My Villanova Essay!! Enjoy!
One of the principles of Villanova, as an Augustinian university founded on the teachings of St. Augustine, is that students and faculty learn from each other. As you imagine yourself as a member of the Villanova community, what is one lesson that you have learned in your life that you will want to share with others?
Throughout my life I have been an amorphous being, constantly changing over time. But change is not easy, especially when you feel like you are stuck and have no other options. Nonetheless, through my many experiences I have learned that it’s never too late to change for the better.
When I first got into high school I thought everything would be easy and I would do well in school, but I quickly realized how wrong I was. I struggled to balance school work, swimming, and friends and started to fall behind. This change in environment surprised me and I was seemingly unable to adapt. As freshmen year passed by, my average plummeted and I lost hope in improving my grades. But then I saw my friends and classmates who all had tons of extracurricular activities and still managed to receive stellar grades and something changed. I knew it would be hard, but I told myself that if they could do it, I definitely could as well. Inspired by my friends and determined to do better, I decided to change my work ethic and attitude. The change was not easy; I often stayed up all night to study for tests and was exhausted the next day. However as time went by, I learned to set up schedules, manage my time better, and saw a great improvement in my grades. Just when I was ready to quit, I realized that it’s never too late to change.
While I began to work harder, there were also times when despite how much I studied for that exam or trained for that swim competition, the results still didn’t meet my expectations. I was frustrated because it seemed like my efforts were in vain. But soon I realized how useless my frustrations were and learned to focus on actively seeking solutions. At first the change was slow; I would often still give in to my frustrations and boil up inside. But eventually, I became so effective that even when my friends seemed unable to deal with their own problems, I was able to help. I became the person my friends turned to for advice. Through their tough times I bolstered their morale, reassured them, and helped them devise plans of action. I began to find out that the more people I helped, the better I became at dealing with my own problems and rough patches. In the end I went from complaining and not taking action to helping myself and even helping others.
The person I am today is the product of seventeen years of change and self-improvement. In school I have struggled and succeeded in becoming a better student. In my attitude towards life I have learned to become more proactive at solving problems. Who I am is a constant work-in-progress, but through this process I’ve come to believe that it’s never too late to change for the better.
-Kevin Lin
(Source: kevlinster)
