Salmon Amongst Tuna

A short college entrance essay I wrote

Salmon amongst Tuna

 

            Life has a way of moving without empathy; it’s a river with unforgiving twist and turns, and we are the tuna trapped in its current.

            For me life has always been a speeding river, never taking breaks and moving with determination as I headed toward a waterfall. In the beginning of my life, school was my waterfall; I let the waves of academic pressure pull me over the edge. Like a fish without a purpose I followed my school, allowing myself to be pulled in the current of educational obligations. With every attempt at keeping up with others, I was soon overwhelmed with pressure that left me frustrated and defeated.

            As life went on, I soon found out this overwhelming pressure was ADHD.  This discovery was brought to my attention during one of the most difficult times in my life: Junior Year. Filled with memories of opportunity and fear, my Junior Year was the time my mother and I got into a life changing argument. My mother and I have always been on opposite sides of the Venn diagram, as we grew older the distance between us tainted any possible chances of reconnecting.

            The argument between us, forced me out of the house and I spent three months couch surfing, while trying to keep up with Life’s unsympathetic stream. Missing two months of both my first and second hour, I struggled to find rides to school on a daily basis. As I prayed for the raging waters of life to slow down and take pity, I was responded with an ugly truth: life moves without notice and those who simply do not swim sink under the currents of its harsh bureaucracy.

            I swallowed my pride and returned home, it was not soon before my mother and I found ourselves spitting fire back and forth. I allowed myself to be consumed by waves as the police came through the door; spending a night in jail I allowed myself to give up swimming in the river of life.

            When I returned to school the next day, I was too overcome with shock. I drifted off into calmer waters where I allowed my disability to get the best of me; before I knew I was stuck with three “F’s” on my transcripts. 

            In Senior Year, I was still floating in the same lake as the previous school year. I watched all my peers take roles of becoming seniors; that’s when took a jump out of water. With that brief moment on the outsides of time, I had transformed from those around me; I realized that it was up to me to pull myself out of the current. As I landed back in water I darted toward the river of responsibilities.

            I fix the mistakes that my psychosis left me with: explain my story to my teachers, having the principle remove my “F’s” so I could re-take the classes, and getting medication to stay in charge of the overwhelming pressure of ADHD. I swam backwards, tracing my steps and covering all I had missed; talking to an Elmhurst rep, I set goals for myself as I retook my ACT. I fought for the first time, not against life but myself. Changing my GPA from a 2.2 to a 2.58 in a week, I burst through the current that had I had been allowing to control me for so long; passing the school of fish that I had been chasing after in obligation.

            As a Salmon amongst Tuna, I chose my own direction.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I enjoyed this story. A wise man learn from mistakes. Repair them and leave them forgotten and in the past. The flow and the thoughts of this story was very good. Thank you for sharing the story. I hope you success and keep writing. A excellent story.
Coyote