This I believe
There are multitudes of values and beliefs that I've used to guide my life -- faith, love, hard-work and happiness, just to name a few. It was difficult for me to choose which one of these had truly been prominent in my life, as they all have played major parts in shaping me and helping me become who I am today. Looking back through the past few years, though, I was able to choose the value that has most defined me and that has played a large part in helping me figure out my future. When I was finally able to figure this out, I was able to write my essay.
When I was a freshman in high school, I felt on top of the world. I was doing well in school, I had great friends, I had made the junior varsity volleyball team, and, after months of hard work, I had finally made the varsity softball team. I truly felt invincible, like nothing could stop me. Looking back on it now, I can laugh at how naïve I was.
During softball practice a few days after I made the team, I slid into second base incorrectly and heard my ankle crack. I was paralyzed with fear, laying on the ground. I didn’t try to get up or walk because I knew I wouldn’t be able to. I couldn’t even move my ankle or foot. My coaches tried to calm me down and called my parents, who hurried up to the school to take me to the emergency room. At the hospital, I found out that I had broken three bones in my ankle, dislocated my foot and torn all the ligaments in my ankle. I was devastated. I had to have surgery and I wasn’t able to walk for three months.
After I was cleared to walk again, I had to go to physical therapy to re-learn how to do so. I have to admit, it was difficult. I felt discouraged all the time because I knew that I wasn’t ever going to be able to walk the same way or do the same things as I did before the injury with this new plate in my ankle. I desperately wanted to play volleyball again, but with tryouts coming up so soon after my injury, I knew it was unlikely that I would make it. Everyday I woke up with a bad attitude, feeling hopeless and bitter over my injury.
One day, though, everything changed. I had a sudden realization that the only thing holding me back from becoming the person I was before was, in fact, me. It wasn’t the injury, it was my mental block telling me that I couldn’t do it. It was after that realization that I knew I had to start trying harder. My motivation was to make the volleyball team once again, and that time, I wasn’t going to let any injury or myself stand in the way. I started working harder during my physical therapy sessions, and I even went to volleyball conditioning and did what I could. By the end of the summer, I had accomplished my goal and once again made the junior varsity volleyball team one week after I was cleared to play sports again.
Because of my injury, I believe in determination. I believe that, in order to accomplish something in life, you need to take the reigns and push yourself to do it. The only person in your life who can truly motivate you is yourself. You are the only person standing in your way, and if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.
When I was a freshman in high school, I felt on top of the world. I was doing well in school, I had great friends, I had made the junior varsity volleyball team, and, after months of hard work, I had finally made the varsity softball team. I truly felt invincible, like nothing could stop me. Looking back on it now, I can laugh at how naïve I was.
During softball practice a few days after I made the team, I slid into second base incorrectly and heard my ankle crack. I was paralyzed with fear, laying on the ground. I didn’t try to get up or walk because I knew I wouldn’t be able to. I couldn’t even move my ankle or foot. My coaches tried to calm me down and called my parents, who hurried up to the school to take me to the emergency room. At the hospital, I found out that I had broken three bones in my ankle, dislocated my foot and torn all the ligaments in my ankle. I was devastated. I had to have surgery and I wasn’t able to walk for three months.
After I was cleared to walk again, I had to go to physical therapy to re-learn how to do so. I have to admit, it was difficult. I felt discouraged all the time because I knew that I wasn’t ever going to be able to walk the same way or do the same things as I did before the injury with this new plate in my ankle. I desperately wanted to play volleyball again, but with tryouts coming up so soon after my injury, I knew it was unlikely that I would make it. Everyday I woke up with a bad attitude, feeling hopeless and bitter over my injury.
One day, though, everything changed. I had a sudden realization that the only thing holding me back from becoming the person I was before was, in fact, me. It wasn’t the injury, it was my mental block telling me that I couldn’t do it. It was after that realization that I knew I had to start trying harder. My motivation was to make the volleyball team once again, and that time, I wasn’t going to let any injury or myself stand in the way. I started working harder during my physical therapy sessions, and I even went to volleyball conditioning and did what I could. By the end of the summer, I had accomplished my goal and once again made the junior varsity volleyball team one week after I was cleared to play sports again.
Because of my injury, I believe in determination. I believe that, in order to accomplish something in life, you need to take the reigns and push yourself to do it. The only person in your life who can truly motivate you is yourself. You are the only person standing in your way, and if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.