Scholarship Essays for College Admissions

I sleep lightly, especially in strange places. Any unfamiliar sound can whisk me back to reality in an instant. At daybreak I woke to the sound of a songbird outside the cabin. Being early September, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, it was a fairly brisk morning. While I was staring at the closed screen windows for a trace of light, trying to guess the time, I was already smiling at what the day might hold. As I climbed out of my sleeping bag and down the metal bunk, I bit my tongue to keep from shivering or chattering my teeth too hard. The floor wasn’t much better on my bare feet as I rustled around for a change of clothes, without waking the other girls. I had arrived the night before at this place where all of us had something in common. It was refreshing to be with other people who would come this far to learn how to better serve as a leader. Most of the weekend was group oriented, and pretty hard-core for a Saturday, but for the moment I had it all to myself.I drank in the silence as I walked around alone at 6am, being the introvert I am, and loved it. The perfect seat appeared to me in the form of an old stump beside the lake. I sat down and looked around at the picturesque scene laid before me. Sand that lay only a few feet in front of me was made clearer by the crystal water.

The sun was rising to the left, but the haze over the water prevented it from coming out entirely. Its effect instead was to bathe the entire lake in a soft, pastel reflection. I sat there for hours watching the small island appear out of the mist, followed by the opposite shore. Watching something with a beauty to this extreme insisted that I too, must be part of it. For nothing, or no one, less than perfect would be allowed this privilege. I listened as the entire camp started to wake up slowly. It was like being a hidden witness to the morning, in a way, and I know I’ll never tire of the effect of waiting for the rest of the world to begin. This morning I wasn’t just waiting for the world though. My peak moment was being surrounded by all this, and hearing a friend’s voice. A simple “Good Morning” as he put his hands on my shoulders, coupled with the rising sun, warmed my body and soul. Now I was ready to take on the world.