Becoming a Blue Eagle
The ACET Essay Requirement
The Ateneo De Manila is one of the most prestigious and top-schools in the Philippines. It is also the university that requires the most application requirements and forms for application. One thing unique to the Ateneo College Entrance Test, also known as the ACET, is that they require an essay submission with your college application. Ateneo provides the question, and this has to be answered through a one-page essay. It does sound a bit tedious to work with but the most important thing you have to remember is you have to be yourself. You don't have to be sipsip to get in because all you have to do is to answer the question briefly, and try to show who you really are. That being said, I'd like to show you my ACET Essay and how I answered the given question.
And yes, I passed!
ACET ESSAY
“Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped define you as a person?”
Life is a series of choices. Some of these you regret, some you don’t. However, all these choices boil down to one thing: you learn from them. Whether it be a wrong choice or a right one, there will always be a lesson that you will gain at the end. As a child, it was easy to make choices and decisions because other people made the choices for you. All you had to do was listen and follow what they say. However, the people who make choices for you won’t always be there. There will come a time when you have to stand on your own two feet and make choices for yourself. When this time comes, you have to face whatever consequences come with the decisions that you make. And from these consequences, you learn.
When I was in my 1st Grade, I had to face a big decision of picking between my friends and my dreams. I was given an offer to model for commercials in the Philippines in which I gladly accepted. However, my school notified me that it was against the rules of the school to be on television so I had to pick between transferring schools right after Grade 1 and possibly coming back for high school or leaving my career in commercial modeling. It was quite a hard decision because it was my dream to be in front of the camera but I didn’t want to lose the friends I had in my school. Given that I was only in my 1st Grade, it wasn’t easy to be faced with a problem as big as this. I asked help from family members but all they told me was to choose whichever I wanted more. At the end of the school year, I came to the decision of leaving my school and chasing my dreams of becoming a commercial model. It was hard to come to that decision because my mom told me that there is a big competition in the modeling industry. However, she reminded me that it shouldn’t stop me from doing what I want to do and becoming who and what I want to be in my life. It was certainly difficult to say good bye to all my friends and to my school but I made sure to stay in contact with them through social media networks like Facebook and Skype. During the first few years of commercial modeling, it was hard to get projects because of strong competition but as the years passed by, lots of offers came and this was when I realized I made the right decision of pursuing what I was passionate about.
Because of my radical choice, I was able to not only chase my dreams of becoming a commercial model but I was also able to help my family financially by giving them the money I earn from modelling and also using the money to pay for my tuition in school. From this experience, I have learned to become independent and wise when it comes to making choices. I have realized the importance of making decisions on your own and not letting others dictate what you want to do in life. Because of this, I have become more hardworking and dedicated in the things I do. I was able to help my parents when we had financial problems which helped me to become more selfless and content with the people around me. I was also able to balance both my career in modelling and my studies which helped me to be more flexible with time when it comes to doing my work and spending time with my family and friends. All these lessons and values I’ve gained from my experience have stayed with me up until now and I always make sure to use these learnings in my everyday life as a daughter, a student, and a Filipino citizen.
With all that said, I can truly say that this choice has really changed my perspective on life and it has helped me become a better version of myself. It has taught me the importance of making choices and chasing dreams. As Moffat Machingura said, “Follow your dreams. I am not saying it’s going to be easy, but I am saying it’s going to be worth it.”
