Pool Shark

Elizabeth realized that she's a pool shark today. I was playing with Brother Skidmore, who was giving me very good tips, at the institute building. We had dinner and were going to play Mission Impossible; however, we had 20 people instead of 30. So, I played pool instead. Brother Skidmore was teaching me how to hit the balls. Plus, it's all in the wrist instead of the arm. The arm has too much movement. When I tried the wrist, I sunk three in a row. That was cool because I thought that I still stunk at pool.

Since I wrote this for my application for BYU, I would like to post this on my blog. I had to limit this essay to 300 words. What sets you apart from other applicants, based on unique educational or life experiences, personal or family circumstances, obstacles overcome and/or achievements?

When I was young, I was a developmentally delayed baby and toddler. That presented some challenges because I could not even crawl when I was a year old. Doctors told my parents that I would never walk because my muscle tone and my fine and gross motor skills were so poor. Therefore, I walked on my knees for about a year. Then, I went to “play therapy” at two years old and started walking within a couple of months.

At three years old, I was enrolled into a special preschool to work on my motor skills and speech development. I took occupational therapy until I was in second grade and speech therapy until I was in seventh grade. At seven years old, doctors diagnosed me with Attention Deficit Disorder. In fourth grade, the work load was too much for me and had to be cut in half. In fifth grade, I was still struggling with school and was testing too high for resource classes. Therefore, I went to a neuropsychologist to be tested and was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism.

It’s a challenge to have Autism. Once people know I have it, they have a tendency to prematurely set limits. For example, I took a standard intelligence test from a psychologist when I graduated from high school. The psychologist said that I would not do well in math and in college in general. He wanted me to enroll into a certificate program instead of majoring in chemistry. However at Spokane Community College, I took calculus for a quarter and advanced chemistry for a year. I graduated with my Associates of Arts degree with a 3.76 GPA. I have learned by overcoming my handicaps, I feel that I am prepared to overcome any challenges that life might bring.