Motivation, failure, and success through skiing.

This is a practice college admissions essay that I had to write for my english class. There's no real set prompt, he basically just told us to go write. So, here it is. you might enjoy it, I oriented it around skiing.

So post up some helpful criticism if you want, i'll dish out some +K.
Don't read it if you don't want to.

Hell just read it for pleasure if you want. Enjoy. I thought it came out pretty well.


I never want to work a day in my life, not a single one. I don’t want to apply myself to the drudgery of a task that I’ll have to perform for the rest of my life. Some say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I hope that eventually, this will hold true for me. I’m lucky enough that I have been given the privilege of becoming involved in a sport that has rounded me into the individual that I am today, and it has taught me valuable life lessons. Hopefully these life lessons will better equip me in my college years to pursue a career path that I can fall in love with, and a life worth living. This sport is skiing. Through skiing, I have learned the principles of motivation, failure, and the glory of success, revealing to me that I can succeed in any career path that I choose.

Motivation is a crucial part of success. Without it, I would be nowhere. Up until my sophomore year, I never had to try in school. I coasted my way through school, until things started getting challenging. Luckily, skiing saved me. It has taught me to be motivated to succeed. My niche in the world of sports is freeskiing; a snowboard-esque form of freestyle skiing that includes rails and jumps. I’m a talented skier, but this has not come easy for me. It has taken thousands of hours of determination and practice to achieve my goals. It really opened my eyes and taught me that anything worth having is not, under any circumstances, easy to achieve. Any new trick or accomplishment I have ever attained was not a walk in the park. It didn’t happen in a few tries. It took hours of frustration and failure to get it right. At the end of some days I’ll come home with bruises and aches on every inch of my body, but the reward that comes from accomplishing the feat is more than worth it. This is a valuable lesson that I hope to apply in my college major in order to succeed, just like skiing has taught me.

Though I may be motivated, I do fail. I fail almost every time I attempt something new, whether it is skiing related or not. Skiing has taught me to deal with failure, and push through it no matter what gets me down. I can remember a certain instance in which I learned the importance of this valuable life lesson. I had spent all day hiking a single rail, with a certain trick in mind that I simply could not master. I was battered and bruised from dozens of wipeouts. I was hurting all over, and I was all but defeated. With my impact-shattered goggles hanging around my neck, and sweaty despite the 17 degree temperature, I hiked up to the beginning of the rail, following my own boot tracks for the umpteen billionth time that day. I was not going to let myself succumb to riding the chairlift until I had achieved my goal. It was late. At least six hours had elapsed since my first attempt, and the halogen tinged lights illuminating the snow accounted for it. I reached the spot where I judged I’d have enough speed for the rail. I sat my skis down, and stomped my boots into the bindings. I reminded myself how badly I wanted this trick, and how rewarding it would be to finally sit down on the chairlift. “Here goes,” I told myself. I glided towards the rail and hopped on it, contorting and rotating my body along the steel, hoping that this time it would be perfect. I leapt off the end of the rail, launching my body into a spin whilst desperately trying to spot my landing. Finally, my feet made contact with the icy landing. I had done it. I was elated. I shuffled my way over to the chairlift, and gratefully sat down on the cushioned seat. Unbeknownst to me, I had just learned a valuable life lesson that I would carry with me the rest of my life. Failure is inevitable sometimes, but the motivation that is so crucial to success can always be harnessed to push through it. I later discovered that this does not only hold true for me while skiing. Failure is a part of life, and it teaches us to adjust our techniques and change our methods, which only leads to success. I hope that this life lesson will lead through the furthering of my education and lead me into a successful career.

Though failure is inevitable, success comes hand in hand with it. The sample of the taste of success that I have attained from skiing has taught me how rewarding and worthwhile success can be. Along the way, it doesn’t seem worth it. The journey to success is not an easy one, and it’s easy to let yourself give up. This skiing niche of mine has taught me to combat failure with my motivation, and attain my success. Success is, for me, one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have. Knowing that I overcame obstacles and I was able to push myself to achieve something that I desired is quite a refreshing thought. I want to gain access to a career that I can apply this principle to through college. I want to discover a career that I can grow to love and crave success in, thus enhancing my desire to achieve. Having a career that I enjoy and I wake up every morning excited to go to is my life dream, and I’ll settle for nothing less.

I hope to carry these incalculably valuable life lessons through life with me, and apply them to my career pursuit. I believe that they will assist me and motivate me to find a career that I am talented at, and that I love. I hope to be as motivated as I can possibly be to find this career infatuation that I seek. After all, I don’t want to work a day in my life.