Preview

College Admissions Essay: The Man Who Changed My Life

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
450 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
College Admissions Essay: The Man Who Changed My Life
As I pushed deeper into the dry browning meadow, a drop of sweat rolled over my forehead. Arm after arm, I swept away the towering stalks that obstruct my path: my destiny. Suddenly, glimmering of a deep red, and hinting of green in its reflection, I glimpsed the exploits of my travels. To others, it was an ordinary rock; but to me, it was a treasure. I greedily knelt down, picked the gem up, stuffed it in my pocket, and continued on my safari.
For years, I never second guessed why I proceeded; however, looking back I realize that my decision reveals a fundamental aspect of human nature, and thus originates the most perplexing question of my life: for what do we proceed?
Why do men such as Albert Einstein work up until their last breaths for a cause of which they will
…show more content…
“There must be an answer,” my black and white mind would insist to itself, so I went searching. At first, I resolved at greed (anecdote or story about how i used to want to pursue a career strictly for wealth), a while later, I settled on admiration (I only did what I thought others would want me to be doing), and then years later, curiosity (Bring in my love of knowledge and how it drove me to exceed); however, it’s clear to me now that these conclusions were nothing more than a projection of my own motivations onto that of the world’s.
After years of contemplation and thinking outside the box, I’m privileged to say I’ve discovered the answer. Its prose is simple: all of the above. It’s greed, it’s hope, it’s curiosity, it’s admiration, and it’s so much more. I realized that the world isn’t always black and white, and the individual constituents don’t always define the whole.
This viewpoint has shown me the falsehood of stereotypes and generalizations. It has allowed me to appreciate the individual, and the stories that come with him/her. And most importantly, it has highlighted the subjectivity of life, and how no two people will look at something in the same

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Pr in Selfish Pursuit

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “You arrive at a goal and that makes you happy, but then you notice that the happiness is composed half of relief, half of self satisfaction; the latter half makes you distinctly nervous, and you fall to chewing on your achievements, discounting them. This then becomes the spur to more achievements, more happiness, and more guilt”…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The mountains were stone dark, secured with trees whose hues were a blend of woodsy cocoa, knoll, key lime, and margarita green. Scattered powder-puff mists gradually fled over the sky and the sun feed like a bolt. Seeing this made me feel like I inadvertently touched base to paradise. I breath gradually, attempting to recall each snapshot of me being encompassed by woodland, sky, and mountains. We began climbing the gigantic mountain, talking, grinning and chuckling together. After like an hour we sat down for a moment on an immense uneven and dusty rock close to the waterfall. The wind that blew through the trees into our confronts now conveyed a light sprinkle from the waterfall, and a clue of peace. The sound of the wind shrieking, the waterfall smashing against the stones and the fowls singing their wonderful tunes, made me feel considerably more joyful than I was at that point. We began moving to the top once more. My legs began to hurt yet I didn't give an indication of my torment. I raised my eyes to the sky, and my sight fell on the hawk who skimmed over the wind. At that time, I craved flying as well, over the mountains and over the oceans. I strolled slower now, thinking how brilliant it would be to fly, and the greater part of the…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Revised Thesis: People’s ambitions are often geared to the success of others who are wealthy and powerful, which, in turn, prevents them from achieving true intrinsic happiness.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I wandered wondrously through the dense, compact forest to seek for myself a future. It is on this day that I ultimately decided to make the bold decision and take initiative in my life. For it was in the past that I spent countless hours in my home, wandering wondrously with no ambition. I had no hope, no desire, no goal for myself. I lived life as the days rolled by.…

