scholarship essay

As hands squeeze the rubber handle bars, feet pump the pedals and the red bicycle moves forward. The feeling of balancing and steering a bike for the first time can be abrupt and disturbing, but becomes exhilarating as you learn to control the bicycle with skill. It’s a very freeing moment in a person’s lifetime to lose the training wheels and to leave Dad in the dust proudly watching with no protective hand to push. These moments are frightening, but you usually learn something pivotal that enhances your life.
This kind of moment arrived for me a year ago. I auditioned and received a role in my school’s spring production of Over the River and Through the Woods. I was to portray Nunzio, an Italian grandfather. We had barely begun blocking the play when tragedy struck.
I arrived at school one morning and a cast mate somberly informed me that our teacher had been suspended indefinitely. As the day unfolded, rumors began flying that the play was canceled and everything seemed unreal. After vigorous discussion, the administration decided they would allow our production to proceed. However, we had to face the impediment of who would be responsible for the direction and production of the play. The cast was trusted with these challenges.
After a week of self-direction, our play was looking disastrous. Focus was non-existent and bickering became the norm. Even I succumbed to an angry outburst at the cast and crew over something trivial. In anger, I went backstage to compose myself and reflected on our inability to gain control of this project. The other cast members came backstage to talk to me. I apologized for my outburst and told them my fears that we wouldn’t be prepared enough to perform. We hugged and consoled each other, vowing to overcome and collaborate to succeed. We all felt frustrated. No one was any angrier at me than themselves.
It was then, that I deliberated I would be a better person. Instead of crashing and burning fueled by arguments and irresponsibility, we were going to persevere. Dealing with differences, loss of our teacher, and juggling it all with schoolwork, we still successfully performed opening night to a large audience. We received a standing ovation. Afterwards, we met with the audience in the foyer. Most of the audience was aware of the adversity we overcame and were quite amazed that we pulled the production together without delay.
This is what attracted me to perfecting my theatrical abilities. Creating and synchronizing a work of art is challenging and uplifting. Conveying emotion and making people feel things sounds like an amazing way to live. Attending university will help me get my ideas heard. It will help me challenge myself to utilize my thoughts in my works. At college I will meet theatre mentors who will positively dare me to solve problems individually and to strengthen my diversity. In the end, I will definitely be able to balance and steadily pedal into the sunset.