Discuss a special attribute or accomplishment that sets you apart.

An attribute that sets me apart is my perseverance. Examples of this can be seen in the sports

I’m involved in and my academics. I first joined cross country in 7th grade, not knowing that running is

harder mentally than it is physically. It was so much fun the first two seasons, but then all my friends

graduated. I never realized how much I relied on them to get me through runs. I felt alone going into the

next season and I let my mind get the best of me. Yet I kept going, pushing through all the thoughts

telling me that I couldn’t do it or that I wasn’t good enough anymore. My times aren’t as fast as they

used to be and that used to destroy my self confidence and self esteem, but no matter what I kept

running and it wasn’t until this season that I could come home after practice without crying about how

much I hated it. Because I persevered through it, I became a better person. I now know how to keep my

teammates’ confidence up and I’ve learned that quitting won’t get you anywhere. I’m now stronger

because of this.

Lastly, my academics exemplify my perseverance. I have four AP classes this semester and it is a

lot of homework. I do not have much time to spend with friends because I do homework Friday nights,

all day on Saturdays, and all day on Sundays. I quickly learned if I do not get ahead on homework over

the weekend, I will get behind during the week. Yes, it is very stressful and the homework is difficult too,

but I do it anyways. I chose not to drop any classes and to push through it because I know that the

workload will improve my time-management, responsibility, and that it will make me more intelligent in

the end. By persevering through all the stress, I’ve realized that complaining won’t solve the problem.

Sometimes you just have to sit down and do it, even if you don’t want to.

Thanks to cross country and school, I can say that perseverance is one of my greatest strengths.

I’ve become more self-reliant, self-motivated, mature, and tough. These to things have taught me how

to have more grit and how to stay focused, while also teaching me the importance of taking care of

myself in order to keep working the way I do.