As college admissions loom over me, filling out Common App has been a trip down memory lane. Not only to fill out extracurriculars, but to write essays about important stories or impactful moments in my life.
What makes you special? How has your experience shaped you? What will you add to our community?
Trying to dig deep in my mind to answer these questions has led me to many realizations about myself and the people I consider friends.
What makes you special? How has your experience shaped you? What will you add to our community?
Trying to dig deep in my mind to answer these questions has led me to many realizations about myself and the people I consider friends.
Surrounding yourself with talent is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you’re extremely proud that they’ve gotten so far and accomplished so much at your age. Their hard work and accomplishments go rightfully applauded, and their dedication may inspire you to be the best version of yourself. On the other hand, it sometimes leads me to sit at my desk staring at a blank screen for hours, waiting for something, anything, to come to my head. I thought I knew myself pretty well, but my mind runs empty when faced with the question: How have your experiences shaped you?
The truth is, my experience with being surrounded by talent has made me who I am.
Surrounding yourself with talent makes your life a whole lot different. Going from being able to share my accomplishments with family to only being able to share what my friends have done was something I couldn’t have imagined before high school. My talents faded in the background, shadowed by the fact that anything I did would be swallowed whole by their larger-than-life achievements.
The truth is, my experience with being surrounded by talent has made me who I am.
Surrounding yourself with talent makes your life a whole lot different. Going from being able to share my accomplishments with family to only being able to share what my friends have done was something I couldn’t have imagined before high school. My talents faded in the background, shadowed by the fact that anything I did would be swallowed whole by their larger-than-life achievements.
Getting into a small city program means nothing when your friends are being flown out to colleges for weeks or shadowing surgeons. Getting a B in that class you worked so hard for means nothing compared to their effortless A’s and near-perfect GPAs. Being a part of special clubs you’re happy to be in means nothing compared to their NHS inaugurations and the struggles of juggling being the president of multiple clubs and organizations.
Surrounding yourself with talent means celebrating your accomplishments silently and working hard to always be five steps behind. It means accepting you’ll never have the creativity they have, the praise they get from others, or the respect they get for being the best of the best. It also means learning to be okay to be "average."
In today’s world, being average is mostly seen as a bad thing. A word you think of and visualize a loser, someone who chooses not to excel, being “lazy” or “not trying hard enough.” I believe being average is the life that most of us live. I may not be the most creative person like Allyse or Angel. I may not be as smart as Chase or Chidi or as passionate for my work as Trinity or Amaya. And I’m certainly not the best writer.
Surrounding myself with talent has taught me that being okay with who you are and being okay with being average is learning to love yourself. Accepting that the B you worked really hard for deserves to be appreciated just as much as their A’s, that your ideas are no less than theirs, that your impact on the community you’re a part of won’t go unnoticed. It means accepting that your friends are your friends for a reason and trying to compete with them is pointless. It means growing to feel comfortable in your skin, being your own person, developing your own interests, living life with your own achievable expectations.
Surrounding yourself with talent means celebrating your accomplishments silently and working hard to always be five steps behind. It means accepting you’ll never have the creativity they have, the praise they get from others, or the respect they get for being the best of the best. It also means learning to be okay to be "average."
In today’s world, being average is mostly seen as a bad thing. A word you think of and visualize a loser, someone who chooses not to excel, being “lazy” or “not trying hard enough.” I believe being average is the life that most of us live. I may not be the most creative person like Allyse or Angel. I may not be as smart as Chase or Chidi or as passionate for my work as Trinity or Amaya. And I’m certainly not the best writer.
Surrounding myself with talent has taught me that being okay with who you are and being okay with being average is learning to love yourself. Accepting that the B you worked really hard for deserves to be appreciated just as much as their A’s, that your ideas are no less than theirs, that your impact on the community you’re a part of won’t go unnoticed. It means accepting that your friends are your friends for a reason and trying to compete with them is pointless. It means growing to feel comfortable in your skin, being your own person, developing your own interests, living life with your own achievable expectations.
