Here is my next prompt: The University of Miami's official mascot is the ibis. Folklore maintains that the native marsh bird is the last to take shelter before a hurricane hits and the first to emerge once the storm passes, making it an apt symbol of courage and resilience. Considering your ability to control your own motivation and behavior, how have past experiences helped build your courage and resilience to persist in the face of academic and life challenges so that, once these storms pass, you can emerge in continued pursuit of your goals?

University of Miami Application Essay

[Your Name Here]

While storms brew, some people cower while others face it boldly. All my life, I had attended a private school, a place I cherished deeply. During my sophomore year, a strong storm was presented where I was faced with two options. To continue pursing my academic goals, I had to either continue going to the same school with a continuation of lacking opportunities, or go through the scary storm of finding a new online school. Online schooling has been difficult for me because it entails that I create my own schedule, organize my resources, build rapport with new teachers, and complete difficult assignments through suboptimal conditions. The online assignments felt like pelting rain upon my sore back. Every day became cloudier and darker as I was separated from more social interactions and in-person schooling. It was lonely. However, through this storm came a comfortability after the hardships had been controlled. I became comfortable with the uncomfortable, learned how to lean on my own independence, adapted willingly, and emerged stronger. This major transition will prepare me for future college struggles and help me become more resilient to difficult scenarios. It has prepared me for future career opportunities as a striving business owner. Buckminster Fuller once said that “you never change things by fighting existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” Like the Ibis, I learned not to fight the storms but adapt, take shelter, and emerge stronger than before.