Question

Talk about a personal accomplishment that is unrelated to academics, but that means a lot to you.

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Sample Essay No.5

Question: Talk about a personal accomplishment that is unrelated to academics, but that means a lot to you.

My Achilles Heel and personal weakness since childhood is the fear of speaking in public, in front of an audience filled with eyes that would be looking only at me, waiting for me to speak. Just that very thought made me tremble with fear internally, and sometimes it would manifest itself in such a manner that I would be at a loss of words or stammer even for simple responses put forward to me in large gatherings. I was afraid to go out and speak in front of people. I even was afraid to speak up for my rights to people, and due to this, I suffered immensely. I even fumbled to give any food orders in restaurants or ask a salesperson what I needed when I shopped in a store.

This situation made me introspect on the possible reasons why I would feel this way, and what I could do to rectify the same. Then I just said to myself, I need to tackle the bull by the horns, and face my fears without flinching. If I stumbled, no problem, at least I would have given it my one hundred percent. So one day I just stood in front of my class and asked my teacher if I could give a speech, she agreed and I gave the speech over self-confidence (which I lacked). Now here’s the twist - it was unprepared, and I did not have the time to plan for it so I just went in front of the class just to get a taste of impending failure, but this time with a different level of self-confidence. Somehow, much to even my surprise, the speech was so good that I received a standing ovation from my fellow classmates. I was fully charged and brimming with a new kind of confidence that I had never earlier experienced.

Further to this incident, I have never looked back. My attitude and self-confidence have taken a quantum leap, in any situation or in any large social gathering, I have shaken off the dust in my mind, and started interacting with everyone in a calm, composed manner, exuding the kind of positive attitude and belief in my speaking abilities.

This mental transition from a lack of confidence in oration, to one of supreme command over any sort of discussions, has been a leap of faith for me. I can only imagine, if I had continued to let my own fears rule my mind any longer, I would have regressed to an emotional level that would be a shadow following me for the rest of my life. I did not let my fears rule me, instead, I made it my target to jump the hurdle in one go. I was ready for a few falls, and that is the norm in any situation, but I was never ready to live in this low confidence state. In this way, I consider it as a personal accomplishment that has stayed with me from then on till now.

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