Personal Statement #2

When I was in the fifth grade my life changed. I was put into Mr.Wiley's class. He was a tall, slim man. I didn't know much about him, but what I heard made me somewhat apprehensive to have him as a teacher. Kids were scared of him because he wouldn't tolerate class clowns. School was serious to him, and over time he instilled that same seriousness in me.

I was always a bright student in elementary school. I made the honor roll every year since first grade. There was no challenge and none of my teachers pushed me to my full capabilities. When I met Mr.Wiley, he pushed, and he pushed hard. He set my standards higher . Just making the honor roll wasn't enough, I had to get straight A's.

Mr.Wiley has dedication and he has passion for what he does. Many teachers I've seen throughout my years, especially in high school, don't have those qualities. The paycheck doesn't matter to him, teaching is more than a job. He took the time to develop me into the student I am now. He hasn't given up on me and he continues to push me until this day.

Fortunately for me, Mr.Wiley is currently a counselor at my high school. I am more than grateful to have had him in my corner for these last seven years. My parents haven't been in my life much but with my grandma and Mr.Wiley's guiding I have made it through the storm. I was born an "at risk youth" but someone took the risk to be more than a teacher to me and I feel like I am forever indebted to him. The only way that debt will be payed is if I make him proud and show him that all the work he has put in has not been in vain. The first step in paying my debt is college...

Personal Statement #1

During this past school year (2009-2010) I became a member of the African American History Team. There was a guy in my physics class reading a book called Before The Mayflower. I knew I had read it before but I asked him why he was reading it. He said he was doing the African American History Challenge (AAHC). I knew who sponsored it and I thought it would be a good idea if I joined because there weren't many other school activities that interested me.

I didn't have to try out to be on the team or apply. I received my copy of Before The Mayflower and we immediately began to study the book, which had more than 600 pages. I was the only junior on the team. I was somewhat intimidated by the seniors. They were smart, at the top of their class and they let it be known that I wouldn't have much of a chance on their team. I can remember one senior saying, "Only seniors will compete, juniors are just doing it for the experience." I couldn't care one way or another, I was just happy to be apart of a team. I didn't mind taking an hour or three to study with them on Wednesdays and Fridays. I really had nothing else to do.

The local competition neared as the months went by. We had started studying together in November. By March I was the only girl on the team. One senior had stopped coming, so she was off the team and that left me with two boys. We still aren't friends, but all the time I spent with them is as close to a friendship as I have gotten so far in high school. I was nervous at the local competition. Our coach made it clear that I was the captain. That suprised me because the seniors had all the status. It was held in our school auditorium and the crowd filled up a significant portion of the seating area. The lights were beaming down on the stage where we sat. They made me hot. My heart beat sped up as the competition started. I was convinced that we wouldn't win because there was a girl on Central's team who could answer questions before they were completely read... at least that's what I heard.

As the questions started to come we struggled some but we made it out of the first round ahead of the other teams. The nervousness had went away. By the middle of the second round, it was evident who the champs were...US! We beat the losing team by 24 points. I don't mean to brag, but I scored most of those points for my team. What made me even happier was that we would go on to national competition.

We continued to study as much as we could after the local competition but it was difficult with 2/3 of the team preparing for the end of their high school lives. They were occupied with prom, pictures, scholarships and parties. I was occupied too, I had studying for AP exams, finals and making sure my grades were where I wanted them to be.

The nervousness I felt with the first competition revisited me as June 16, 2010 approached. I was very busy: ACT, Summer Scholars and trying to study for the competition. I was overwhelmed. Being nervous would not stop the inevitable from occurring. On the morning of June 16th we flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The national competition would be held there, in a beautiful, oceanside hotel. Our first match up was 11:30 a.m. the following day. We played against Detroit and won. I surprised myself with how aggressively I competed. Our next match, against Charlotte, North Carolina, took place that same day. We lost by about ten points but we still had a chance to compete since we had the highest score of the losing teams.

I apologized to my team for our lost in the second round. I felt bad because I believed I was the reason for our lost.The coach had made me the center piece and my team depended on me. I let them down. I didn't study enough....I should've answered quicker, that little voice in my head told me. In our last match, the one that would decide our fate in the competition, we quickly outscored the other team. In the end, we ended up losing again, which meant we didn't make it all the way. I hurt inside, my ego hurt and everything else about me hurt as well. Losing is not fun. I moped around for awhile but eventually I got over it and went to watch the championship round. Both the teams we lost to competed against each other, as I watched them compete, I knew they deserved to be up there. My Spanish teacher of two years always started the first day of school with a saying: "Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance." I realized that my teammates and I weren't prepared enough. We had made it as far as we were meant to be...and I couldn't be mad at that.

