Knockout by Jose

Knockout by Jose - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

I lost it all. Memories, sleep, and my ability to be independent for 3 months. During the end of my 8th-grade year, I was hospitalized with a severe concussion and put on bed rest to recover for 6 months. During that time I was experiencing severe headaches, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia, anxiety, extreme sensitivity to light and sounds, and difficulty concentrating and recalling past events of my life as symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. I couldn’t walk for long periods of time, I couldn’t go back to swimming and water polo, I couldn’t go back to boy scouts, I couldn’t go to school, and worst of all I couldn’t remember what had happened. In short, two years’ worth of memories, learning, and conditioning for sports were gone in just one night. My life was put on pause while the rest of the world went on. There was nothing I could do until there was. I spent my time just laying in bed counting away the hours, thinking about who I was and what happened to me. What was I without my accomplishments? Then one day I sat in bed and the movie I was playing in the background finally caught my attention and I heard words that changed it all: “Keep moving forward.” These words opened a new perspective for me. Instead of sulking over what I was incapable of doing, I would focus on what I could accomplish during my recovery. I made a schedule: I would wake up and do my morning routine and meditate, then I would read the numerous books in my home and then discuss the plots with my Mother. I would slowly rehabilitate my body and mind and once I believed I was capable, I decided to try easing my way back into my normal activities. After consulting my doctor and being given the okay to start doing activities again, I began to carry a new perspective and appreciation, taking my time and enjoying the moment. I signed up for the Junior Lifeguards at Santa Monica beach, a program that would allow me to push my body to the limit. Then after I had accomplished my goal I set a new one; I attended a John Hopkins CTY summer program at Roger Williams University on Game theory & Economics, which then pushed my cognitive abilities to their limit. I am thankful for the experiences because I still do utilize the lessons and skills I learned; I still make schedules for my daily life and I take time to appreciate the moments and memories I’ve created because they can be taken away in an instant.