College Entrance Essay

I never realized how important the 206 bones in our bodies are. They are, essentially, what holds and makes up the physical structures of our bodies. Without them, we would be a flimsy piece of flesh, flapping around with no control over what’s happening. Every single bone is precisely arranged and intertwined with one another to maximize mobility. If the tiniest piece moved, that part of your body would lose optimal functioning.

I fractured my wrist when I was 15 years and 8 months old, to be exact. This was not something pleasant to hear from the doctor, especially when you’re an amateur volleyball and soccer player. I remember just running and trying to tackle someone, when suddenly, I tripped and landed on my wrist. It was a terrible way to embrace a fall, and I knew it the moment I heard something crack. Being the irresponsible athlete that I was, my first thought was, “How am I going to play in my next game?”. Believe it or not, I had two back-to-back soccer games. I didn’t care to contact my parents, or consult a professional medical opinion. I just went straight to my next game. My coach inevitably called my parents, and that resulted in an unexpected, two day stay at the hospital.

Not being able to use my dominant hand for eight weeks was horrible. This meant not being able to write, not being able to type, not being able to shower, and not being able to basically, do anything. I was beyond frustrated at myself for doing something so stupid. I even missed out on three quarters of my school soccer season, and sat uselessly at the edge of the pitch.

Losing the ability to use my hand was something that I’ll never want to go through again. The agonizing torture of watching everyone else do things at ease while you’re slowly, but surely, making your way there is seemingly endless. If there is one thing I learned through this whole experience, it is that I’ll forever treasure the gift of being able to freely move my hand. Even just for simple everyday routines, such as combing my hair, opening a can of pop, or shooting a hoop, the reliability of a single bone is extremely crucial. 

If you don’t want to have two months of your life gone to waste, I highly suggest you precaution yourself from any and all types of danger. We are created to be God’s handiwork, hence every part of us is essential. But I do encourage injuring yourself if you dislike a part of your body, and think that you’re better off without it – that will teach you the importance of said thing. I’ve been there and done that, and it’s safe to say that I did not enjoy a single minute of it.

Writing Process and Rough Draft

Reflection: We were given a list of college entrance topics to write about, and for some reason, the topic of: “What’s One Thing That’s Important To You?” really stood out to me. I pondered long and hard about this, and surprisingly, the first thing that came to mind was the time I fractured my wrist. Having to relive those memories while writing was painful, yet appreciative, because it helped me truly understand the complexity of the human body and why we are designed that way. After revising and proofreading over my initial copy, I was able to add more descriptions to make the words come alive and hopefully allow the readers to mentally experience what I went through as well.