College Admissions Essay: Trying To Be Myself

Trying to be the person everyone wants you to be is the hardest part of being a teenager. If I were to tell my younger siblings and friends one piece of advice upon entering high school to overcome this difficulty, I would advise them to be themselves. Although it is a cliche and it’s often overlooked, hearing this was crucial for me. High school is the time when most students discover their place in the world and being someone who they’re not makes that journey exponentially harder. High school has become more than just academics. People have the ability to be focused on sports, clubs, and other extracurricular activities, but their main focus seems to be their social status. I was a people-pleaser. I acted the way people wanted me to act
This works for a short period of time, but it eventually destroys you. I tried to please everyone I met. I tried to get along with everyone by adapting into someone I could barely recognize. I was advised by my fellow upperclassmen that I shouldn’t worry about getting along with everyone, so following their advice, I let myself be who I wanted to be. Consequently, I lost friends that I thought were going to be forever and I was ridiculed for being different, but that didn’t hinder my growth. A weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I felt freed from the chains I had put on myself. The people who left me were never there for me in the first place, but the new students I met and the ones who stayed were my real friends. I no longer felt obligated to be someone else for others. If I had to give one piece of advice, I would tell my siblings and friends that it’s going to be a long four years if you pretend to be someone you’re not, and in the end, you’re only going to regret not doing something about it. If you stay true to who you are, you’re going to have a memorable experience. This does not only pertain to being in high school, but it goes for outside of school