The Incessant Beeping: College Admission Essay Sample

The incessant, monotone beeping of the heart monitor was Public Enemy #1.

It alone was not the problem. Rather, it meant that I had found myself in a hospital room again. First it was my grandma, then my dad, then my grandma again. Each time was the same, but the repetition of it all didn’t make it any easier. Seeing the multitude of tubes hooked up to the North Stars of my childhood led to an internal battle to retain my composure. Each car ride to the hospital, my heart would bend, as if bracing for impact. And once I would get there, the heart monitor was a constant reminder of the situation.

It began my junior year. Post-Quintuple Bypass Surgery, my grandma was returned back to us with foot-long lists of new prescriptions and a recovering body. Attending to her, while also trying to adjust to my plethora of activities, was demanding. All the heightened emotion provided for breakdowns galore. How can one casually study the thirteen colonies when the George Washington in her life is screaming downstairs because the pain is too much? It became a question of priorities. Was an A on the Physics test more important than what could be the last hours with my grandma?

Another episode occurred just about a week ago. I had awoken to check my SAT scores when I suddenly found myself dialing 911 and leading the paramedics to my grandma’s bedroom. This time, a brain aneurysm.

Some good came out of all this pain, however. My mindset was drastically altered. I gained a deeper comprehension of the grand scheme of things and what is truly important in life. Though I do value my intelligence, these experiences have made me realize that there are things bigger than just test scores. This brush with mortality has made me reshuffle my priorities, placing human connections above numerical “achievements”. And though the beeping of the heart monitor reminds me of the passing of time, I am able to confront it with the confidence that not a minute will be wasted stressing the small things.