THE FOLLOWING IS THE ANSWER TO THE COMMONAPP QN:

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of

personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

“Nice shot!”, said my coach after I swished a three-pointer. Acknowledging the

compliment, my teammates and I continued with our everyday after-school training
session.

Running around the tracks with a cool breeze of air passing through, the taste of dirt in
our mouths, and a pleasant sound of Spiny Babblers chirping, we were extremely
exhausted. Nonetheless, we pushed through the tiredness and then had a ten-minute
break.

As we were walking to our lockers to get our water bottles, we passed through our
high school’s trophy cabinet. It reminded me of our semi-final defeat in last month’s
Nissa Cup Tournament—leaving a cold, sour taste in my mouth. The tension in the air
grew; the jokes and laughter paused for a minute, which felt like an eternity; the
strident silence in the hallway was all that could be heard. The final buzzer of the
game looped over and over in my head. A wave of regret and frustration rushed into
me. The eyes of me and my teammates met. We knew what we needed to do. In the
blink of an eye, all fatigue and weariness from the training before disappeared.

That day was the turning point. It placed an ember on a field full of dry twigs. I felt
something I hadn't in a long long time: hot-concentrated motivation. We trained a little
longer. Concentrated a little more. Ran a little extra. And, laughed a little harder.
Building upon the failures of the past, implementing new styles of play, the GIHE
Boys Team looked stronger and closer than ever. We were ready.

Everything was settling in perfectly and felt too good to be true.

March 2020. The global pandemic had other plans. Our luck ran out. Lightning struck
our hearts when we heard the news that no sporting events would be conducted until
further notice. Our Whatsapp group chat was completely buzzing with confusion and
frustration. All we could do was pray and wait.

Months passed by and still no update. Every day felt like a repeating cycle, a déjà vu;
daily lifestyle became monotonous and still.

It was a hot summer day in July. While I was busy dusting off my cabinet, something
caught my attention. It was a book left by my sister a couple of weeks ago—It Ends
with Us by Colleen Hoover. I decided to give it a shot since I had nothing else to do.
The book was a little old and had a sweet, musky smell to it.

Read the first chapter; my eyes got wider with each flip of a page. Hours passed by
and I couldn't stop turning onto a new page wanting to know what happened next. I
lost track of time until my mother busted into my room. An uncleaned room with me
lying lazily on my bed with a book in my hand. Before she got a chance to speak, I got
up and continued with the cleaning. I couldn't help but think about the book. Feeling
the excitement of discovering a new hobby that day, I couldn't wipe the wide grin off
my face.

One book led to another, and the cycle continued. Not only did reading help me
escape from the unchanging everyday life, but it also opened doors to the world of
literature I never knew was so aweing. Exploring the hundreds of genres, it felt as if I
had stepped into a world full of unturned stones. And I loved it! Whether it be Stephen
King’s suspense-filled thrillers or Nishio Ishin’s fiction, there was always something
to be learned. Sitting by the warm fireplace, sipping hot chocolate with a scent of
cocoa in the room, and picking up a book to read on a cold November night quickly
became one of my favorite pastimes.

I can say without the slightest hesitation that books have changed both my literary and
personal lives. It made me more empathic by giving me a look into the minds of
characters in various situations—a knowledge that helped me look at life through a
lens of new realizations. And, most importantly—not only did reading put some peace
into my mind, but it also filled up the void that the basketball team incident left. And
that’s how my bitter-sweet story comes to a close.