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Anna Ku
1. Most people acted out of impulse at least once throughout their lifetime and didn't consider the possible consequences like when my brother and I went and brought a puppy without telling our parents. Now I realize how big of a responsibility it is to add a new member to the family.
2. Before I turned 16 my world was whole, but after losing my sister to leukemia it shattered into millions of pieces. After two long years, I'm still slowly trying to pick up all the missing pieces to restore my previously complete world…but I know it won't ever look the same.
3. Thinking back to my childhood I would always look up to my parents and wonder why I was so small and weak compared to them. Now that I'm 17 I stand at eye level with them and it pains me to see how they have aged over the years I have grown.
Conor O'Brien
Both of my parents would give up anything of their own for my benefit. I, however, was not aware of this selflessness until days into preseason where I was struck with homesickness and a overwhelming realization of the appreciation I should have shown my parents throughout the last 18 years of my life.
I have always been an athlete. First, a serious gymnast, now a Division I soccer player. As a gymnast, I competed only with myself in mind. Today, as a member of a team, I must compete and work not only for myself, but for my teammates who depend on me.
High school acted as a buffer between my sister and I, allowing us to live in a similar world, yet greatly restricting the strength of our relationship. College, however, with physical distance serving as a new variable, has enabled us to recognize the need for each other as we go through and experience life.
Liam Vermazen
A few years ago when I first began to use a long board skate board I crashed and hurt myself. At the time I believed I crashed because of my lack of skill but looking back on it now I can see that it was really my fear of crashing that in fact caused the crash in the first place.
I like every other person in the world who’s had a cell phone has lost mine countless times. I search everywhere in the world for it with little to no luck. After the fruitless search I give up and sit down only to face the frustrating revelation it was in my pocket the whole time. Sometimes if we take a moment to stop thinking about the question we can finally reach the answer.
When I used to practice for rowing in high school I hated the use of the indoor rowing machines because of their meticulousness and difficulty, now when looking back on these practices I see it has to be more focused in the face of difficult or meticulous tasks.
Adam Schiappa
For much of my life, I was lost- and I didn't even realize it. Then I met her, and I have not been able to look at life in the same way since. From her, I began to learn who I truly am.
Throughout most of my young life, the naive belief existed among my friends, and I in particular, that we were invincible- that tragedy and misfortune on a serious scale simply wasn't something that happened to us. The sudden appearance of cancer in two of my friends and the near deaths of a further two from other causes, however, brought these ideas crashing down around me like the walls of Jericho.
Even through everything that has happened in my life, even at the lowest points, when my friends were either in the hospital or slowly recovering elsewhere, I have managed to gain strength from a single thought. "Things," I would say to my friends and indeed anyone in a rough position many times, "do tend to work out in the end." And while that hasn't been one hundred percent true, it has been enough for me.
David Lui
1. While losing is heartbreaking, it is also beneficial because one can learn from one’s lost. I’ve come to realize that in a game of chess, winning and losing are both win-win situations. You learn from each game, and from that you adapt to whatever the situation may be. With each victory comes a loss, and I learned not to be discouraged by it. I accept losing now as it made me a better chess player and person.
2. Planting trees and flowers for the MillionTreesNYC event at Alley Pond Park made me realize that I had changed into an entirely new person. Just as how the tree began its life, I felt like I did as well. I recall being one of those people who would just toss their garbage at any possible location without a care for the planet. Looking at the flower I had just planted, I now think twice about what I do to my environment.
3. Everyone has their own individual opinions just like how everyone has a unique set of eyes. We need to open our eyes and see the world with a brand new set of eyes will we then learn to not be prejudiced and biased and live in a world free of stereotypes.
Carolyn Forney
1.Even though I was raised as a Christian I know that I can believe what I want, and think what I want despite what my family wanted me to do, and that I am not limited to one kind of thinking.
2. I always did my schoolwork, and though I think I would have done so no matter what, if my mother hadn’t been so encouraging I don’t know if I would have cared so much about my schoolwork.
3.Once I thought that it would be easy to learn how to scuba dive, but then I realized all the danger and preparations you have to do in order to be safe, and now I understand the difficulty of something. cannot be determined with a glance.
