Notre Dame App essay (topic: passion)
As the wind whistled past the car, the excitement mounted to great heights inside of me. With the Colorado Rockies growing ever nearer to our small convoy, every mile seemed like a second and an eternity simultaneously. The many new sights, sounds, and smells I witnessed assured me that this was going to be the greatest trip my 17 year-old self had yet to undergo. The three of us - myself, my friend Wes, and my brother’s friend Matt, a student at Colorado University, spontaneously decided on July 3rd, 2006 that the next day would be designated for making the twenty-hour trip to Matt’s house in Boulder for a week of high-altitude athletic training. Little did we know that it was not merely a better fitness level, but a better life that we were gaining. Twenty hours and roughly 15 heavily-caffeinated beverages later, we arrived in Colorado, safe and sound. What ensued was a seven-day span filled with running, bicycling, and many steps outside my long-since abandoned comfort zone. And there’s beauty in finally doing things on your own; the first taste of freedom breaks you away from all pre-established boundaries you may have set, leaving you with nothing but new barriers to break down and new things to experience. Our first run was a trek up Flagstaff Mountain, a five-mile ascent into the distant sky that seemed to take forever. The task was a difficult one, but we managed to reach the top. What we found there was a spectacular view, a great sense of accomplishment, and, most importantly, a long trip down. Even after conquering such a momentous obstacle, it is not the undertaking itself that provides accomplishment. No, the knowledge and sense of self gained from completing a seemingly insurmountable venture are what last in the long run, and the initial reasoning behind attempting to achieve the goal is lost. After completing such a physically demanding endeavor, we decided to scale things back a notch for that evening’s activity, settling for a hiking expedition. However, there is no such thing as a laid-back hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains, and by the time we had reached the summit of the very formidable Green Mountain, we were both gasping for breath and clutching the rock face for support. The “scaled back” walk proved to be a two-hour journey, highlighted by falling rocks, wrong turns, and a “mountain lion” that sounded suspiciously similar to a motorcycle, all the while leading us only in one general direction: up. While Fenton, Michigan does an acceptable job of providing the comfort and stability of home, it was not until I ventured away from the decidedly close-minded, repetitive daily life of my small hometown that I was able to find my true passion. Sure, I’m passionate about fitness, and I have a zeal for the outdoors. I knew that long before embarking on the road trip. My seven-day summer journey showed to me that life, more than anything is my true passion. Everything about it, from its ups and downs (literally and figuratively) to its overwhelming beauty, reminds me every day of why I enjoy being on this great earth. People may be passionate about many different things, leading them in infinitely many directions, but it is the passion for life that drives us all, no matter how long the trip takes or how high the mountain reaches. fershizzle.