Sample Essays

Sample Essay #2

My favorite saying is “no guts, no glory.” I can’t recall who said it first, but whenever I am in trouble or facing a big challenge, I think about this saying. In life, just like on the playing field, you always have to bring your A-game. You have to step up to the plate and give 110 percent if you really want to turn up the heat on the competition and take things to the next level. Sure, some people may say, “It’s only a game!” but this is true for the game of life, just like anything else. The fact is that anything worth doing is worth doing well, and every one of us controls our own destiny.  If you just take life one game at a time and be the best you can be, that’s all anyone can ask of you.

I know what it’s like when it’s crunch time and our backs are against the wall. Those are the times when you just have to circle the wagons. There have been occasions when my team is in the dumps because things are going south, but we never say die. Defeat is a bitter pill to swallow, but sometimes it just isn’t our day. Nobody ever promised you a rose garden! The game may not be a cakewalk, but to me, a tough competitor is a wake up call. Even if the game is a nail-biter, there’s nothing like snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The crowd goes wild, and it’s time to rewrite the record books!

My teammates are like my family, and every game is a team effort. No one asks for personal glory and no one gets it – after all, there’s no “I” in TEAM! The days we experience the thrill of victory are the days that make you want to get out of bed in the morning, but no one knows what that day will bring. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and life never shuts a door without opening a window. In trying times such as these, you can’t do better than live by the Golden Rule. If everyone did, the world would be a better place.

Sample Essay #3

I would like to share with you something about my current medical situation. Ordinarily I would not do so, as I am an intensely private person, but I now accept that my physical limitations have quite possibly impacted my high school performance in a negative manner, and I feel that it is only fair that you have this information. Therefore, I am reluctantly going to allow access to information that I would never, otherwise, speak of.

For the past several years, I have been afflicted by a physical situation that has sometimes interfered with my ability to focus, both in the classroom and out. I do not wish to be too specific about the symptoms of my disease, except to say that they are digestive in nature and sometimes require me to spend long periods of time in the Ladies’ Room. Despite my terrible discomfort, I refused to accept that there might be something wrong with me, and would not seek treatment. I know now that I should have been less determined to suffer in silence and more willing to accept help. Finally, my parents insisted on bringing the matter to the attention of a physician. I was tested, over a period of several weeks, for colon cancer, Crohn’s Disease, intestinal obstructions, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett’s esophagus, Heliocobacter pylori (commonly known as ulcer), celiac sprue (commonly known as wheat allergy), lactose intolerance, gallstones, bile duct stones, sclerosing cholangitis (the narrowing of the bile ducts), “Sphincter of Oddi” dysfunction and pancreatitis. You can imagine how relieved I was to learn that I had none of these terrible diseases.

Finally, I received the diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). IBS is sometimes known as spastic colon, nervous colon, nervous stomach, mucous colitis and spastic colitis, and is distinguished by abnormal bowel habits, such as diarrhea (loose stools), constipation or sometimes, as in my own case, both. It is well known to experts in this field that periods of stress can intensify the severity of IBS. I have certainly found my busy schedule of six honors/AP classes, Varsity field hockey, swimming and track teams, performing lead roles in three consecutive Spring Musicals, volunteering at the local animal shelter, tutoring at-risk children, and working three evenings a week plus all day Saturday at The Gap to be, at times, stressful, but of course it is impossible to say what has caused me to be afflicted with this very horrible syndrome.

In fact, doctors do not know what causes IBS, or why people who share my disease feel the need to have a bowel movement soon after eating, causing diarrhea, or why the prolonged spasm of the large intestine causes stool to stay in one area for too long and get dried out, resulting in small hard stools (constipation). As of today, palliative treatments are only in the experimental stage, and the hard truth is that there is no cure for IBS.

It has been very difficult for me to accept this diagnosis at my young age. I do not know what the future will hold for me and other IBS patients, and I understand that I may be facing a long battle, but I am committed to facing this challenge with the same determination I have faced every other challenge in my life. I am not a quitter, and I am not a complainer, and you should know that, if I am admitted, I will never allow my illness to have a negative impact on my academic, athletic, charitable, creative and social activities in college.

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