PERSONAL STATEMENT
It is our aim to get to know you as well as possible through this application. With this in mind, we hope you will find an opportunity for further self expression in responding to the following:
Comment on an experience that helped you to discern or define a value that you hold.

    On July 18, I set out to accomplish the improbable: a Century Ride. The realization of my dream to bicycle one hundred miles in a single day. I got up around six, and started to get read. I was with a group of sixteen teenagers organized by Longacre Expeditions. We were from all over the country, but our common quest for adventure had brought us all together. we were a team, and we had to learn to work together. Longacre believes that the sheer physical challenge of the expedition combined with learning about group dynamics forces one to recognize both personal strengths and limitations. The Century Ride epitomized all that I learned about myself.

    The first twenty miles were tough. All I could think about were the eighty miles still to go. At mile twenty, however, I hit a rhythm. Suddenly, I wasn’t fighting with my bicycle anymore; it had become a part of me. When we stopped for lunch, we were all very excited. After lunch we came to some of the biggest hills in Nova Scotia. It was hot but we all kept going. Around the seventy mile mark the atmosphere in the group changed. We spread out more and turned inside for inspiration. I was in the middle of the pack and decided to sing some goofy songs to keep my mind off my exhausted body. It worked. I cruised into the eighty mile rest stop with the feeling that I could go another eighty miles. After some juicy oranges and quick bantering, we all set out for the last twenty miles. At mile ninety-nine the group stopped and waited until we were all together. We rode the last mile in silence, finally breaking out into hysterical cheers as we crossed the one hundred mile mark simultaneously. When we reached the campsite that evening, my odometer read 105.68. I was exhilarated and very proud of myself.

    Prior to this trip, I had not thought of myself as very capable at athletic endeavors. July 18, however, changed that forever. I felt that I had gained something very special, but it was difficult to put into words immediately. The feeling that first came to mind was self-confidence. Believing in myself enough to accomplish the Century Ride also reinforced my faith in the power of tenacity. Having the courage to stick through that long, difficult day had given me new sources of self-confidence. Now, whenever I seem to be faced with something particularly challenging, I try to remember that day, and then I can continue. Perhaps what this experience helped me to realize is that self-confidence is something that comes from within. It is not given out by others, but something that one must achieve.

    The thesaurus lists “self-confidence” under freedom. I value self-confidence because it has helped to set me free.