College Admissions Essay: Growing Up In High School

Growing up in inner city Baltimore was not easy at all. I have seen so many horrifying things at such a young age. Countless times I have seen crackheads slumped over like zombies walking throughout the neighborhoods I called home. I have been to countless memorial services, vigils, and funerals for people who were senselessly murdered in the streets. I have even been grazed by a stray bullet during a routine drive-by while playing in my front yard. I have heard and seen things that most young kids cannot even imagine and yet all I could do was think about was how I was going to get out of that situation. I cannot lie - being exposed to such horrifying things played a huge part in the development of my hopes and dreams. I decided early on that …show more content…
I appreciated this, because it felt as though a burden was lifted from my shoulders. Every teacher, every counselor, every essay, every assessment was designed to help me towards my ultimate goal of going to college. I absorbed endless amounts of information about college testing, applications, resumes, essays, scholarships and aid. It was starting to get overwhelming, because I could not afford to miss a deadline. I took everything seriously because I did not want to ruin my opportunity for greatness. I knew that these were the years that counted the most, so I was to make the most of every minute because there were no second chances. I took advantage of every opportunity that was presented to me. I wanted to make myself look as appealing as I could. I joined as many clubs as possible, applied for every scholarship that pertained to me, and took as many AP courses that were allowed. I was scared to fail. I was scared I was going to miss a detail and negate my chances of getting into college—which were already slim and then all my effort was going to be worthless. As a result, I worked harder than most of my peers because I looked at getting into college as a way to leave a life or death