College Essay Final

UNLV

Write an essay describing a person or event that had a significant impact in defining your scholarly, professional and personal goals. 

"Mo-town on three. Mo-town on three. One, two, three... Mo-Town!" Walking off the wrestling mat, sweat dripping off my face, I grabbed my water and my running shoes. As my body ached, I slowly walked to the boys locker room, barely feel my legs. Inching to the bench, near my locker, I wiped the sweat off my face with my soaked shirt. I attempt to sit down, my hamstrings ache in pain.

Looking down at my feet, I reminisce on today's practice. I reviewed what I learned, what I need to work on, and think of what I should do to improve. As I do so, the nightmare that's been haunting me for the longest time, jumps back into my head: The disappointment of last season's JV OIA Championship. 

Coming out of Eastern Divisional Championship as 2nd place at 140 lbs, I thought JV OIA's was in the bag. As they called my name to go to the front table, I looked at my opponent. A Waianae wrestler. He came 2nd in the Western Division, so I knew he was going to be difficult. I jumped up and down, warming up in my C.A.M.O.G.A jacket. I put the green sleeve on my write ankle, putting my right foot on the line, bending my knees, butt down in my stance. The referee tells us to shake hands. *whistle blows* I used heavy hands on his head. Waiting for a an opening, I shot a low single leg on his left ankle. As he tried to counterattack, I circled my feet to my right and limped my arm scoring the first 2 points. A takedown. I put my right leg in between his legs, looking for a leg ride. Getting too hyped on the mat, I didn't put any pressure on my opponent. Therefore he was able to reverse me and score 2 points. Score tied 2-2. I tried to escape, but he didn't do what I did. He put pressure on my legs, and pinned me in the 2nd period of the match.

I lost total confidence in myself. I messed up. I then lost my constellation match. My prediction didn't come true, not even making it to the second day of the tournament. Not placing in JV OIA championships has been haunting me ever since. I thought I wasn't good enough, I totally lost all confidence. But looking back at the day, I made a promise to myself. I made a promise to train harder, get better, get faster, and get stronger to redeem myself from that lost. "You only can better, never worse," Coach Darren always said. I agreed with him and will live up to my promise.