Describe an extracurricular activity you participated in for school and how it impacted you. by Orlando

Describe an extracurricular activity you participated in for school and how it impacted you. by Orlando - December 2013 Scholarship Essay

A building is constructed from bottom to top, and its foundation base has to be, extremely precise so that the building won´t fall. This is an engineer´s goal. During our lifetimes we also have goals that we would like to achieve. Estudiantina, (an instrumental/ choral class) has taught me that with dedication, team work, and the determination to learn new skills, the word impossible doesn’t exist.

I always admired all those people who played the guitar so well, and I always wanted to be and play like them. Unfortunately, I was that kind of person who would put limits on himself and look at playing the guitar as too distant for me. In my junior year, while filling out my schedule, I realized there was still one spot left for a class and I didn’t know what to choose. The only classes with openings left were money matters and Estudiantina. I told my counselor that I wanted to be in a fun class since all my schedule was filled with classes that were required for me to graduate. She recommended that I take Estudiantina because the only thing I was going to do was sing and play the guitar. So I said, “Yes, I’ll try it.”

I started as a beginner and hadn’t ever in my life taken a guitar class; the first weeks were not as fun as I thought they would be. It was very difficult to be precise with my hand movements while singing. Before the Christmas vacations, I was considering dropping the Estudiantina class because I thought I wasn’t learning anything and I was just wasting my time. By the time Christmas vacations ended, I became conscious of t he importance of that class. I had to put forth effort if I wanted to become better; it would be required determination and dedication if I really wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Estudiantina was not only teaching me a new skill, it was teaching me a lesson in life, the value of commitment.

For the second semester, I remained in Estudiantina and it was easier for me to play the guitar, since I had continually going to the rehearsals. By February, my instructor selected me to play with the varsity team in a U.I.L. competition where we received the best score. This year I was elected Vice-President of the Pace Estudiantina, and I’m constantly encouraging others to join this organization because it really teaches students a lesson of great magnitude that we all need for life. Now, the guitar plays a very important role in my life. Even though it is just an instrument with strings, when I feel stressed-out with all my classes , I resort to playing my guitar, which makes me more open-minded, optimistic and gives me the ease to get focused. Now that I’m getting ready for my next step of education, the guitar will be an excellent resource to take with me all the time, because it will make me remember the essential things for achievement.

As a building needs a strong foundation base, we also need one. Mine has been constructed with words and actions that were taught to me from a specific extra-curricular activitie. Dedication, team work, leadership, determination and perseverance were the tools I used to construct my own building. My goal is to get a degree in engineering and I know the lesson that Estudiantina left me is going to be a key element for my success.