Rejection is Redirection by Kynlee

Rejection is Redirection by Kynlee - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

Growing up, I have always been what some would consider an outcast. I have always been the one girl that enjoyed being different from everyone else. In my seventh-grade year, I began racing competitive motocross. I loved the adrenaline rush, the traveling, and the competitive nature of the sport. The one thing I liked about it most, was that I was different. I was a girl in a boys' world, and it gave me a sense of strength. I would travel all over the state and even raced in national races. Not long after, I began getting bullied very heavily for it at school. By my eighth grade year, I had talked to my school principal about my situation. My principal assured me the situation would be handled, but no action was ever taken.
By my freshman year, I was hiding in the handicap stall of my school bathroom to eat lunch, walking between classes with my earbuds in so I couldn’t hear what others were saying about me, and asking each of my teachers if I could move seats to the back of the classroom, that way I was out of everyone’s sight to prevent getting picked on. I dealt with extreme anxiety issues and even sought help from a professional counselor, but nothing was helping. In the spring of my freshman year, I received 3 concussions from motocross-related accidents within an eight-month period. These accidents took a huge toll on me and completely changed my life. When I received the results from my third CT scan, I knew something had to change. When my doctor told me that I was now at risk for early-onset Alzheimer's, permanent brain damage, and far worse outcomes if I were to receive another concussion, I was devastated. How could something that I love so much, hurt me so badly? I decided it would be best if I hung up my helmet and ventured down a different avenue.
In my sophomore year, I needed a clean slate. My parents removed me from my public high school and placed me in a private Christian school. When you go from a class size of 500 to a class size of twelve, it puts you in a complete culture shock. I also learned that plaid skirts aren’t my thing. But the one thing that private school did teach me, is that rejection is a redirection. I decided that private school was not at all for me, so my parents enrolled me back into my public high school during my junior year. Going in with a clean slate and a better state of mind, I was ready for something new.
I joined the FFA and this is where my life changed for the better. I tried out to be an FFA officer and soon became the Chapter Reporter. I started showing market sheep, which soon spiraled into competing in Chapter Conducting, Agriculture Advocacy, showing pigs, livestock judging, and poultry judging contests. I found an amazing group of welcoming, loving, caring individuals who accepted me for who I was. The decision to join the FFA was really the sunlight after the world's most massive storm. I am proud to say that in my senior year of high school, I served as the Weatherford FFA President and a Pecan Valley District FFA Vice President. My newfound friend group pushed me to achieve more than I thought I ever could. They motivated me, supported me, and showed me how what seems like the end of the world is really the start of something beautiful. I never thought I would say this, but receiving 3 concussions was one of the best things that ever happened to me.