The Road to Maturity

A Common Application Essay

I wake to bothersome buzzing from a cheap alarm, the splash of Garelick Farm skim milk falling fast into a hastily prepared bowl of cereal, and the swift slam of the dark turquoise door to the family’s old station wagon just as its engine begins to roar. These are sounds that to many are trivial, ordinary noises one hears without giving much thought. To me however, these noises serve as a constant reminder of important decisions I have made in recent years that have helped to define who I am. Only two years ago, I rolled out of bed to a lunch prepared by my mother and enjoyed carelessly watching television until I was driven to school. I now awake in a rush, sleepily sprinting around my house as I race out the back door and into the driver’s seat of a car waiting in the driveway. The peaceful, five-minute, 1.6-mile drive on small town roads that I was once driven by my mother to get to school, has been replaced by a cutthroat 24.8 mile drive on Massachusetts Route 2 which each morning takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes as I struggle to deal with crazed commuters, treacherous traffic, and constant construction. However, while this long drive is undoubtedly more challenging and more stressful, I could not be happier to get in the car and make the trip each morning.

Sitting in the light gray leather driver’s seat and staring at the bumper of the car directly in front of me that is just one of many in a sea of traffic, I feel more mature and responsible then I ever have in my life. As cars slowly move by me, I sometimes look at the drivers in the other vehicles. There is no doubt in my mind that I am the sole high school student behind the wheel for miles. Some drivers double take as they pass me, confused as to where an eighteen year old boy could be going this early in the morning, and I cannot help but smile. Choosing to step up to the task of a tougher drive and a much more demanding school has taught me a lot about myself. I have quickly learned, behind the wheel and in the classroom, that I am someone who craves constant challenge. I work best when confronted with obstacles, and when I must take calculated risks. The boy who once sat in the back seat of his mother’s mini-van is now the man carefully navigating traffic and working as hard as he possibly can in school. I chose to take the tougher route, and it has made all the difference. Although there may now be more stress, more late nights, and certainly more stops at the gas station in my life, I am confident that I have changed for the better. Stepping up to the new challenge has helped me to mature in ways I could not imagine. I now roll out of bed to the booming buzzing of an alarm clock each morning, pour my cereal, slam the car door, and happily continue on my journey to maturity and adulthood, confident that I am moving in the right direction.