This year, as they are every year, the senior class was given the task of writing an essay for their common application; many colleges use Common App to determine whether the prospective student gets in. This essay can be a deciding factor on admission to a certain university, so naturally many students spend a lot of time on it. With a generalized prompt, the essay can be a bit of a roadblock in the application process. Here is one of nine essays from Country Day Seniors that The Scroll and the college counseling felt knocked their essay out of the park.
Taylor Boggs:
The saying goes that any fool can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a dad. It has been over ten years since I have seen my biological father, Tim Evans. My dad, Howard Boggs, has been with me ever since. It was hard to imagine that I would have seven siblings, go to a private school, and gain a confidant because of re-marriage, but that happened to me. I am proud to say that today I am not an Evans, but a Boggs—I have gained more than I could have imagined because of it.
A little over two years older than my sister Skylar, I remember Tim quite well while she does not. However, what little I do remember is not exactly good: abandonment, jail time, drug and alcohol abuse. My mother was and still is the strongest, most compassionate person I know, and because of her my dad entered our lives. She worked multiple jobs, took care of my sister and me, dealt with the unstable Tim and did it all successfully. Today she is a nurse, a lawyer, a mother: my biggest role model. I still remember peeking out around her legs the first time I met my dad—excited yet nervous. I remember being her maid of honor at only five years old. And I remember moving to Sabina where I used to sneak out of bed and watch them while they were sitting on the front porch. I had never seen her so happy. I had never been so happy.
It was all solidified on November 17, 2004, the day my dad adopted my sister and me. For the longest time, we were terrified that Tim was going to try to take us way from my mom, but after a year without contact we were legally allowed to proceed with the adoption. From that day forward, I was no longer an Evans, but a Boggs. Nobody can quite understand the joy that this simple fact brought to my life: I was now the daughter one of the most incredible people I have ever met.
Also, I had the luck of gaining the most amazing family anyone could imagine. I went from being the oldest in my family to one of the youngest. My older siblings, Craig, Jennifer, Kari, and Kurtis, are just as close, if not closer, to me than any full-blood sibling could ever be. When I was little, Kurtis would drive me to school, Kari would do my hair in the morning, Craig would chase me around the house trying to tickle me, and I would bake with Jennifer. They have all created families of their own; I am (the favorite) aunt to nieces and nephews that are not only my age and younger, but also older than me.
I could talk about how it frustrates me that Tim has not reached out for over twelve years, but I have learned that I am not the one missing out. I am a three season athlete, a scholar, an actor, a singer, an editor, a tutor, a swim instructor, a sister, an aunt, a daughter—he will never be a part of who I am. My dad, however, rushes to every one of my lacrosse games to take pictures often with his USPS uniform still on, attends all of my performances, helps me study for my tests (even when he is about to fall asleep), and supports me in all of my ambitions. He even cries when we talk about college.
So instead of labeling Tim as the bad guy, I thank him: he is the reason that I am who I am today, because he led me to my dad. My story has just begun. But I know that if my dad had never entered my life, my story could never be complete.
