Personal Essay
I took a considerably long time thinking of what I could write for this personal essay that would interest whoever wanted to read it and as I was thinking of the different topics I could use I came to the realization that it is a personal essay- written by me, for me to express myself and that when I read other peoples personal essays I like to read what they find interesting to them seeing that is how you come to know someone and so that is what I have decided to write about. All my life I have adapted to the situations thrown at me and often in these adaptations I will hide the real parts of myself to make myself seem more interesting and appealing to others or just to seem put together. Whether it is how I dress, how I speak, what I like to do in my free time, the shows I watch, the fact that I do not like most of the activities people revolve their life around such as sports, I have often caught myself spending too much of my thoughts being consumed by the idea of coming off a certain way to society. I believe the best way I can write this personal essay is to be truthful with myself which I have learned to do more of through quarantine where I have had time to focus on who I am as a person and what I want to do with my life and after reflecting this over this summer I have actually changed my major and I am now excited for the future, whereas before it was full of anxious thoughts. Being true to oneself is the healthiest habit as it is quite emotionally draining to put on an act every time you are with people which I did for years whether I was trying to hide my family life, my thoughts, and anything I was convinced diminished my personal value at the time. I love discovering the smaller details in life that are often overlooked such as the stars, which have always fascinated me since I am deeply intrigued by astrology and zodiac signs. I have been eminently grateful to deepen my perspective on the world and myself over this past few months and truly learn to be grateful for my close friends and family members as well as realize that I can live in the life I would like to and that I do not need to be a doctor or a lawyer to be successful because the most successful anyone can be is to be happy. Is not that everyone’s goal in life anyways- to be full of pure happiness- and as much as they mask it with other things it all amounts to the feeling in those last years of life when you think of how happy you were and all the memories you made. Being away from the school where I was locked in a building eight hours a day with people I grew up with but never talked to has greatly benefited me since I am no longer forced in the “bubble”. I grew up in the city I still live in outside of Southlake which I used to think of as an embarrassing burden for not being as wealthy as the people who went to my school but now, as I have gotten older I have realized one of my favorite aspects about my childhood are the memories I made outside of the materialistic city I drove to every day for an education. Whether it is stargazing at the lake with my best friend, going on night drives to random cities, or just deep conversations until early in the morning, it is the small yet extravagantly beautiful things that feed my soul and make me happy which I have gotten to and keep experiencing through quarantine while I am at home and have the freedom to work and do online classes then have my own time to be a person and not just a student. I find it incredibly interesting yet not surprising that so many people of my generation have suffered mental health struggles and mental illnesses and have greatly improved mentally through quarantine and online school. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that this horrible pandemic has brought positivity into many lives such as my own where I can be the dictator of my own life and time more than I ever have been before. I am profoundly grateful to be writing an essay where it is my own voice and personality coming through a paper rather than the robot voice in MLA format that every essay I have written before has been in. Whether it is a personal essay or just simply meeting new people as I start the journey of a new life in college and my career, I look forward to putting my “real-self” into everything I do.
