Personal Statement Prompt 2 Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are? Quite possibly my biggest achievement was getting accepted into Oxford Academy. It happened a little over 5 years ago. Once I received that letter, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I felt that all my hard work had paid off. I worked from October of the previous year to a couple weekends before the test. I worked and worked, it was all that had filled my head, all I could think about was passing that test. When that letter finally came, I was relieved, all the pressure, all the work had finally paid off. That’s just a testament to my work ethic, the fact that if I work hard enough at anything, I can achieve it, live my dreams, and feel success. I’m most proud of the fact that that was all my parents wanted from me, all their efforts and money was riding on my acceptance. I was happy knowing that my parents were proud of me. There have been many times during my life when I did something, but it wasn’t great enough to get their approval. I got into GATE, I got the President’s Award in 6th grade, but still wasn’t good enough. That is the first time that I recall my parents giving me their approval, being proud of something I achieved. I am the type of person who hardly cares about their own accomplishments; it’s the look on my parent’s face that counts. When they are finally happy, I will be happy. That’s just how I am; I put other people ahead of me because I care about others more than I care about myself at times. By getting into Oxford, I had basically guaranteed that my next six years in junior high and high school were going to be filled with the best education and the best teachers. It also meant that I would be pushed to my limits and eventually learn to break those limits to become more educated in the process. Looking into the future, my predictions for Oxford were
exactly right, this school has given me the best education, and has helped me break my limits and become a completely different person. I love to challenge myself, even when I know I have set myself up for failure because the only way to get better is to make mistakes and experience failures. When I fail, I don’t give up, I learn so I don’t fail again. For example, when getting tutored to take the Oxford exam, I failed the final practice test miserably, and they said that I most likely wouldn't get in, but I kept working to improve, and I did get into Oxford. Over the course of going to school at Oxford, I have learned that there is nothing that satisfies me, I have to keep getting better and better. One of my all-time favorite quotes is, “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.” Being at Oxford has made me realize that school isn’t going to be a walk in the park, but I have to give my best to be the best. By getting into one of the best schools in the nation, I have to show that I belong in this pack of bests; all the kids that got into Oxford were the best at their previous schools, and now it’s a race to be one of the best among the best.