Sample #1 – Write an autobiography to help us learn more about you. You may include favorite subjects, extra-curricular activities, hobbies, special talents, or unique experiences.
(Written by a 6th grader; 1000 word limit)

Throughout my life, I have taken on many challenges. Whether it is as simple as a dare from my friends, a request from my parents, or if I feel as though I just need a challenge. Challenges are the things that I love and that have made my life more interesting. No matter what challenge I take, my goal is to meet that challenge.

When I was younger, after three years of playing t-ball at my local park, I started to play baseball at Toluca Lake Little League for my first time. I played well that season on my team and I got asked to be on the Toluca Lake travel team. This is like a little league all-star team. I was really excited because I loved baseball. For me, the more baseball, the better!

We started having practices after the regular season ended and I was the youngest kid on the team. All the other players had known each other from previous seasons. At the beginning, this didn’t really bother me. I was just happy to be on the team. But as time went by, the other kids ignored me because I wasn’t as good as they were. On the regular team, I was one of the best players. But here, I would make contact with only one out of fifteen balls that was pitched to me. In the field, the coaches put me in the deepest part of the outfield because they knew that the kids at this age couldn’t hit it there.

I still loved playing baseball, so I didn’t complain. But when I went back for my second year on the travel team, nothing changed. When we played games, I spent most of the time on the bench and never had a chance to improve.

So I asked my parents if I could go to a batting coach. I went to him a couple times a week for a few months. Also, my dad and I went to the park every weekend and played baseball. He would pitch buckets of balls to me over and over until I got a lot better. I really improved in games. In one of the big playoff games, I crushed a single to centerfield and one of our runners scored. The team cheered and we won the game. Thanks to my perseverance, I met the challenge and succeeded in baseball.

After the second season of travel team baseball, I decided to end on a good note and take on a new challenge: basketball. I really loved the game and played in our driveway with my dad any chance I could get. I had already played a couple of seasons in the park league. At the time I stopped playing baseball, I was in the peewee division for basketball. I had another whole season to play in peewee. But I wanted a challenge. So when I registered for the next season, I asked the park if I could move up a division. They said yes, and giving myself that challenge has made me a better basketball player than I ever thought I could be. At the end of my sixth season playing basketball at the park, the all-star coach asked me to play on his team. I knew what I was in for. Many of the kids on the all-stars knew each other and many of them were better than me. However, I learned a lot from my baseball experiences, which helped me take on the new challenge. I made friends with the kids quickly. And even though I didn't have the best jump shot, I practiced really hard and put in 110 percent in every practice, and I turned out to be one of the best defensive players in the league.

I then realized that I needed another sport to substitute for baseball. So I took on another challenge: soccer! I had never played or watched soccer before. I asked the coach if I could play goalie. Everyone is always afraid to play that position because you either get a ball kicked at you hard or someone kicks you with their cleat (which happened to me two weeks ago and did hurt a lot). I had the best time playing goalie and even striker, which I didn’t even know was a position. The kids there were nice and we all played as a team. Nobody got left out. The coaches did drills as a team, and everyone got to participate in practice and play the positions they wanted to play in the games. Everything was fun because everyone was having a good time.

Lastly, my most recent challenge was in math. I love math the most of all because it keeps my brain active in every math problem I do. That’s why I will always love math. So I felt that the Math Academy was a place where I could excel in my favorite subject. I mean, I could have gone to an easier school, had little homework, and gotten great grades, but I challenged myself yet again. The classes are hard, but I like math so much I work pretty hard at it. I was recently awarded the Millikan Turtle of the Month Award, which is given to the best student in the class.

Over the twelve years of my life, challenges have been the things that have made those years more interesting. Whether the challenge is coming on the field, in the classroom, or from my family and friends, I always try to meet the challenge, and if possible, exceed it. No matter what, I will always push myself to succeed.