College Admissions Essay: My Path To Educational Success

Despite the beliefs of many of my peers, my path towards educational success has not been easy. I was a straight A perfectionist in junior high, but when I first started high school I hung out with the wrong people, the bad crowd, and let everything I had fall apart. Negative thoughts started consume my mind, and I began to believe them, thinking I was a failure and would never be able to reach my dreams because they were 'outrageously high'.

For a while, I wondered if I could achieve anything, but through the support of my parents and teachers who believed in me I pressed forward, tried my best, and ignored the doubts.

My future seemed to be a dark, messy haze, but it all first started coming into view when I volunteered at Camp Barnabas in Missouri for four days and three nights during the summer after my freshman year.

Camp Barnabas was a camp to enable children with mental disabilities to experience activities they would not have the chance to do in their normal daily life.

Each volunteer was assigned a kid to watch twenty-four seven, and we were to help them do archery, kayaking, zip lining, basketball, and so much more. I was too young at the time to watch my own kid, but since our group had more kids than able volunteers, I practically had to keep an eye on two. Though it was stressful, a passion for kids with mental disabilities bloomed in my heart. From watching their genuine smiles glow on their faces as we walked them around the camp, the kindness, love, and care they showed me on a day to day basis, and the laughter and joyous yells of victory we shared after winning competitions, I knew that I wanted some part of helping kids with mental disabilities to be in my

future.

Once school started and I was rolling into my sophomore year of high school, I found the inspiration to strive from Camp Barnabas and worked my best to one day be a psychiatrist with my own practice.

While I was increasing my knowledge in my academics, my view and knowledge of the world had been expanded when I traveled with People to People to 8 different countries in Europe- if you include a quick drive through Liechtenstein. This traveling experience, as well as the month long trip I took to Korea with my family this summer, enabled me to see the world in many different possible, eye opening angles.

As a child who grew up in a bi-cultural home with two Thanksgivings, I already had a certain, unique grasp for culture, customs, and the different perspectives each society can have. However, my traveling experiences allowed me to learn and perceive how at the core all humanity is the same, that sometimes we can bond with one another without speaking the same language, and as a whole we are connected and part of a global community, which is equally as important as our local community.

Through my travel experiences and inspiration from Camp Barnabas, I was able to accomplish a lot more than what I originally thought I could. I was streamlining my way towards success, however, one impending disaster stood in my way. The time to take an English class arrived, and I was absolutely horrified.

My past experiences with English were anything but pleasant. Narrative writing was always a strong suit of mine since I had been writing stories for five years, but writing academic papers were my crutch. I never received an A on a paper once in my life, and I was concerned that a poor score in my English class would lower my GPA. However, with help from a tutor, she showed me the connections and similarities between the two and helped me strive and receive As on papers from there on out.

Though I had difficult beginnings, I was able to strive forward with the inspiration from Camp Barnabas, open my eyes to a whole new global world, and conquer one of my greatest weakness in the four years I spent in high school. And as I go forth into college, I will continue to excel.