What is Important to Me?
Family, friends, school. These are the first thoughts that flood my mind when I am asked what is important to me. My name is John Yuksekol and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. My mother is Austrian and my father is Turkish; how unique! I am proud of my diverse ethnicities because not many people can classify themselves with those same ethnicities. Family must always come first and is what I find to be the most significant attribute in life. Subsequently, academics have great importance to me. Throughout my four years in high school, I maintained a 96 transcript average, so it demonstrates that I take my studies very seriously. I believe what makes my high academic standing even more significant is that throughout my years in high school I participated on the varsity baseball team. All of your achievements should have importance to you like they do to me. So far, my greatest achievement was to have success in both my academics and baseball while, at the same time, being devoted to both. Although I enjoy playing baseball, I am forced to eat, sleep, and breathe baseball. Since I was the captain of the baseball team in high school, baseball helped me develop leadership abilities that can help me succeed in posterity. Furthermore, excelling in school and being devoted to my championship team provided me with a great challenge and I take great pleasure in facing challenges. In Baruch, one challenge I have faced is keeping up with the assigned readings. Although I am very busy with baseball and work, I “make time” to assure I am able to stay up-to-date with the assigned readings. I am not going to even discuss the commute because I hate to even think about it. My social life is essential to me. Associating with my friends takes away all the stress that is built up from school, baseball, and my family. I cannot stress enough how much my close friends mean to me. Without them, I might have gone crazy from all the stress that life has to offer. What I am beginning to learn in college and what I am finding to be very imperative is being sympathetic towards others opinions. I must be able to accept other people’s views even though they oppose my beliefs. Listening and digesting the information that other people provide will only make me knowledgeable. Lastly, I believe dedication is the most essential quality anyone can possess. In order to be successful in life, I must dedicate myself to whatever it is I am pursuing. Whether it is a baseball championship or a job, I must dedicate my time and effort efficiently in order to achieve my goal. When I stepped onto Shea Stadium for my baseball championship game, a feeling that words can’t describe overwhelmed me. This was what I dedicated my time and effort towards and it paid off. I cannot stress enough to all of you how important all of this information I have stated are to me.
