In the summer of 2012, my sister and I joined the Saltillo High dance team. For Elizabeth and I, our first pair of shoes were ballet slippers, but our fellow team members had little to no knowledge of dance. Elizabeth and I felt a strong responsibility to use our talents to transform fourteen softball players into dancers. We learned very quickly the cost of being a leader- sacrifice. Elizabeth and I found ourselves searching for ways to improve the team, choreographing routines, and privately instructing stragglers.
The Thursday night lights beamed down on me as kickoff approached. It was the last game of the 8th grade football season and the last chance to make my mark on a personally rather ordinary season. We were playing Celina, a team known to be a powerful opponent. I was on the kickoff return team, playing on the far left side of the field and on that particular night we were set to receive the kick. The referee’s whistle pierced the warm and soundless autumn air.
The transition from childhood to adulthood occurs when an individual is able to recognize the impact he or she can leave upon their community, gaining life skills doing so. An accomplishment that marked my transition from childhood to adulthood, would be best demonstrated by the process and completion of a leadership responsibility when I performed my Eagle Scout Project. I joined the scouting program when I was very young, and have been very active since ever. Becoming an Eagle Scout has many challenges that a young Boy Scout must undertake, including the completion of a community-based project, which is an important step in obtaining this notable rank. The Eagle Scout Project is designed for the scout to learn different leadership responsibilities.
It was the moment I had been practicing for. I was finally going to try out for my middle school cheer team and hopefully make it. I was so excited I could barely focus on my classes that day. I had run through all of the steps at least 50 times that day. I had always wanted to do cheerleading and this was my moment to do it.
It all came down to this. All of the long hours of hard work, all leading up to this one final practice. Next Saturday the Liberty High School Marching Band would be competing at the FootHill Band Review and every member had to give it their all if we wanted to have a successful practice. It was a brisk October night, the leaves on the trees were turning a beautiful auburn, and the sun disappearing into a golden sea behind Mount Diablo. As we got into our formation in the parking, I felt the brass slowly turning my hands numb as I held my trumpet.
Before I even stepped into my high school as an official freshman I knew I was going to be a part of my school one way or the other. I made it a goal to be a part of some type of extra-curricular project all four years. This goal I know I have succeeded in because I have been a part of the following extra- curricular projects: three years of SWAT club, four years of Raider Riot, and three varsity sports. All of these extra- curricular projects have made my high school career not only interesting but also made me a better person in the long run. One of the only clubs I was able to be a part of in high school was the SWAT club.
I grew up in a rodeo family, my parents did it, my grandparents did it, even my great grandparents did it. I have been on a horse, well, since before I was born. I have had a rope in my hand since I knew how to walk. I even won my first buckle when I was three, my first saddle when I was five, and won a trailer when I was eight. I was the best around.
Through the adversities that accompany senior year, I have worked hard to propel my academic career, develop my leadership, and to have a successful soccer season. I recently had a conversation with the instructional superintendent, Anthony Smith, and he equated high school with a 400 meter race. As the race concludes and fatigue attacks, I continue to sprint towards my objectives. In the first semester, I applied to seven universities and I was admitted to all of them. I decided and committed to Colorado State University.
I believe in the act of paying it forward, and treating others the way you want to be treated in the midst of it. Ever since I was a little girl, I always had a heart to help anyone that I was able to. I hated seeing others down, making it seem as if I was higher than them when I had nothing. I believed that if I was in their shoes, I would want someone to help me. Seeing homeless people on the side of the streets sad, hungry, desperate for just a bite of a sandwich or even a couple dollars to get them by for the next few days, made me realize how much I want to help people who are in need.
National Honor society was established to recognize outstanding high school students. National Honor society recognizes students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of academic success, leadership, character and service. I should be in National Honor Society because I think I represent a lot of the qualities needed to be in this organization. Throughout my years in high school, I have been very involved in the band program here at Langham Creek. As a freshman, I started out in Concert 2 band.
I have always been a particularly musical person. When I was younger, I wanted to become a singer when I grew up, but upon joining the choir in elementary I realized I did not have the talent for singing that I thought I had. Continually singing off key and never sounding as good as my peers did, I decided to confine myself to singing at home where only my family could hear me. Despite this revelation that I was, in fact, a terrible singer, I still wanted to participate in some type of musical performance and decided to join the band in middle school. After trying out various different instruments, I settled on the flute and quickly fell in love.
When I was 14, I saw my remarkable cousin walk across the stage to receive her award for all her years of dedication to be inducted into National Honor Society. She encompassed all the requirements for entrance into the National Honor Society and ever since then, I have had my mindset on following in her footsteps and stepping even farther to conquer the indefinite. As I opened the letter to be invited to apply for membership, I could not even remember the last time my eyes and smile sprouted that immense because to me, being nominated to be a member of the National Honor Society is an honor in itself. I would be thrilled to join such a society because of the limitless opportunities it would present to me. Joining NHS would allow me to grow as a person and do as much as I can for others.
In Junior School, when I made Prefect of the School Student Council, my leadership skills evolved. Displaying an elemental character, naturally bending towards machinery and design, my obvious choice for undergraduate studies
At the age of seven, my mother registered me with the Boy Scouts of America. Years ago, I had no idea what that involved. All I knew is that once a week, I would hang out with a group of guys and do an activity with them. Progressively, I learned more about Scouting and what it actually focused on. I began as a Cub Scout, where I went on camping trips, hikes, and attended Cub Scout Day Camp.
The past four years of my life hold both my highest of highs and my lowest of lows. High school can be a very awkward time period in a person’s life. Four years ago, I made the intimidating switch from St. Mary’s School to Algoma High School. There were certain aspects of high school which made me nervous, but academics was not one of them. I learned how to be a responsible student in my earlier years, and school had always come relatively easy to me.