Alkek Scholarship Essay
Essay Prompt #2:
Whether it was your mother’s favorite saying, a bit of wisdom shared by a favorite teacher or even a great literary quote, choose the words you want to live by and explain what they mean to you.
Essay: Ever since I can remember, my mother has had a little saying, a motto to live by, that she tells my younger brother and I. My mother has used this saying all my life to raise me up to my full potential since the day I came into this world. My mother’s saying is not something that she just tells me, and that I listen to, but it is something that I really try to model myself around, something that I really do try to live by. Her saying is, “Learn lots. Have fun. Make friends. Do your best. Be a leader. Help others.” “Learn lots. Have fun. Make friends.” This is the first saying that my mother would tell me when I was younger, before going to the first day of
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The first step, “Learn lots”, has instilled in me the love knowledge, of school and learning. “Have fun” has shown me to look for the joy in things that on the outside look sad, boring, dull, or sometimes even unpleasant. The third step, “Make friends”, has made me go out of my own shell in places where I would not normally want to, or to be kind to strangers. “Do your best” is probably the most important step to me, telling me to do 110 percent, to go the extra mile, even when it is difficult and seemingly impossible in school, sports, extracurricular activities, and in everyday life. “Be a leader” is another difficult step that has helped me to step up into positions in student government and other organizations that require leadership. Finally, possibly the hardest step is “Help others.” Sometimes, many times, I, as a human being, do not want to help others, but instead only help myself. “Help others” has taught me to be more humble and to not just be a leader, but a servant