Tell us about a personal quality, talent accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and does it relate to the person you are?

Among the many extracurricular activities that I have been involved in over the years , have made a greater impact in my life than competitive swimming . I discovered my affinity towards being in the water when I was very young . I would beg my parents to let me play in the bathtub for hours . This interest blossomed into a passion when I enrolled for swimming lessons at age six and later on joined the swimming team . It was in this chapter of my life that I realized that there was no thrill comparable to

being in the pool and rushing towards a finish line

When I joined Porter Valley Aquatics , a competitive swim team club that trains all-year-round , I had to wake up at 4 :15 in the morning to be able to attend the daily 2-hour trainings at five . My hard work eventually paid off when I qualified for the Southern California Junior Olympics where I placed fourth in the 200-meter freestyle relay . By 9th grade , I was one of two freshmen who were able to make it to our school 's varsity team . There I made it to the Mission League finals every competition year and the Southern California CIF championships for three years . Although I am very happy about the achievements that I have made in this sport , what makes me truly proud about my participation in competitive swimming are the virtues that I have built within myself through it . Even with the need to put in long hours of training in to be ready for competitions , I still had to make sure that I have enough time left to put in my academics . Therefore , I kept a schedule that I followed religiously so that I would not be thrown off-track There were many occasions when I had to work under pressure because of unavoidable circumstances but having surpassed those challenges just made me more dynamic and capable of facing highly demanding environments

I am also proud about how getting involved in our swim club has developed my leadership traits . When I was made captain of our team , I was tasked with many responsibilities from which I learned many lessons that made me a better leader . I developed my team so that we could accept each victory with humility and each loss with grace . Together we won 3rd place in the invitational city tournament and placed in the top 10 at the league finals . I discovered that even against difficult odds the day can still be won with stalwart hearts united in a single cause When a leader is able to motivate each of his teammates to the fullest there is hardly anything that his team cannot do

As I embark on this new academic endeavor , I bring with me the strength , perseverance , and leadership of a competitive swimmer . I know that what I have become because of my passion for the sport has made me even more prepared to undertake and overcome the trials of...