Prompt: Choose an issue of importance to you—the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope—and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.
If it doesn't fit under the prompt and there is a way I can mold it to do so please let me know. Also if you have any other kind of input on the essay that would be great.
Thanks!!
Essay:
If the dictionary defines the word pride as, “ ‘the best of a group, class, society;’ ‘a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity;’ and ‘splendor, magnificence, or pomp,’ ” how can that same word be the reason why so many people live in complete isolation and cause them to be disconnected from the world. Pride is not a quality that you are born with, nor is it something that can be picked up or put down on a whim; pride is a characteristic that is fabricated slowly over time. The severity and the extent that pride is taken to, which can be divided into 3 levels, will reflect on how bad or extreme the consequences are.
Level one. Pride is so subtle it is impossible to be interpreted in a negative manner. One quality of being prideful is confidence; therefore the perfect dosage of pride can result in a self-esteem booster. This makes you not cocky, but confident. It is safe to say that no bad could come from this, but the lower and the less intense the level is the less intense the rewards are. Therefore people who are at this level of pride usually are affected in little ways. For example, the way you walk in a room, the assurance you carry within your own ideas, or maybe something as simple as overcoming your shyness.
Level two. Pride has the ability to change your personality not only for better, but also for the worse. When you are unable to admit that you are wrong, either one of two things could happen. One, in retrospect you are actually wrong, but your pride makes you incapable of admitting it. Two, in retrospect you are actually right, will be admired by your piers, and/or educator; you will also be viewed as the leader of a group. People will be depended on you and you will never be depended on others, everybody will follow your direction and you will always take the lead.
Level three. Pride begins to consume you, and it completely alters not only your personality but your lifestyle. You will arrive at the point where you are so convinced that you are always right and never wrong no matter what the situation is, causing you to never consider a friends opinion, resulting in a lost friendship. The simplest argument with a family member that could have ended with a simple, “I’m sorry.” Or, “I was wrong.” Would instead result in a dramatic incident of you walking out of the house, turning your back on your family and never speaking to them again. At this point, things have been taken too far, you need to look back and reevaluate yourself. At this point, you are all alone and have nobody. At this point, you are hurting yourself, and the only thing you can do to fix it, is change. But how? You just do it.
I used to argue with my mother all the time. We never had a civilized conversation about the simplest of things. One day I sat down and just started to think about why we never got along and why we treat each other this way. After talking to a friend of mines she mentioned to me how prideful I can be towards my family. Although it was an extremely hard thing for me to do, once I came over my pride, and accepted defeat for both things I knew I was right about, and those that I knew I was wrong, we finally started to get along. Because we fight less often I am now less stressed and just generally a happier person. Is there such thing to too much pride? Pride is such a simple concept with dreadful consequences yet it can have magnificent potential, when twisted and manipulated to your benefit.
Does this essay fit under the prompt?
i'm not sure if they meant for you to use pride, it might be off topid and upset them... but on the bright side you will stand out to the college admissions people. I would remove level 1 2 and 3 at the beginning of the paragraphs, or transpose them into a full sentence. Also proofread it, i noticed a few mistakes. Read it aloud, check over it silently, AND have someone else read it. Its very important to make a good impression. Congratulations on your applying! Good luck!