My 1st Week As A College Student

I woke up early that Monday morning, 4:40 a.m. to be specific. Partially because I was very nervous and secondly because I needed to get my birth certificated to finally get my MavCard(which I haven't used to this day). I showered, dressed and packed my school bag for my first day as a college student.
I can vaguely remember the first day of college 101. My nerves had calmed because I would be taking the class with other high school students in the program, so my memory of that specific class period isn't as vivid as I would like it to be in telling you - the reader- how it went down. I wasn't as scared for college 101 as I was for my English class. I had heard that the English teacher was going to make us think. That she did.
What I love about taking classes at a college is the amount of freedom we get from the people in charge. We get 30 minutes between classes. Not five minutes. Not six minutes. An entire half hour! Didn't find the time for a stop by the restroom? Don't worry, you can go during class, no permission needed.JUST GET UP AND GO? YES! YES! YES! YES! No more holding it until your bladder threatens to explode. You are trusted to act mature and be responsible. So just because you have an entire 30 minutes to get to class and can leave class without the professor's permission doesn't mean those privileges should be abused. Use them wisely.
The focus of my English class is autobiographies. We read them and we write them. The goal is to improve our writing. The best way to accomplish that is to write about yourself. The class is challenging for me. I know I am a good writer and I love to write. Its just something that holds me back from doing it. What is that something? It is me. Its not entirely laziness, although I do have a physical problem that interferes with how much energy I can expend throughout the day.It is also mental. I fear writing. I don't want to do it but I want to. I fear writing because that is not what I want to be good at or known for. I want to be good at basketball or dancing, not writing. I don't want to accept this gift.
My English class has helped my realize that and everything I heard about my English teacher was true. She will make you think. She will make you question what you've been taught and what you believe. She might also upset you because she asks the questions and you answer, not the traditional way of teaching but its working on me.My first week of college has helped me realize that my old habits need to die, and die as soon as possible. I am not the smartest pupil anymore, I can't wait until the day the assignment is due to work on it. I can't continue to not do my homework. Its not just school anymore, its life.Its my future.

Residential Life

Finding 6510 Pine Street was not easy for two old people. After an hour of driving around in circles, we made it back to Ames Street. From there, we followed the directions to Scott Hall (like we should've done in the first place).

I was upset/tired when I finally got to the right place. I hate being late, especially when I'm interfering with other people's time. I had an attitude when I got there and didn't feel like being bothered. I had just spent about an hour driving around in circles, so...

I went into the lobby with my brother and mother. People were standing around, I din't know what to do. I just wanted to get my luggage to my room. Relief poured over me as I was handed the keys to my suite by an RT. Finally. I could tell she was excited to be there. As I looked around, everyone else was just as jovial as well. I felt bad because I didn't want to be a "party pooper" and I didn't want to be labeled as the girl with a bad attitude.

We (me, mom and brother) headed upstairs to my room. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of my suite. It wasn't bad. I wasn't expecting something that nice.I also didn't expect to have three roommates. Three people + me?....

Whatever apprehension I had about having three roommates soon faded by the next morning. My roommates were wonderful. Almost every morning - if I wasn't already awake - they would knock on my door to make sure I didn't oversleep and that I was okay. We kind of looked out for each other like that... even though we were strangers. Over the course of our stay in the dorms we became better acquainted. I liked hanging out with them. They all have different personalities but we blended well together in that suite.

My keys were the best part of living the residential life. I had three keys. One for the suite, one for my personal room and the other for opening doors around Scott Hall. It was the most freedom I've experienced thus far in my life. I could come and go - for the most part - without looking it over with anyone before hand. Oh, they game room has Mrs. Pacman! That was a definite plus...even though I didn't win much. Right across from the game room is a computer room. Us girls had a lounge room with a t.v. So you don't have to be completely isolated from your regular life. I liked the couple of days I got to spend in the residence hall. Started off kind of rough for me but I opened up a tiny bit and I feel like I made some progress with adapting to new people. I usually have a problem with that. I'm thankful I was selected to have this experience.