College App Essay

I am currently 17 years old. I have a car (a 2006 dark gray Honda Civic), I drive everywhere all by myself. I would like to think that I am a very good driver, I am perceptive and attentive to everything going on around me-nothing goes unnoticed. I am not like the average teen when they first get behind a wheel; windows down, music blasting, driving to entertain the friends in the back seat. My eyes are on the road, I am focused and I am in control. It’s almost funny how we can get behind a wheel and be in a completely focused mindset but then in real life we struggle to drive and control ourselves. 

I have been in ballet and various dance classes since I was 3. You don’t typically meet a person who has stuck with the same thing from such a young age, who is so invested in what they do. I eat, sleep, and breathe dance–literally. I am almost at the studio more than I am at my own home. It has truly shaped me as a person and how I go about my day to day life. I have gained aspects of discipline, mannerism, persistence, grit, respect, teamwork, and so much more. Hands down, I would not be the person I am today if it were not for dance. 

“You’re driving.” This is something I have been hearing from one of my ballet teachers during class whenever she sees that I am not pushing myself to the extent that she knows I'm capable of. At first, I didn’t really understand what she meant but when she tells me, “you’re driving” She means that only I can control my body and push through when things are difficult and that no outside force should affect that. I used to struggle with confidence, I would always second guess myself or go into things very timidly, I still sometimes fall into these bad habits but recently, I have been breaking these habits. I’ve learned to find joy and love in ballet and to not be so hard on myself. I have accepted the fact that I will make mistakes and what matters now is how I choose to prevail in these difficult situations. Life is not worth living if all I  do is second guess and doubt myself. There is a point in time where I have to turn around, accept the things I cannot change, grab this metaphorical steering wheel, and take control. 

It’s challenging to stick with something and stay consistent, especially something that I have been doing for such a long time that is so mentally and physically exhausting. Ballet is like trial and error, I am going to make many mistakes before I start seeing results and I just have to keep pushing and working to get what I want. I learn to push through by thinking about my goals and what I want for my future and making my hard work worth something. 

I am just now starting to scratch the surface of something beautiful. By allowing myself to make mistakes, take risks, open myself up to new ideas, I am finding myself . I am enjoying, appreciating, and loving what that small 3 year old girl loved when she was put in her first ballet class. I am starting to see my bright future and the possibilities are endless. I am fully capable of taking control and driving my life to where I want it to be and nothing can stop me.

Creative writing  

Untitled Poem 

We struggle.
Struggles turn into habits,
Habits turn into routines,
Nobody's perfect.

Struggles that turn into habits-
Hard to break.
Perfect does not exist.
Change is hard,

Hard to break.
Like an unspoken bond.
We struggle to change,
That's a fact.

Unspoken bond-
A sworn oath between two.
A fact is a fact,
It's just the truth.

Sworn oath between two.
Habits become daily routine-
True.
We struggle.