College Essay Final

John Hopkins University Prompt

John Hopkins university was founded in 1876 on a spirit of exploration and discovery. As a result students can pursue a multi dimensional undergraduate experience both in and outside of the classroom. Given the opportunities at Hopkins please discuss your current interest- Academic or extracurricular pursuits, personal passions, summer experiences, etc.- and how you will build upon them here. 

Honolulu Hekili from Hawaii vs. Northern California Tri-valley, Bottom of the 7th inning and the game is tied. This is the semi-final match of the 2014 Babe Ruth Pacific Southwest tournament in Surprise, Arizona, this determines who goes to the Championship game. I, Kaz Tachino, am on 3rd base with 1 out. There is no possible way that we can lose, we worked way too hard to get here, and we WILL win this game. There was just a huge flame burning in my heart. Our chances of winning have increased and everyone is on their feet. The pitcher makes a mistake and I score home. As I run down the basepath, my yelling has been heard around the world. My hands were red from all the clapping I had done from the excitement of the game. My teammates mobbed me at home plate, whacking the top of my helmet. We were going to the championships, but it was special because we got to play in a Major League Baseball Spring Training field. Also. the winner of this game would go to the Babe Ruth World Series. Would we be able to make it their, and persevere through the 100 degree weather? I guess you'll just have to keep reading then.

A rematch, Hekili vs. Tri-valley was bound to happen. Sure enough, we had to play those guys again. The score was 9-3 in the Top of the 7th. A ground ball to the second basemen, "OUT!" 3 outs, the game was over, and one of the teams were getting a trip to Ocala, Florida. Our moms and dads were jumping for joy because we were going to the World Series. Parents and players were busting out their cell phones and cameras to take videos and send home to our family members. "WE DID IT." Our dreams that we had since we were small kids playing tee-ball finally came true. It's what every baseball player longs for. Other teams would do dog piles and scream, but our team wasn't a bunch of show-offs. We had pride, and were very modest. That's just how we were raised and brought up as baseball players. I liked that mindset, though, because it shows that we deserve it, and that we weren't cocky. Showing up the other team just wasn't our thing. Anyway, there's no where to go after this, this is where the best teams of the nation come to play. Every singe one of us posted a picture on Instagram and how happy we were. Friends and families were commenting and congratulating us on our HUGE victory. We were all pooped out and just felt like lying on the field and relaxing. "World Series, HERE WE COME!" 

If you ever thought that Hawaii was always sunny and hot compared to the mainland (other 48 states not including Alaska), you are terribly wrong. Florida was terrible because most of the time it was about 90% humidity. As soon as you step out of the airport, you instantly start to sweat. But when you're into the game, that's the last thing you worry about. Anyways, going to the World Series was a blast, you get to meet the best players from around the country. There were people over 6 feet tall. It looked like they could bench 3,000 pounds because they were so huge. The experience of meeting all the different teams was unbelievable. They had different attitudes, and ways to play the game. They had different accents from where they come from, too. But did this affect the way that we played against them?

Honolulu Hekili, the only team to go UNDEFEATED in Pool Play. We were the team to beat, everyone else loss in the tournament, besides us. As our coach says, "the targets are right on your guy's backs, and everyone is aiming for you." It was true, everyone wanted to beat us. It all came down to a special game, the semi-finals. We were scheduled to play a team from Texas. There was a very interesting start, however. We had a very late game, 8:00 P.M. Once both teams were done warming up, lightning and thunder joined the party. The game got delayed for a whole hour. It felt special because the word "Hekili" means thunder or lightning. Texas was a very skilled team. They threw hard, made all the plays, and hit hard. One guy hit a homerun over the fence, which was 335 feet away. That same flame that burned earlier was even bigger in my heart. I was willing to risk anything to win. I would get beaned by a 100 mph pitch just to win this game. But, not everything will go your way. As you probably guessed, we did lose to them. But, just because we loss, doesn't mean that we didn't play our hearts out. Each and everyone of us put 200% effort into the game. Sometimes losses can't be helped if you tried your best. Tears were running down our face after the game because of how far we came, and that the dream was finally over. This game of baseball just puts us all in tears, our love for the game is just incredible. All the time and effort we put into baseball truly played off, and we don't regret anything at all. I felt sad, but also proud of the excellent work we had done. A summer filled baseball is exciting and worth everything.

Passion is the key word to my summer. My passion for baseball is just overwhelming because I just love playing, watching, and analyzing the game. I would put in work everyday to play the game. But, I don't only put passion into baseball, but into everything I do. Especially school work because education comes before baseball. Sports is a reward for paying attention in school, and doing your work. At John Hopkins University, I will put in 200% effort into my work, just like I do for baseball. I don't just do work to get it done, I do it because I want to. I will do quality work because I know I will benefit everything in the future. Passion is the key word. I hope you enjoyed reading my essay and recommend me into John Hopkins University. You will not regret anything if I am accepted!