College Essay

Kellie Krim

8-15-12

                                                                  College Essay

            The person who has had the most significant influence in my life would be my dad. He has always encouraged me to push myself, not only in school, but in sporting activities. In school he helps me with things like math and history, and questions me on things that I have to do for homework. I have learned to prepare well in advance so I am ready for upcoming quizzes and tests.  Over the years I have come to realize that there are many different ways for me to get myself prepared and has helped me establish a routine for managing my schedule.  Also, this has helped me understand how important a strong work ethic is for every aspect of my life.

My dad is also a SAT tutor and works with me to get me prepared to score the best I can on the test.  I know that I need to practice my SAT skills a great deal in order to do well. I work hard to keep my grades up the same way I do with sports because the colleges look at your high school grade records in addition to the SAT scores. As a result, I have committed to myself that I would do my best and his influence on me made me realize that if I want to go to a good college I would have to want it and work as hard as I can to go to the school that I want to go to. To prepare myself for the SAT I study 20 words a week and do an hour worth of sections such as grammar, math, and reading a day to practice so when the test comes it will be a little bit easier than I would expect. The process with preparing for the SAT’s is similar to preparing to basketball.  The more you practice, the better you will become and you’ll have a good score on your test.

I have learned many things from my dad but one valuable thing that I have learned was patience. He has always been very patient and some of his patience rubbed off on me. I used to get frustrated with myself when I began learning to drive, especially for not being able to park well. I would always turn in too late or too early and I became irritated. I had to understand that I wasn’t going to learn how to drive overnight and that it would take patience, practice and time. After a while, once I became more patient and had a bit more practice, I got the hang of it. In the past I use to get frustrated, but then I realized that was counter-productive and giving up won’t get you anywhere.  

Every year before basketball season begins he has encouraged me to begin working out in advance and get in shape so I would be ready. I run two and a half miles and then do weightlifting. I work out about two hours five times a week. He constantly pushes me to get better and better, and encourages me to push myself. When basketball starts I work hard and always behave the same as I would play in a game because the way you play during practices will become how you will act and play like when the games come.

To prepare myself for choosing a college my dad has taken me to see some schools so I can narrow down the choices about what I like and dislike about them, and actually visualize myself being there. During the college tours they showed us what the campus looks like, the dorm rooms, and some of the classrooms.

            My dad’s influence helped me prepare myself for, not only college, but life in general because by pushing me I really understand that you need to have goals and work very hard to achieve them. I really appreciate the influence he has been in my life by constantly supporting and encouraging me to work hard, knowing that he believes in me and has helped me believe in myself.