How has education shaped who you are today by cole

How has education shaped who you are today by cole - December 2014 Scholarship Essay

For most people, the slap upside the head that turns their life around is figurative. Mine was literal. Actually, it was a hit delivered by a fellow football player during a game. That day’s activity, just a few weeks into the season started like normal and included attending Lee Summit North High School. I normally did well in school even though I was always in the back of the classroom talking to my friends. It is safe to say I was never the teacher’s favorite. I was the one who was more worried about my plans for the weekend than what math problems I was suppose to be working on. It was a football Friday night high school game that changed everything for me. It was a football game against our cross town rival Lee Summit West. It was the second half of the game and I became the middle of a football sandwich between two Lee Summit West football players. When people talk about seeing stars when you get hit hard it wasn’t true for me. I just remembered seeing darkness and being able to hear myself let out a long slow exhale of air.

The days following I was diagnosed with a serious concussion. I was not able to walk in a straight line. When I walked I would fall into the wall. I was not able to be exposed to light for any length of time. I tried to attend class which was excruciating due to the sounds and light. Now normally I would be thrilled to not be able to sit in class, but a fear had overcome me. Would I ever be the same again? Would I be able to walk again? What was going to happen to me? What was the future going to hold for me? I was having memory problems and great difficulty in my classes. My grades plummeted to all time lows for me. Depression had set in.

After many months of recovery I started to get better. I was not a perfect student, but neither am I the same unmotivated person who, for lack of effort, had failed at virtually everything I had previously attempted. I was determined (itself a novel experience) to apply myself to being a great student.

That was two years ago. I am currently poised to graduate from Lee Summit North High School. I have a motivation and drive to learn that cannot be measured due to my struggles. I am certain, however, that the lessons I’ve learned will continue to assist me. Looking forward to college, I plan to major in biology and business. I want to study the medical effects of head injuries and what can be developed to decrease them. I want to develop the equipment and bring it to the public. I don’t want athletics to go through what I did. I want to make a difference.