Stepping Out Of My Box
ATTN: this is not another soccer post.
Okay, so my life consists of four main things; eat, sleep, school and soccer. Anything I tend to do outside of school is for athletics and more specifically soccer. But, the most recent outside of school activity I did was an academic independent project. I participated in the Profiles in Courage Essay Competition!
This competition required me to write about an elected official after John F. Kennedy’s birth, 1917, which showed political courage as defined in his book Profiles in Courage. I thought this prompt was quite interesting. I liked it so the next thing I found myself doing was registering for this essay competition. Which meant I would be writing it over our Christmas break.
This is something I never thought that I would do. But, I knew that I could probably find something about an elected official involved with Title IX (my favorite law). So I did some research and came across a woman named Patsy Mink. She is Japanese American and helped create Title IX. I will attach my essay to read but her story is so inspiring that I just had to write about her.
I wrote and wrote and wrote. And I edited and edited and edited. Then finally, boom, my perfect essay was submitted! At least I hope they think so. Even if I do not win … I learned so much about an amazing woman who never gave in even when she lost. I can identify with her. I may get disappointment after a game loss but I never give up!
I think that me participating in this essay showed myself that I shouldn’t be afraid of putting myself out there; risking not winning because what I got out of writing the essay is much greater. I learned more about the revolutionary Title IX. I got to know my writing style more. I got to hang out with my mom, and I realized that I actually like to write research essays. Fact matter and history matter … at least to me!
I am definitely going to do this competition again if I don’t end up winning because I already have ideas of what to do next!
