Chasing Freedom by Madison

Chasing Freedom by Madison - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

"Eeeeww! That's so disgusting!" shouted Eli James from across the table. Eli was the most attractive male specimen in the entire school…considerably even the whole school district! Not only was he the definition of tall dark and handsome, he was also intelligent, hilarious, and the schools best hockey player. By a series of coincidences throughout the lunch hour (which involved me being ditched by two of my closest friends), somehow I, a first day freshman, ended up sitting with a group of seniors directly across from the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes upon! I was ecstatic, but you never would have known it because I took a course (from my best friend’s oldest sister) in “playing it cool.” Yep, that was me…cool as a cucumber. At least until the explosion happened. Yep, you got it! Milk. Spewing right out my nose, across the table, and onto Eli’s lap. (Quite an impressive blow, if I do say so myself!)

My life is ruined. Ruined! And on that day, my first day of high school, I truly believed that my life was legitimately over because of a milk explosion. But, I am still here today and to be honest, doing quite well after such a tragic experience.

I tell you this story to make a very important point. Life is made up of many moments, some of which we wish we could forget. But every moment, good or bad, is beneficial to our life story. These moments form the story of our life, or in better words, our history. But, we are not defined by a single moment. In fact, we are not even defined by a few distinct moments in our lifetime. It is the accumulation of moments that form our story, and the story that defines us.

So, the best advice I could give not only to a freshman in high school, but to anyone in a new stage of life is this; a moment does not define you. A failure does not define you, rather it is the choice you make to either give up or preserve that defines your character. Therefore, take freedom in the fact that it is OK to fail! You are not defined by failures, so do not be afraid to take a risk in order to accomplish something better! Whether it is sitting with the hockey team after spewing milk all over their star player, or trying out for the lead role in the next production at school, strive for greatness and chase freedom. Always strive to hope more, do more, and be more.