The Odyssey of My Mind by Angelina

The Odyssey of My Mind by Angelina - December 2019 Scholarship Essay

I started participating in Odyssey of the Mind when I was in kindergarten. Since then, my love for it has grown tenfold. Because of OM, my mind has been forever changed. I can think of an idea and build it right away. I can envision my design’s dimensions next to every line and see the colors washed over it in every shade of the rainbow. My mind never stops thinking of solutions and ideas no matter what I am doing. When something of mine breaks, I automatically think of several different ways to fix it or make something to improvise it until I can buy another one.

This skill of mine has developed over the past eleven years that I have been participating in this organization. I was the team captain of my Odyssey of the Mind Team for six years and was in charge of everything from giving task assignments to finishing props after meetings. When something was not up to par, I worked with the team to make sure it was perfect for our performance. Being team captain taught me how to lead others and set an example for my teammates when we encountered challenges. For example, our team won at Regionals five times but kept missing our chance to advance to Worlds. Finally, in our sixth year of competition, after hours upon hours of painting, building, and managing the team, we finally advanced to the World Finals. Working hard for so long taught me how important determination is.

Since winning 9th place out of 58 teams at World Finals, my team and I have volunteered as judges for regional tournaments and have mentored younger teams in our region. Odyssey of the Mind has opened my mind and made me into a strong leader, and for that, I am forever grateful. I know I will continue to volunteer and give back to the community that helped shape me into the creative and hardworking individual I am now.