    • 1619 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I had a really terrible memory when I was young, which was about a car accident. In the summer of 1995, I was 7 years old at that time,I was playing with my friends in the garden which was near my house. Suddenly, a friend of mine started fighting with a big guy. I didn’t know what happen, I was too young and so scared, the only thing I thought was to find his parents to go for help. So a girl and I decided to run to his home. The little girl was in front of me when we were crossing the road, and we didn’t realize a car was coming. The driver saw the girl first, so he turned right to avoid hitting her, but he didn’t know that there was another child coming out.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I never imagined that one little, tiny human could change my life. I know they say that the second you see your child, you’ll experience a love that you’ll have experienced before. Although I didn’t have a child, the birth of my little sister sure allowed me to experience this love. At the ripe age of 13, I was beyond excited for my mom to have a baby. While I already had two siblings, they were closer to me in age. I was finally going to be able to take care of a baby, and there was nothing that I was more excited about.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The entire crowd was absolutely silent. The eyes of every spectator were fastened on me as I looked towards the ground in shame. Why did I take the shot? Why didn’t I just pass the ball and let someone else feel this regret? Why, was the only question I kept wanting myself to answer, but was also the question I kept trying to forget. I could hear my fellow teammates talking like I were a hologram not good enough to even exist in their presence. I awaited my coach to release all the anger he had felt during my biggest mistake. Then, finally after what felt like an eternity, coach walked in. He had the same shame that I felt, the shame of defeat.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I didn’t know heartbreak until June 28, when my dad told me that he had stage 4 cancer. I didn’t know fear until August 13, when I found out that he would have to undergo radiation to combat a tumor in his brain. I didn’t know weariness until August 24, when everyone at school talked about how great their summer had been, and I had to lie and say that mine had been fine. I didn’t know how deep my love for my dad ran until June 29, when I wiped away my tears, stood a little straighter, and vowed to help him find little rays of light in even the worst days.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I'm a seventeen year old African American Christian girl, who has no idea what she going to be in life. When I was ten years old my mother, Candyce Brockington, died from cancer. While she was alive, I swore I would become a doctor and cure cancer. After she died, I didn't know who I was, let alone who I wanted to become. Completely lost and confused, my main focus became my studies, not because I enjoyed it, but because it keep me focus on the big picture, college. When my mother was still alive the most important thing she wanted was for her kids to go college and live a wonderful and happy life. When we, my siblings and I, were children we played all the sports and joined all the clubs, not for amusement, even though I did have fun, but…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though I am sure of my identity, who I am and what I wish to accomplish now, it definitely was not something that came quickly. For a long time, I didn’t think I’d ever have the one special thing about me that I assumed everyone else had- the activity they threw themselves into, that dominated their lives and everyone knew them for. With just about everything I tried, I never quite found that deep passion for anything. I didn’t realize yet that I’d dismissed a significant part of myself a long time ago that was crucial to figuring out what I wanted to do with my life.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many turning points in my life, one being able to find my true passions and own hidden goals. When I was a sophomore, I discovered drawing, which was my escape from reality of expectations and results. I loved art, because there wasn’t a right or wrong answer to how I could have approach it. Art quickly became my hobby, and I discover more creativity and colors to life. I learn to appreciate other things in life, and work harder to look outside the box. Drawing also helped me to improve my problem solving skills; I learn to analyze things in front of me deeper than on just the surface. Therefore, I will always be grateful to be able to discover drawing, which gives more creative outlook onto my life.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wake up, go to school, study, get good grades and repeat. That’s what my parents have always told me to do ever since I was a child and careless of my future ahead. Thinking of those words now, I can understand what my parents were trying to make me understand, but is this really how being young and free supposed to be like? Through having to to this assignment, I actually got to think and elaborate on things I’d like to accomplish before having to fully focus on my career and family. One of my first accomplishments before heading of to university would be becoming fluent in German. By taking online lessons and practising through phone calls to my german relatives, I’ll be fluent in German in no time. Another accomplishment which is quite cliche, is to get accepted to McMaster’s university and study life sciences, and the only route to getting there is to work hard at school.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Greed In Renaissance

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages

    For example, Gordon Gekko’s speech at the Teldar management conference as a financial advisor states “Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind.” (Gekko). Gekko being a smart investor and a liberator of struggling companies, states that his success was due to his greed to become wealthy and rich. His act ultimately led him to be one of the most influential person in the movie and in today's society. He goes on stating, greed is everything mankind strived for and greed pushed mankind to its advancement and prosperity. Furthermore, greed makes one relentlessly pursue one's goal in life. In the Declaration of independence, the founding fathers state that pursuit of happiness is a unalienable right and enabling one to pursue their goal that makes one happy, is a right that no man has the power to restrict (US 1776). The burning desire to be better, fuels one to pursue more, makes one work harder, and makes one pursue happiness. This implies that the human nature of desire, ambition, and pursuit of self interest is a trait that god himself awarded humans to…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    His name was "Evan". I didn't know him all that well. We were both eleven years old and riding the school bus home at the end of the day. Suddenly he began to stare, his eyes glazing over and saliva curled at the edge of his mouth. I was witnessing someone have a seizure right in front of my eyes. It was the first time I had ever experienced something this serious in nature; someone's life was at risk. At that moment I noticed that everyone started to back away as if disgusted by the drool coming out of his mouth. I heard kids yelling for the bus driver's help, but she wouldn't do anything, or couldn't do anything for that matter. She just kept driving and said she couldn't help him at the moment.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Importance Of Avarice

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A peek at the surrounding planet discloses society is the birthplace of avarice. Individuals are suddenly no longer craving to achieve based on ability but, solely for their social standing. Considering what forms society, social rank including both wealth and race are two common elements affecting it. Entitlement and pride are growing concerns ultimately standing as obstacles to those wanting a climb on the social ladder. According to Erich Fromm, “Avarice is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.’’ Avarice can be technically defined as, “Insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.”…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays