"The Surprise of the Wheat" (1936) by Maruja Mallo
Part one
Choose one or more of the following:
Describe a time when you:
a) thought you couldn’t achieve something, but you later did;
b) strongly believed something but later changed your mind about it;
c) labeled yourself as a certain kind of person but later outgrew that label;
d) learned to love or enjoy something you previously disliked.
a) thought you couldn’t achieve something, but you later did;
b) strongly believed something but later changed your mind about it;
c) labeled yourself as a certain kind of person but later outgrew that label;
d) learned to love or enjoy something you previously disliked.
Answer any or all of the above.
Part two
Identify something that does NOT come easily to you, but that you would like to improve on.
Part two
Identify something that does NOT come easily to you, but that you would like to improve on.
I used to absolutely hate the backyard game called cornhole. I thought it was boring and I couldn't stand it. A few months ago, I attended a barbeque where a big cornhole competition was set up. Almost everyone was going to participate, and I didn't want to be the odd man out, so I agreed to play. Before we started playing, my boyfriend's dad came up to me and offered me some tips on how to throw the bag better. After that, the game was so much fun! It turns out, the game is fun if the bag actually hits the board. Something that doesn't come easy to me is talking to people I don't know. Growing up, I was fairly shy which means that personality trait now influences my adult life. I would like to be able to improve on this skill.
ReplyDeleteEmily Crowley
Growing up in a small town that heavily favored athletes, I did quite a few sports throughout my life. I always tried to be the best at these sports so I would be popular and well-liked by my teachers. I labeled myself as a jock and I tried not to focus too much on my academics even though I loved school and got A's. I did this because it simply was not the "cool" thing to do. Once I hit my sophomore year of high school, I had enough of pretending to be something I was not. I outgrew the "athlete" label and I wanted to get into college on academics. I have never looked back at my old label and now I am happier than ever.
ReplyDeletePt. 2 Something that does not come easily to me that I would like to improve on is relaxing. I know it sounds ridiculous to not be good at relaxing, but I am always working on something whether it be schoolwork, or a job and I do not take much time for myself. I plan on taking a few hours each week to have for myself and try to develop better mental health.
Delete1. When I surprise myself, it often comes in the form of being braver than I think I am. I was a high school senior during the height of COVID-19, and it was important to me to protect myself and my family from it in the best way I knew how, which was by wearing a mask. Where I'm from, there is a lot of open disapproval about masks and a lot of talk about whether or not it's real, so I was a little afraid to wear one, as silly as it seems. When I walked into work for the first time with one, it felt like someone else was moving my legs for me, I was so nervous. I remember waving at customers I knew and them turning their heads away. As misplaced as I felt there, it was worse at school. If it wasn't condescending looks, it was classmates acting outright stupid. Two of my friends and I were practically the only ones in the whole high school wearing a mask, and we got called out and made fun of for that on one occasion, on picture day.
ReplyDeleteIt was really hard to continue wearing one at times, but I couldn't not do it in good conscience. I will always be glad that I took that extra step to wear one, because it taught me a lot about myself and good lessons came out of it.
(Continued from above)
ReplyDelete2. I have definitely improved on this over the years, but I would like to get to a point where I feel I can freely give my opinion, even if it's an unpopular one. Sometimes I get too caught up in what other people will think if I say this or that, and that can weigh heavily on your mind.
When I was in high school, I always wanted to become a college athlete, but I never really believed it would happen. I was never the most talented runner or the most athletic person in a race. However, through hard work and determination I was able to accomplish more than I ever thought was possible when I was younger. Through hard work I also signed to run at ECU which was something I had wanted to accomplish for a long time. This is just a reminder that if someone works hard and truly sets their mind to something, that they can accomplish more than they ever thought possible.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with 8 older siblings and sports was not a part of my family. Nobody played them and my parents didn't encourage them. When I was in third grade and they asked me to run track and field I thought it was just gonna be for fun. Than I did it in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. Well when I got into junior high and they asked me to be on the actual track and field team I was so shocked. I never thought that I could play sports I'm not tall, I didn't exercise, and no one I was close with ran. Even though I didn't have a lot of faith I decided to join anyway. I than went on to go to state two years in a row. I had never been more proud of myself.
ReplyDeleteSomething that did not come easy to me was algebra 2. I passed algebra one in 8th grade with a 100. Geometry my freshmen year was a breeze. I had never had trouble in a class in my life. Than I had a year off from math and took algebra 2 my junior year. I was struggling. I didn't have any studying skills. I didn't know how to succeed at something that wasn't a natural skill. I read every article I could find on good study habits and ended up passing the class with an A.
Part one: a) I didn't think I would ever be in a position to be in college, and it add on to that, achieving success in the class room as well!
ReplyDeleted) I always told myself I didn't like seafood. Friends would invite me out to seafood/sushi places, but I wouldn't go. After trying sushi, not once or twice, but 3 times, I realized I LOVED it. If I would have just went all the times my friends asked me, maybe I could've found my love for seafood/sushi faster.
Part two: One thing that never came easy to me was actually sitting down and studying. Whether that be reading a chapter, or starting a paper, it was sooooo hard! Its something I try to improve on every day. One thing that's really help me is music. Turning on some Lo-Fi study music and getting my computer or book out. Ive gotten away from this idea over the summer, but daily, Im really starting to turn on a Lo-Fi music radio and focusing. And it had helped tremendously!
That's awesome Twan! I've been in a similar boat, I used to not want to go near sushi, but now my friends and I back home have fun finding new seafood places. One recommendation I have for your study habits is to try off/on studying, going in short spurts of 20-30 minute study times and then five minute or less breaks. I've found that this really motivates me to try to get as much done in the small amount of time as possible, allowing me to get more done overall. I'll also definitely have to try out the Lo-Fi music for studying!
Delete^Aldan Gallaway
DeletePart 1) I always strongly identified myself as an atheist for a very long time. I thought, "Why be good just to get into Heaven? Why not always be good?" I believed this for a very long time, and just figured religion wasn't for me. Well, I guess there are always surprises in life. I now identify as a Christian. It's been a very crazy summer, and I've become more spiritual. As a whole, I haven't changed much. I've always believed in treating everyone with compassion, being honest, loving everyone, and avoiding stealing.
ReplyDeletePart 2) With that, comes one of my struggles with my newfoud faith in God and Jesus, also come some of the struggles I face as an LGBTQ+ person living in the South. As you know, it's not always the most accepting and safe place for someone to be openly LGBTQ+, but that's something I want to be better at doing. I want to be openly, and unashamedly myself, and I want others to know that you can be a Christian and LGBTQ+. Never let anyone tell you that your faith isn't good enough.
In high school, I remember thinking about how I could never be a waitress; it seemed so unrealistic for me to have a job that involves talking to people all day. I’m generally a shy person and I usually avoid talking to people if I can. This summer, however, I got a job as a waitress (obviously, because I needed money), but also because I wanted to prove to myself that I could. I was not perfect by any means, and I was awkward a lot of the time, but I still did it, and the fact that I did it is what matters to me. Talking to people (especially strangers) does not come easily to me, but I would say I have definitely improved this summer and I’m a little more confident with my people skills.
ReplyDeleteIn my early years of high school, I labelled myself as being an extraverted and outgoing person. Looking back, I now realize that I was forcing those traits upon myself because many of my friends had that type of personality and I thought it was the “cool” way to act. Now that I have outgrown that phase I have become quite the introvert. Something that does not come easily to me is speaking my opinions in large groups. I am a big people pleaser and I always hold myself back from fear that I will either offend someone or cause someone to dislike me. This is a big struggle of mine, but I am slowly becoming better about it.
ReplyDeletePart one: d) From the time I was born until about a year ago, I always wanted to go, go, go, 24/7. I have always been a busy body from day one. I always had to do something at all times or I would be bored and miserable. I have always been quite the social butterfly. The one thing I hated most was being by myself or having alone time. I always thought being alone and having nothing to do was SO boring. I would beg my parents to go to a friend’s house or vice versa. While in middle school and high school, I played every sport and was in every club. I thought man, this is great! I always have something to do! Well around the beginning of school last year, senioritis began to kick in and I wasn’t having so much fun anymore. I was CONSTANTLY going to practice, going to a meeting, staying late after school. I started to look forward to just coming home and watching tv. I loved having breaks in between all the crazy activities I did. Well, fast forward to a year later, I LOVE my alone time. I feel like I get so much accomplished by myself whether it be schoolwork, cleaning, or watching my favorite shows. Middle school me would be in shock to see her old self staying home and let alone enjoying it. I guess it is a part of growing up and getting old. At least it feels like it!
ReplyDeletePart two: Something that does not come easily for me is reading. It’s not that I have trouble reading, it’s just that I don’t enjoy it as much as I wish I did. I’ve read so many books in my life and every time I try to read, I just get bored. I have tried reading books that seem interesting to me but after about the first couple chapters, I will never pick it up again. I am still trying to improve on this and hopefully one day I can thoroughly enjoy reading a book without getting bored or losing interest.
Part 1: a) I thought I wouldn't be able to make All-State football. Coming from a small town, I never thought I would get the chance to compete, but I was able to make it. d)I thought I would never really be a good public speaker. I grew up with a stutter and was always scared to talk in front of crowds. Now, I love public speaking and do it often. I enjoy talking in front of all sorts of people.
ReplyDeletePart 2: I don't see others peoples sides that great. I am often one dimensional and would like to improve and really understand where other people come from.
For me, a) and b) go hand-in-hand. When applying for colleges, my dad asked if I was going to apply for honors as well. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure what honors was at the time. After my dad explained what it is, I wasn’t sure if I would be smart enough to be accepted. Through his encouragement, I applied anyways.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest reason I doubted myself was because of a label that had been put on me throughout all of middle school and high school. All of my life, I have been traditionally homeschooled. Before Covid, being homeschooled wasn’t exactly popular, at least in the town I’m from. I would constantly hear how homeschoolers are dumb and would never amount to much in life. Sadly, after being fed this message for years, I began to believe it. I was still motivated enough to go to college; I’d been looking forward to it for years. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if many colleges would accept me. But after applying to nine colleges, not only did all of them accept me, but I made it into all of their honors programs too. I learned that I am capable of more than I know, and that I don’t fit the outdated belief that homeschoolers are not smart.
Something I really struggle with is accepting help. I enjoy helping others out, but when others want to do something for me, my response is usually, “no.” I have one friend in particular who is always trying to buy people’s meals, and it is a real struggle for me to let them. But I think I am starting to be better about simply saying, “Thank you.”
1. Going into my freshman year of high school, I decided to join band. I had just moved to the school the previous year and all of my new friends that happened to be in band thought it would be a great opportunity for me to join while I had the chance. I had dabbled in a few instruments before hand, but nothing major. Without the ability to read notes on a staff, I went. Band camp was officially the worst 2 weeks of my life. I had to watch her keyboards in front of and simply follow their hand movements to try to get anywhere close to the notes I was supposed to be hitting. I went home one day and had a complete breakdown where my mom was insistent I stick it out and keep going. Fast forward 2 months I had taught myself how to read music (for the most part), had signed up for private lessons and was doing better than every on keyboard. I went to state for solo and ensemble that years and ended up playing bass next marching season.
ReplyDelete2. Finding common ground with other people and being able to connect with others without a previously existing connection is weirdly difficult for me. If I have a friend and we make other friends together or they introduce me to someone, then I have no issue talking to them and eventually befriending them. However, when I am alone and have no buffer, I tend to be awkward and can never seem to find the right words to say. Being in a college where I only know one other person who happens to be involved in everything I am not in, provides the perfect opportunity for me to attempt to improve in this area.
Mallory Forgione
DeletePart one
ReplyDeleteThought you could not achieve something, but you later did.
In my senior year of high school, I was valedictorian and I had to write a speech which in my head was the craziest thing someone has ever asked me to do. Then graduation day came after three weeks of preparation for this speech and practicing thousands of times. When I walked on that stage, I was shaking super hard but then I looked at my mom and dad's faces and everyone else became invisible and I did it after I felt so proud of my accomplishments.
Part two
Math does not come easy to me. I always have struggled to understand algebra and I face that every day. I would love to work on my math skills and improve them.
Allie Brown
Growing up in a family that is very sports oriented was something that I used to really detest. I was never a very athletic person and very rarely came off the bench. I tried every sport my school had to offer from softball to basketball, track, and even cross country. I hated every single one of them. My parents wanted me to succeed in some sport or another but no matter how much I tried, I just could not do it so once I reached high school I quit sports altogether. Fast-forward to the summer before my junior year, I realized that I needed to find some way to stay active. I couldn't just avoid all forms of physical activity just because I wasn't good at sports so I decided that I would start running in the mornings. I'm not sure what made me decide to do that considering that I hated running but I found out that the task itself may be hard but I felt much better afterward. Now I find myself not only running a mile a few times a week but also going to the gym for some strength training.
ReplyDeleteAfter learning how much I liked running, I started to look at other aspects of my life that I still need some improvement on. One of these things was learning how to study properly. This is something I still need to work on. I am someone that has a lot of ADHD making it hard for me to concentrate at times. I have to really watch myself because I get easily distracted. I am still learning how to get better at this but I am slowly learning.
1. I used to absolutely hate the idea of the shoe brand Crocs. I used to think that rubber slip on shoes could not be comfortable in any way. Then, I met a friend last summer who absolutely loves crocs, who has almost twenty pairs of crocs. He encouraged me to get a pair, and now I absolutely love them. They are one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever had, and they are very easy to keep clean as they are just rubber. I am very glad that I changed my ways and now wear Crocs.
ReplyDelete2. One thing that I would like get better at is meeting new people. I love to meet new people and love talking with them and getting to know more about them, but sometimes I find that I don't know what to say when the conversation gets stale. It's something that I'm excited to work on as I start college, and something that I've already gotten better at since being here.
Describe a time when you:
ReplyDeletec) labeled yourself as a certain kind of person but later outgrew that label;
I was raised in church all my life. Through grade school, I prided myself in wearing my christian label. With the label placed on my chest, I lived a life of little interest for the scriptures and high interest for attention. The thoughts of me from others did good at puffing me up. Looking back, the label truly read “lost”. Due to saving grace, that label is gone for eternity.
Part two
Identify something that does NOT come easily to you, but that you would like to improve on.
Expressing love. This aspect is underdeveloped. Working on it.
a) thought you couldn’t achieve something, but you later did;
ReplyDeleteI was a cross country runner in high school. Two days before State my freshman year, I injured my knee. I had surgery later in the year and therefore could no longer run my sophomore season. However, I trained and I worked hard to run my junior year. That season, I was challenged in so many ways, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I no longer had the motivation to run as I did years before. Even though my motivation to keep running was lacking I still knew I wanted to redeem myself and qualify for state again and actually be able to run that race. I was able to run well enough that season and qualify for state again. Unfortunately, the day before, I was in a car accident. As I lay in the hospital bed I was conflicted with the question, “do I run tomorrow or not?” I knew that my body was hurt, sore from the accident, and weak. This made me think that I was completely incapable of running the next day. However, with my stubborn personality I knew that if I didn’t run the next day, I would regret it with the thought of, “what if?” So as I woke up the next morning with my body aching, I decided to run. That afternoon, I beat my own personal record of all my seasons in cross country, and I completed the race. Even though I did not believe I could or have the motivation to do it, it was still possible, and I did it.
c) labeled yourself as a certain kind of person but later outgrew that label;
For a long time during my high school years I had labeled myself as someone who wasn’t truly smart, I just found ways to make it through classes and get good grades. Even though school came naturally to me and to an extent easy, it felt as though it was easier for others to a larger extent. When it came time to take the ACT this is when this label was really tested in my heart. I didn’t get a score as high as I anticipated or as others anticipated in me. I had to go through classes, study sessions, and go the extra mile in order to raise my score at least 7 points. It wasn’t until after I achieved this, that I realized I am intelligent, but my intelligence doesn’t and shouldn’t have to look the same as others, and that was ok. At this point, I was able to realize my own potential knowing that I had to work hard to achieve something and I was capable of doing so.
Part two
I have a really hard time saying no. Even though I may be tired, don't truly have the time, or sometimes don't want to, I say yes. I know that my time here in college is going to challenge this in my life. Having to say no to hanging out with friends knowing I have to study. Even though I love helping others, there are time to say no. Definitely something I am working on.
When I was younger, I always labeled myself as a massive nerd. While in a certain way I do still feel like I am, I think I have been able to outgrow that label, which has opened up opportunities in my life that I thought would be very far outside of my comfort zone. In all honesty, athletic ability is not something that I will ever say that I have, and it is something I’ve thought about my whole life. However, I do hope to be able to get closer to a slight ability in physical activity while going to the gym and being in the marching band. According to most of my family members, this doesn’t exactly run in my family, but I won’t let that hold me back.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that I was a very organized person. I grew up in a very messy house, and eventually decided that I didn't want to live like that. Instead of cleaning every once in a while I would just throw things away as soon as I'm done with them, or clean dishes as soon as I finish eating, that way there's never a mess to clean. Then I went to college, and all that time I had went out the window. I'm always on the go, so when I'm done with something and I can't take it with me, it'll stay right where it is for who knows how long.
ReplyDeleteSomewhat related to the above, I would like to improve my time management skills. If I am more aware of the time I have and the best way to use it at all times, then I can have more time to clean, or do something I enjoy.