Shaping by Chance

Shaping by Chance - November 2015 Scholarship Essay

Without extracurricular activities, I would not be the person I am today. I wouldn’t have met the people I know today. I wouldn’t know how to work as a team. I wouldn’t know how to push myself to my limits, and then beyond even that.
I have made many new friends since my introduction into sports. Spending time with people on either a field or a court, sharing in each others struggle to complete our coaches orders, helped form a bond between us. Our pool of trust runs deep, full of our blood, sweat, and tears.
Extracurricular activities improved my ability to work with others. On the basketball court, I have to lean on my teammates for help, for I don’t have the ability to guard everyone. Communication is key when it comes to a team, and all of the best teams do it. It takes the effort of the entire team to win a game, a single player can’t pull all of the weight.
I always thought that I knew my limits when it came to physical exercise, and extracurricular activities helped show me that I was wrong. I first joined cross country during my freshmen year of highschool, and I haven’t played a sport yet that can compare to its physical effort and competitiveness. I beat my previous time with nearly every race, and set new goals for the next one. I discovered that I didn’t have a limit, and that I could always improve upon my abilities.
Extracurricular activities are not meant for everyone, but I would strongly recommend them. I have made new friends, I learned what it means to be a part of a team, and how it feels to have people depend on me. Extracurricular activities helped shape me into who I was meant to be.