Everything Happens for a Reason: College Admission Essay Sample

When I was about fourteen, my dad lost his job. He wasn't at fault; the hotel he worked at was in a poor financial situation, so fingers were wrongly pointed at him, the director of sales. The moment I heard I felt that my comfortable world was crumbling down, falling to pieces around me. My heard sank, my stomach dropped. It was too horrible to be real.

For a while, things were difficult. Suddenly my dad was no longer the superhero I thought he was, suddenly he became a mere mortal. I could see the dissatisfaction in his eyes at every waking moment; he felt that he'd failed us. Finally, though, the tide seemed to turn; the fledgling company he'd founded with a former colleague was hired to help a luxury oceanfront hotel get back on its feet. A contract was signed, an agreement made.

But it didn't last. After about a year the hotel owner severed ties with my father's company, terminated the contract, and refused to pay him a portion of the money he'd worked for. He was left without work once again. Thankfully it was only a month before he was able to clinch another sales management job in a Manhattan hotel. He had wonderful credentials, and his charismatic personality impressed everyone.

Fast forward to late June of this year. Once again, the hotel was ready to blame the sales manager for the tough times they'd been facing. He began interviewing for another job, and a few weeks later they told him he'd gotten it. That same day, however, they called him back, claiming something had happened and they could no longer offer him the position. No explanation. Just a minute-long phone call that nearly shattered him.

Today, my father is still searching for a permanent position. He's been back and forth to Texas since early October, working a temporary one. I only see him once every two weeks. Over the past three years, though, my perspective on these events has changed: my dad still is my superhero. He's taught me that even though the world is cruel, perseverance is the key to success. Since then it's become difficult to picture precisely the moment I found out, but for this I am thankful. Though I wondered many times how this misfortune could have befallen us, now I've come to firmly believe that everything happened for a reason.