Little tips for writing College Essay & Essay (Alex)

I’ve always liked days with math tests. I enjoy math, so I essentially get one free period where all I’m doing is something I find interesting. So as the Geometry Regents Exam was approaching during Regents week in 9th grade, I wasn’t panicking. The night before, I remember being pretty confident in my abilities. I knew all the material that our teacher had told us to review, and I had gotten a 100 on the Algebra 1 Regents the year before. So the next morning, when my sister burst into my room, woke me up, and informed me that I’d missed the start of the exam, I was panicking.

Near the end of the school year, I had gotten 2 orange sheets, one with the information for my Geometry exam and the other for my Biology exam. I mistakenly looked at the sheet for the Biology exam, which said my test was in the afternoon, when in reality it was in the morning. My sister was just about to leave for a study session with her friends for her Regents in the afternoon, when she heard the voicemail from the school, and was able to drop me off. Had she left just a few minutes earlier, I would have been in much more dire straits.

As I was walking down the hallway to the gym, where the test was being held, all sorts of emotions were swirling around me. Nervousness, anxiousness, embarrassment, and a whole host of other emotions. Opening the door and walking to my desk, which was in the back since my last name starts with Z, amplified those emotions. However, as I sat down, my teacher came by, and told me, “Don’t worry. You’re good at math. You’ll do fine.” After this, I started to calm down. I had only missed one out of the 3 hours, and most people finish in 2 hours, so I should be done by the end. Once I started the test, my mind had completely done a 180. I calmed down, and methodically answered all the questions, and finished with time to spare. I managed to do fine, and passed with a 94.

This experience completely changed me. This time, I had gotten extremely lucky, and there weren’t any consequences. But I feel like I’ll never get this lucky again. So in order to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again, I’ve started using a Google Calendar and I’ve been setting alarms.

I got a job recently, and I set an alarm 15 minutes before every shift. It takes me 5 minutes to get ready and drive to work, so I have plenty of time. However, I’m always done changing 30 minutes before my shift, and I’ve got my nametag, phone, keys, and mask ready as well. These habits have helped me a lot. During the 2020 - 2021 school year, I always knew which assignments I had, when they were due, and turned almost all of them in on time. However, I’m still not perfect. As I’m writing this, it’s already the end of September, when I had hoped to finish this over the summer. I haven’t finished the survey my teacher sent me for her letter of recommendation. I haven’t finished my science homework that’s due tomorrow. But I know that because of my personality, I will finish all of these tasks on time. I hope that I will experience more failures. This way, I am always learning what not to do, and I am always improving myself.