Jackie Sanita
1. Up until the start of college, I truly believed being able to make all of my own decisions would be a great change. I couldn't wait to be independent. Now that I am finally here and am not being told what to do, I am starting to realize that sometimes it's nice to have parents leading you in the right direction and helping in the decision process.
2. Once I was young, careless, and naive. I used to think bad things couldn't happen to me, or to anyone I loved. Because of past events in the last few years of my life, I now know that invincibility is a piece of fiction. Bad things happen to everyone, even good people. Thinking, "It won't happen to me," will only make it that much harder if it does.
3. Not long ago, I used to heavily weigh the outcomes of all of my actions. However, a sudden change of heart has left me somewhat fearless. Even though being cautious is sometimes a very valuable trait, I believe it is sometimes good to live life on the edge, without regret.
Dillon Scaduto
1. At the age of eight I was told I had a Tourette's Syndrome, a lifelong condition. This news allowed me to see the world through a different perspective.
2. Looking back on how poorly I treated my brothers I regret not being closer with them.
3. In hindsight my athletic endeavors have shaped the way I socialize, and make new friends.
Brian Clayton
Looking back at my mom's diagnosis of breast cancer, I realize now that it would have been wise of me to openly embrace the complex new set of challenges rather than to get hung up trying to understand the scenario. Don't understand - experience.
Ahead of me, I see incredible opportunities for new friendships, social drama, discovery of identity; lessons in diversity, love, heartbreak, mistakes, miracles, tragedy. This campus holds potential for great successes, shattering defeat, and everything in between. I only hope to experience all of it.
I've learned that the best way to succeed is to love what you're doing, and eventually it'll start to love you back.
Naim Ahmed
1. For most of my life my father has held my hand and sheltered me from the world. I felt protected but uneducated. He played on the field while I sat on the bench. By always being on the sideline, I never felt any dangers or obstacles and so when he went through open heart surgery I had no idea what to do. I panicked. I realized that if I lose him my world would be ruined. My mother would have to sell our house and I would have to drop out of high school to support my family. Thank fully, my father’s surgery was a success but I realized through his ordeal that he has to stop holding my hand. He has to let me go to let me develop as an adult.
2. The fear of punishment can be strong incentive for people to learn. For most of my life I did the work I was assigned because I was afraid to fail and look like an idiot. I see now that being in fear constantly is no way to live. We should embrace the obstacles in life and look past failure towards reward, for reward provides a greater incentive to learn.
3.I see now that I’ll never get what I want but only what I need.
After 9/3
Reza Hedayati
A big moral conflict for me has been whether to adapt to my surroundings and let me let my life/environment always please me and keep myself content; or rather to try and change things, build things and break things so that they please me. I haven't figured out which better suits me and so far I tend to do somewhat of both.
It seemed like a good idea, to throw a house party in my house when my parents were away for the weekend, but after realizing my laptop had been stolen, my outdoor lights smashed and the sanctuary of my home deformed with sight of spilt beer, empty cans and moved furniture, I felt violated and i didn't know where to turn to to resolve my crisis.
Zeruo Tang
Becoming a lawyer seemed to make sense at the time. I would be rich, successful, and respected. Somehow, though, the words just sounded so empty to me, and I found myself devoid of the slightest bit of motivation. It was then that I realized what my parents think is best for me may not always be what I need.
I was consumed by misery and melancholy, the kinds you would usually find in a grieving widower, or a child who lost his parents. For me, however, the thought of losing all my friends and my home was all that it took to push me over the brink of depression. Eventually, moving day came and I bid them heartfelt farewells, thinking that I would never know happiness ever again. Yet, all it took were a fresh start and the kindness of a few new acquaintances to help me forget about the last chapter of my life.
I just couldn't seem to be able to make up my mind. Even though I finally narrowed down my choices to Rutgers, Penn State, and Binghamton, deciding between the 3 schools seemed like an impossible task. I thought I had considered every factor, from school size to average starting salaries of graduates, yet it never occurred to me to think of my parents. The cost of putting me through college would surely be a sizable sum for them, and I hadn't so much as thanked them yet. Instead of dwelling on what would be best for me, I decided to choose the most inexpensive school - for them. It was the least I could do to repay my parents' kindness.
