My Personal Statement
My long pink tutu flows as I spin myself around gracefully under the stage lights, aware of the last time I would dance as a ballerina. After nine long years of commitment, I felt nothing. My mind kept telling me that I wasn't good enough. Nothing would convince me to continue, not even the encouragements of my peers. It was time for a change.
School life was an abundance of mixed emotions as I prepared for middle school. My grades were low, I disliked my teacher, but at least I had friends to talk to -- because having friends was all that mattered in middle school, right? Yet I was too blind to see that my “friends” were a terrible influence. I wasn’t bullied, but I was pulled around. I wasn’t afraid, but I was pressured to do things that were immoral. Evidently, I found myself in the principal’s office a few times. I was trying to be this person who I once thought was cool. But as I look back, I was pathetic, stupid, and lost.
Towards the end of my last year of elementary, I joined the basketball team. I found a new passion, something that I was confident in. I have always been a perfectionist, and if I don’t feel much success or confidence in what I do, I tend to quit. It was different with basketball. I found myself forgetting all my problems and my only focus was on the court. When middle school came around, I joined the cross country team and eventually quit dancing ballet because my rehearsals and meets interferred. At the lunch table, I sat with new friends -- friends whom I still share a strong friendship with. I felt refreshed. Gradually, I noticed I was more happy with myself. I became captain of my basketball team, and I have won a few awards for the seasons I’ve played. I became one of the representatives of the athletic department, my grades were higher, and my friends were all I could ever ask for.
I have transferred to five schools so far, meeting new people of different culture and ethnicity. Moving schools, especially as a teenager, was difficult. I used to think my life was going downhill and that things would never be the way they were. I would lose my place in the basketball team and I worried that I would grow distant from my friends. But now, I am grateful. I am grateful that changing schools have given me the opportunity to meet incredible people. I am an international student. And I’d like to continue to be internationally open to not only others, but with the opportunities given to me as well.
My name is Karin Ima and I am currently sixteen years old. I am extremely indecisive to the point where I annoy myself. I am usually quiet, but loud and energetic when I need to be. I love animals and I am a chocoholic. I binge watch my favourite TV shows and obsess over my favourite artists. I play the saxophone and piano as hobbies. I love to travel, but I hate riding airplanes. And yet, as I go on with my unpredictable life, I delicately unlace the ribbons of my ballet shoes, and tie myself up with a new pair of basketball shoes. From skipping across the stage to dribbling a ball with aggression, I ask myself: Why haven’t I done this before?
School life was an abundance of mixed emotions as I prepared for middle school. My grades were low, I disliked my teacher, but at least I had friends to talk to -- because having friends was all that mattered in middle school, right? Yet I was too blind to see that my “friends” were a terrible influence. I wasn’t bullied, but I was pulled around. I wasn’t afraid, but I was pressured to do things that were immoral. Evidently, I found myself in the principal’s office a few times. I was trying to be this person who I once thought was cool. But as I look back, I was pathetic, stupid, and lost.
Towards the end of my last year of elementary, I joined the basketball team. I found a new passion, something that I was confident in. I have always been a perfectionist, and if I don’t feel much success or confidence in what I do, I tend to quit. It was different with basketball. I found myself forgetting all my problems and my only focus was on the court. When middle school came around, I joined the cross country team and eventually quit dancing ballet because my rehearsals and meets interferred. At the lunch table, I sat with new friends -- friends whom I still share a strong friendship with. I felt refreshed. Gradually, I noticed I was more happy with myself. I became captain of my basketball team, and I have won a few awards for the seasons I’ve played. I became one of the representatives of the athletic department, my grades were higher, and my friends were all I could ever ask for.
I have transferred to five schools so far, meeting new people of different culture and ethnicity. Moving schools, especially as a teenager, was difficult. I used to think my life was going downhill and that things would never be the way they were. I would lose my place in the basketball team and I worried that I would grow distant from my friends. But now, I am grateful. I am grateful that changing schools have given me the opportunity to meet incredible people. I am an international student. And I’d like to continue to be internationally open to not only others, but with the opportunities given to me as well.
My name is Karin Ima and I am currently sixteen years old. I am extremely indecisive to the point where I annoy myself. I am usually quiet, but loud and energetic when I need to be. I love animals and I am a chocoholic. I binge watch my favourite TV shows and obsess over my favourite artists. I play the saxophone and piano as hobbies. I love to travel, but I hate riding airplanes. And yet, as I go on with my unpredictable life, I delicately unlace the ribbons of my ballet shoes, and tie myself up with a new pair of basketball shoes. From skipping across the stage to dribbling a ball with aggression, I ask myself: Why haven’t I done this before?