1.

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and
a new understanding of yourself or others.

Throughout my whole life until my sophomore year of high school, I have been playing and
loving sports, specifically basketball. Since I was a kid, I joined multiple leagues and travel
teams to help myself improve and also to do what I enjoy. I played in my school’s team all
throughout middle school and my freshman year of high school. This was until I felt like
basketball was taking too much of a toll on me causing me to feel tired and unmotivated to do
my academic work. Ultimately, this affected not only my school life but also my physical
well-being. After I quit basketball I knew that I couldn’t just leave sports forever, so I decided to
join volleyball. Hearing about this sport from my friends and my initial feeling about playing it
made me believe that this could actually become my favorite sport. During my two years of
volleyball, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy playing the sport and spending unforgettable moments
with my teammates, but the sport didn’t really give me the same satisfaction as basketball did.
Seeing my old friends still on the team and seeing how they genuinely enjoy basketball, to be
honest, makes me feel jealous because I know that I could’ve been a part of the team hadn’t I
quit. Now that I’m a senior and know that it’s too late to play in high school, I now realize that
basketball is the sport that I enjoy most. With this, I can say that one of my biggest high school
regrets is leaving the sport of basketball. Although I don’t have another chance to play basketball
in high school, I know I can still have fun playing outside of school with friends.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount
a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you
learn from the experience?

One setback or challenge that I can definitely say impacted my life was school during
COVID-19. All of my sophomore year and half of my freshman year got taken away from me
because of this global pandemic. After graduating from middle school, I can say that I was very
excited to go into high school. Hearing from my brother about the classes, sports, and clubs
made me feel anxious but also happy that I was going into an environment where I could be
more flexible. However, I had to make a transition that I never thought would have happened.
Having to transition from regular school life to everything being virtual made my academic life a
struggle. Especially being a person who learns through engaging activities and hands-on
experience, transitioning into a world where all work was online really affected my grades and
my mindset. Doing these assignments and listening to these lectures at home made me
unmotivated to actually try to learn and do homework. I felt like school was becoming a chore
that I had to wake up to every day. I tried fixing this problem by doing hybrid classes but this,
unfortunately, did not work for me. Although I was able to go into a classroom, there would still
only be 5-8 students in a class which made it seem awkward and even harder to learn. Through
all this, I knew that I still had to try my best to keep my grades up. Now that online school has
passed, I realized that this setback was actually an obstacle to help me grow as an individual. In
the end, this transition that I had to make taught me how to adapt to different learning styles and
environments.

3. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time.
Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

When I think of a topic that is so complex yet engaging, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also
known as the MCU, always comes to mind. The MCU is a series of movies and TV shows based
on the Marvel comics. This topic is so captivating to me because it fascinates me how much
thought is being put into the plot and timeline of this series. The way that the first movies
starting all the way in 2008 connect with the films even being made today never fails to shock
me. The directors are always finding new ways to entertain the audience that include
action-packed fight scenes, comedic relief, and wholesome interactions. Adding callbacks to
previous movies and incorporating cameos of fan-favorite characters in the MCU is another way
that the directing team does amazingly to attract the audience’s attention. In my opinion, these
Marvel films aren’t only seen as entertainment, but to younger audiences, these superheroes can
be seen as role models or inspirations. With the phenomenal fanbase that the MCU holds, many
people gather at conventions where the directors and cast also attend. Kevin Feige, the producer
of Marvel Studios is able to grab mine and many others' attention at these events by presenting
things like upcoming films and snippets of trailers. When watching these films, I can’t help but
to think about questions and what will happen next in the stories’ timeline. Fortunately, I can
always find answers to my questions and learn more on the internet as millions of others post
theorizations and explanations of the MCU. This universe of Marvel superheroes will forever be
something that astonishes me.

4. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that
responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Chosen Prompt:
Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest
inside and/or outside of the classroom.

An academic subject that inspires me is health and sciences. Throughout my life, I have always
been intrigued by things like how the body works or how the world has been evolving. I have
taken numerous science classes and I can say that each one has motivated me to learn more about
the topic. Taking classes like biology, chemistry, and health has taught me to understand these
questions that I’ve always been thinking about since I was a kid. Now that I’m in my last year of
high school, I realize that health and sciences is a subject that I actually enjoy and want to pursue
later in my career. This interest has sprouted outside the classroom as I wanted to join clubs that
could help me build a path for my future career. I joined clubs like MERITS and Club Med to
learn about jobs in the science and medical fields. I also began to research jobs that combined
both health and science, two subjects that fascinate me, in which I decided that pharmacy is a job
that I wanted to pursue. With my dad also being a pharmacist, he is what inspired me most to
want to work in the medical field and be able to help people around me. Even though this subject
inspires me, I know that getting into the medical field is very competitive and I still need to work
hard to earn what I want.