know what it was or entirely why she was there, but she would call every night asking if she could come home and the doctor even talked to me saying my grandma says she’s fine and wants to come home, and my parents told me not to answer the phone anymore. One night I did answer, and that same night she came home. Fast forward to now, my grandma still battles with dementia, she’s paranoid to even sleep in her own room because she believes that someone is burning her. I spent most of my life knowing the grandmother I know now; I never got to experience her before personality. It has made me more sensitive to others in a way that you never know what problems someone may have.
From all three of these experiences I have learned to be more organized, a leader, and empathetic. Of course I am aware that I have more growing to do but I used to lack a few of these qualities. I jump around in my thoughts constantly, not knowing where to start or stop. I try not to display that in my actions, and if I do I know I can go back and fix it. I never truly had a problem taking charge, but I used to be the one that would sit back and let someone step in, and if nobody else volunteered than I would assume the role. As for understanding others, people say I can be a very unemotional person and very blunt, it is not because I do not have any emotions it is just that I have been put in so many roller coaster situations that I have been groomed not to react and accept. I am now learning to that it is okay to open up to others, and it is okay to cry. The stories in one’s life is only a step to a happy-ending. </p>