This short essay (300-400 words) is for a summer program at Duke. I was given a relatively obscure prompt, so I hope my response wasn't too abstract. Of course, this is just a rough draft, but I would like to hear fellow writers' opinions. Genuine suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks. Prompt: Find your Future ===> As a young kid, I could never really decide what profession I wanted to pursue. There was a multitude of possibilities that appealed to me, and a few which I desired to partake of, but each choice seemed as great as the last. I knew that I wanted to do something that I found meaningful, but I had no idea where to focus my efforts. Now, as a seventeen year old, I’m still asking myself that same question. But, of course I’m debating with a sense of urgency much greater than what I had as a child. In just two years, I will be attending college, and at times, the knowledge of that fact can be a bit overwhelming. There’s so much pressure, there’s so many decisions that must be made early in life, and this is where it starts to get difficult; this is the time where one must begin planning for the rest of one's life, and at such a young age. Inevitably, the one thing that gives me comfort is knowing that there are other students all around the world undergoing this very same situation. ===> So, I think that’s one of the questions that resonates all over the world, it's spoken universally: “What’s going to happen after high school and how can I discover that; how can I find that in myself?”. The one answer I can give is simple, yet hopefully effective, and that is to be constantly trying new things. One thing that I try to live by is, every day, try and do something I’m unfamiliar or uncomfortable with, whether it be joining a game of Ultimate Frisbee, or joining in a debate with the Philosophy Club. Eventually I became accustomed to performing tasks which once made me nervous or somewhat afraid. I realize that I must keep trying new things, and continue to step out of my comfort zone, growing and expanding. If I can do that, I'm certain I will be able to find what it is I am meant to do. And although my future plans are indefinite, my goals are infinite. I want to do everything and be everything; most of all, I want to be the best.
