I don’t believe it, but my friends often tell me that I am the most unique person that they know. This was proven to me when I attended the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) in 2006. MSA is a program where 330 of Missouri’s top juniors spend three weeks at the University of Missouri – Columbia, learning and having fun. There were more people than I could hope to meet, but I did make more friends than I could have hoped for. I certainly made a diverse group of friends at MSA, but I found it interesting that even these friends say that I am incredibly unique. Knowing some of them, it was hard for me to think that I am more unique than them. I decided to think about it and decide if I am truly the most unique person my friends know, or if they’re just flattering me in some group scheme.
I was pretty different growing up. I was born prematurely, which meant I was too small to fit into even the smallest baby clothing my parents could find. Instead, I wore my aunt’s Cabbage Patch Kids dolls’ clothes. Using Hooked on Phonics, I learned to read before I entered preschool. In kindergarten, I was accepted into my school district’s gifted program, one of only a handful to ever be accepted so early. I was an only child, so I often spent time with one of my grandmas after school. As a kid, I loved reading novels and watching Jeopardy. I did not have any friends till I joined Cub Scouts. In fourth grade, I started playing trombone, which I still play today.
I stayed this way until middle school. I finally moved up to Boy Scouts and became a Patrol Leader. I was old enough now to stay home by myself after school, but I still read a lot. I was able to test out of my school’s Reading class after the proficiency test ran out of difficulty levels. This was also about the time when my life was completely changed. In seventh grade, I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. I had to learn to be responsible with my daily health, not something most teenagers have to deal with.
In high school, I really started to define who I was. I started to make some friends in marching band. In tenth grade, my life was changed again when my dad was involved in a motorcycle accident and lost his left leg. As an only child, I was tasked with taking care of my dad and doing things he wasn’t able to do. That summer was when I attended MSA, which was the best three weeks of my life. I made a ton of friends, and everyone thought I was great at our improvisational comedy night. Going back to my junior year at school, I found out that the Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics, and Computing was accepting “half-year” students. The Academy is a program where Missouri students attend college during their junior and senior years, graduating high school with an Associate of Science degree. I had a few friends from MSA that went to the Academy, and I was becoming bored with my high school classes. I applied and was accepted due to my strong grades. I was now responsible for taking care of myself at college, two years earlier than most of my peers.
I think that I am a pretty unique guy, though not the most unique I know. I am a diabetic, only child, who is technically in college and high school at the same time. I’ve learned to be very responsible by taking care of myself and my dad. I’ve read more than anyone I know, and I’m also very cultured in music and film. I am a very proud trombone player who enjoys marching and playing jazz. I have a lot of unique friends, and my intelligence has offered me opportunities in life that not many have. It is this diversity that I hope to bring to whatever college I end up at next year.