Essay 14

Essay
Prompt 8- essentially “If you have had any work/ leadership experience, what have you taken away from it?”

After being introduced to rock climbing many years ago through Boy Scouts, I did everything I could to broaden my interactions with the sport. I purchased my own equipment and became a certified Climbing Instructor through the Boy Scouts of America. However, these attempts at satiation were not enough. I began to pursue possible work that had to do with climbing and was fortunate to be employed by the local YMCA as a Climbing Instructor. Since beginning to work at the facility, I have enjoyed myself more than I ever thought possible. On my first day of work, after having put several reluctant yet excited six year-olds in their miniature harnesses, I found myself unsure of what was to come. Would these small children be terrified? Would they make it half way up the menacing wall? I was nervous for them, much like a father must feel at his son’s first tee-ball game. I felt oddly responsible for their successes and their enjoyment, for if they endured a negative experience on that day I knew that I would never see them again at the base of the wall. As my mind continued to drift, a small hand reached for one of the loops of my harness and an equally tiny voice asked if I was ready. I looked down, only to have my gaze matched by the bright and eagerly smiling face of a young boy awaiting his first rock climb. With the rope secured to him and the proper instructions given he began his push for the summit. Slowly but surely his body rose, his small arms and legs straining against the weight that they were unaccustomed to bearing. As the distance between him and the ground expanded, so did his range of emotions. The fidgety eagerness gave way to nervousness and fear as his mind caught up with his body, noticing that he now dangled 35 feet above the unyielding ground. A chorus of positive remarks and encouraging words flowed from my mouth as I urged him on. This continued for several minutes, the tension in the air building like a shaken soda bottle, until the joyous sound of laughter drifted downwards from the top of the wall and the same tiny voice squeaked, “I did it! Let me down.” After his feet familiarized themselves with the ground, he looked up and matched my gaze once more. Yet this time, I detected no nervousness. In his eyes I was unable to notice any fear, nor any caution. The only things that reflected back at me were pride, confidence, and joy. The young boy had been transformed. Every week from that day on, his face was the first one to peer through the climbing room window ten minutes before I opened the door. I was proud that this boy, the first one I had successfully introduced to climbing, had begun his own personal journey with the sport. These climbing classes soon turned into birthday parties, and I discovered the immense enjoyment I experienced by allowing others to appreciate the activities I held so dear. This enjoyment was, as I quickly learned, far greater than any I ever experienced from the activities themselves.

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My cultural background is likened to that of a shipping vessel, built with the complicated collaboration of teams from various nationalities and backgrounds. My boat, my background, is comprised of a German and Cuban partnership- my mother contributing the Latin aspects and my father the Saxon ones. After nine months of hard work, after every rivet and weld was properly placed, I was launched from my harbor, sent across the vast oceans of the world gathering knowledge from a plethora of cultures and areas. My cargo hold is filled with precious goods containing many more stamps than the usual “Made in the U.S.A” One can find goods from Colombia, Switzerland, Ecuador, Austria, and many others countries which I have been fortunate enough to visit. These experiences, combined with my unique heritage have allowed me to view apparent one-dimensional situations through the lenses of 3-D glasses. Like a cartoon in which opposing sides of a character’s conscience appear on his shoulders, guiding him through life, my multi-faceted background provides me with contrasting perspectives to apply to every endeavor I embark on.

Music is one of my favorite things in life. Without it I would be lost. Five notes on my guitar can express my thoughts better than an essay that I’ve spent four months formulating or a text message I’ve thought about carefully. When I don’t know what to do or have nothing to do I pour myself out through the six strings and wooden body of my guitar. Never has an instrument failed me. Often, when my friends come to my house, we’ll do nothing but make music for hours. The sun will have dropped behind the dense Georgia foliage and homemade chords will still be echoing off the paper-thin walls. Rather than having had talked for three hours, my friends will know everything there is to know about what’s going on in my life through the wavering melodies of my guitar, and vice-versa. When I look up from the dark, wooden fret-board as I play and see the heads of those listening swaying, their eyes closed in a seemingly peaceful trance, I know I am communicating with them. And this simple and subtle, non verbal response is much more significant than any spoken words.

Colleges Sent To
UNC: Accepted

Credentials
Weighted GPA- 3.7

SAT Math: 720 SAT Reading: 710 SAT Writing: 770