Jake--Content

            So many people today have had so many problems throughout their lives, it surprises me that many of them have grown up into the respectable individuals they are today, whereas others are sadly not so fortunate. I myself have experienced very little hardship, unless you count having to wait till Christmas to get a certain toy as one. I have an ideal life, and I’m immensely grateful for it. I have amazing family, friends, and I live in a great community. All of these factors have molded me into the responsible, reliable, and respectful individual I am today. I cannot thank them all enough. However throughout my childhood and even now my older brother (by two years) and I have constantly competed against one another, whether it was school, sports, or wrestling one another. I have lost again and again to him, and for most of my life I’ve hated it due to the constant teasing I’ve faced from him. He always did just a little better in school, and he was a much better water polo player than I, so I was always jealous of him. I felt as though I’d never be as good as him. But now, as high school is ending I’ve looked back and I’m honored to have had a brother like him. He has been the one to push me through almost everything I’ve done, thanks to our natural competitiveness. Thanks to this I’ve maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout almost all of high school, and I’m currently the captain of the varsity swim team, and I was captain of the varsity water polo team earlier in the year. He’s taught me not only to not compare myself to others, but to be happy with who I am, to be proud of myself, and of course to be graceful in defeat. My dad is currently a superior court judge and a business law professor, and thanks to him I’m hoping to attend law school after college to become a lawyer when I’m older. In addition to my family, my friends have stuck with me and allowed me to enjoy these 4 years of high school, so I am grateful to them as well. I can’t think of how different my high school experience would’ve been without them. Just like my older brother, they’ve pushed me throughout these 4 years not only academically, but in sports as well, with many laughs along the way. I honestly cannot thank them all enough, for all the love and support they’ve given me. Although we’re all going our separate ways for college, I know we’ll still keep in touch as much as possible. Now we’re all about to be on our way to college, and hopefully, success. My family and friends have helped me become the passionate, loving, and content person I am today, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay them.