Advanced Essay #1: Don't Let Fear Speak For You
Introduction:
The goal of writing this essay is to convey a message that I strongly believe in, which is to not let the fears of others’ hold you back. Sometimes, even good things require a bit of sacrifice. Another part of my goal is to share this motto in a way that is not boring to the reader. I am proud of being able to actually capture my feelings into words. Although, an improvement for the future is to work on my transitions because allowing the two events to flow with one another was difficult for me.
Advanced Essay:
Almost everything in life is made up of decisions. From the things you do, to the things you say. Making choices are already difficult enough doing yourself, let alone having other people disagree with you. "Be independent and do what you love" is what I try to keep in mind.
If someone strongly doesn’t want you to do something, don’t listen to them. The problem is if that person is someone important because it’s not easy to simply put their words aside. Trying to do so is almost impossible. Take my word, I’ve tried it. Even if you don’t listen to them and continue doing what they said you shouldn’t do, their worried voices will still be echoing through your ears, weighing a ton on your shoulders.
Please don’t stop me from doing the thing that I enjoy so dearly, my tiny inner voice says, trying to push the weight off my shoulders. The passions I want to explore are told to stop due to the fear and overprotectiveness sent from my family.
Starting off freshmen year, I wanted to change my lifestyle. I wanted to be more active and soon after heard about Students Run Philly Style. My body filled with excitement seeing that they train students to run the ten mile Broad Street Run.
Thinking that my family would be just as excited as I was is where I went wrong. When I told my uncle, he let out a large laugh as if I was saying a hilarious joke.
“You can't run ten miles, Mey. Come on, you could barely run half a mile,” he said immediately.
“That’s because I need to train, but I can in the future, really!” I dragged out.
“Okay, whatever you say,” he replied sarcastically, just to get the conversation over with.
Aside from my confident answer, what he said was true. I was not fit, I could barely run a block without gasping for air. It's almost like seeing a fish out of water. When he said that, there was something that struck in my mind. I need to make a choice. One, I could easily take this to heart and feel bad about myself, ending up in not joining. Second, I could follow my heart and show him that people can change.
That was the beginning of my running life, so yes, option two won. During our first practice, which was a mile, I was extremely nervous. As I felt myself getting tired, I was tempted to stop, remembering my uncle’s words that maybe running just isn’t for me. Instead, I decided that there’s no going back and continued to run.
As weeks passed, the miles slowly progressed. In the span of three months, the Broad Street Run was coming up. Hearing the two words “ten miles” put ten pounds on my legs. Luckily, I have an amazing team and coaches who supported me throughout the way. I finished with my best friend, and we both sprinted seeing the large, gorgeous finish line. While running through, medals were given to us.
Wearing that medal proudly, I walked to my uncle’s house. Right when he laid his eyes upon my medal, a big smile spread through his face. He told me he was proud of me and that I did good. Suddenly, all the weight lifted off my shoulders as if it weren’t there to begin with. To be honest, that was not the reaction I was expecting. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe another chuckle. I guess I haven’t heard the words “I’m proud of you” in a while.
After this, I realized not to let the expectations of others set a limit for myself. I was so thrilled and a couple months later I applied and got accepted to work in the Live Animal Center at the Academy of Natural Sciences.
When I got accepted, I told my mom and she extremely happy for me because this is something that she knew I really wanted. Although, she then asked me what I will exactly be doing, which is the part I was most thrilled to talk about. Pulling up the Academy’s Instagram, I showed her some of the animals I will be working with, such as snakes, armadillos, hawks, and more.
Instead of her reaction reflecting my own, she was terrified and wanted me to quit my job. With my bad luck, my doctor disapproved and wanted me to quit because I am allergic to all of the animals. Finding something you are passionate about is not easy, so I was not letting this go. I decided to just drink allergy pills, use eye drops and nasal spray everyday. Even with that, I still have a daily constant cough that I try to hide.
As her daughter, my mom did not want to see me cough everyday, but luckily, I was able to persuade that I could live with it. I proved to her that these animals have made me more brave and showed me different branches of the work field that I never had the knowledge of. With a lot more persuading, I was able to keep the job, and I can say that I am content.
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