2024 ACADEMIC ELITE ESSAYS - PART TWO
We are featuring another group of Academic Elite Essays from our own, MMSST student/athletes. These scholars are not only excelling on the snow, but in academia as well! To become a member of the MMCF Academic Elite Team, student/athletes excel both on the snow and in the classroom!
To be a member of the MMCF Academic Elite Team requires one to maintain a 3.5 GPA while participating on the Mammoth Mountain Ski and Snowboard Team. The student/athletes are asked to write an essay when submitting their application. Because of the insightful, engaging and inspiring essays that have been submitted, with permission of the essay author, we are excited to share them with you, our MMCF family.
This application is not just a questionnaire for one to fill in the blanks. A short essay is required with age appropriate prompts.
Elementary School Students:
You get to make a new national holiday. What is it about and how do you celebrate?
Middle School Students:
Write about a time that you were brave.
High School Students:
Discuss why mental health is just as important as physical health.
The essays involved quite an array of subjects and many were thought provoking, interesting and encouraging as well. We were impressed with the quality of the essays and so over the next several months, with the permission of the essay author, we would like to highlight and share some of the essays with you – our MMCF family!!
ALFIE FENSKE – 6th GRADE
When I was thinking about times that I have been brave, I thought about flying to visit my grandparents in England as an unaccompanied minor, going to school with a swollen lip and two teeth missing after a racing accident, and even trying my mom's cooking, but I think the bravest I have been was the first time I skied Cornice. This event took place when I was only 7 years old and not yet on the Mammoth Ski Team. I hadn't been skiing for long, but my brother who is five years older than me and who was on the ski team, was really good and inspired me to go for it.
The weather was not great that day and as I got off the chair lift and set my skis on the packed snow, I soon realized the blistering cold. I was only able to see a few meters in front of me. My family started to disappear into the white void that was the blizzard. I didn't want to lose sight of them, so I firmly planted my poles into the snow and pushed valiantly. Eventually I caught up with them and we were almost at the top of Cornice, the first Black Diamond I have faced. I was scared until I got closer to the top of the run and saw how high up we were and then I was terrified.
After looking over the edge of the cliff that was the top of Cornice, I saw moguls and nothing else. The weather was so bad I could barely see a few meters in front of me. I saw my family already making their way down. With my poles I pushed myself away and backed up from the edge. I thought to myself, maybe I could stay up here and live at the top of Cornice. Then I realized how idiotic of an idea that was. So, I mustered up my courage and went back to the top, then lost all my courage and backed away from the top again. After taking some deep breaths I was able to muster my courage again, went to the edge, stuck my poles in the icy snow and went for it! I couldn't see my family, but I tried my best and that's what matters. Through lots of trial and error, and lots of traversing, I made it to the bottom and reunited with my family.
What I learned from this was that no matter how hard the challenge is you have to try, and if you try you will always learn, and that will make you feel a lot better than if you walked away. After that I joined the ski team and I'm very grateful to all my coaches for helping me continue to be brave and continue learning.
JULIAN BIRRELL – 5th GRADE
My new holiday is called "Sports Day." The goal of this holiday is to increase accessibility of sports, especially to kids.
For this holiday you can celebrate any sport, any person that has played in the sport and you can play the sport for free and watch games for free, no matter what channel or stadium you are at. On this day teachers and coaches will teach kids to learn a sport or play a sport if they want to. It will happen in any country in the world that is willing to take on a new holiday and have no payment for stadiums and sporting apps or streaming fees.
I hope that more people will start to play sports and not video games.
NATHAN HATLAVONGSA – 5TH GRADE
As a skier I do get outside a lot. But what about the rest of the country? According to google the U.S is the country with the most fat people! According to google about 69% of adults are overweight or obese .So, I would say we should make a holiday called Get Outdoors Day. On this day people have to be outside and get active until dark.
This holiday would help benefit the population from becoming more fat. This would help people because it would encourage more people to get outdoors more and enjoy the most of every day. In some ways this would also encourage people to make new friends. I think this because, if everyone is outdoors, you could start talking and maybe, you have something in common.
There should be some restrictions on this holiday too for example, you shouldn't do anything that will harm you or others. You know your limits and you shouldn't go beyond it. Also, you shouldn't judge how chubby or how fat other people are. They are human too and the have feelings. For your safety , you should always take breaks and drink lots of water. Also, make sure your not going to place yourself in a bad situation. Lastly, drinking alcohol will be banned on this holiday.
This holiday will happen on January 1st. I would want this day because you can get a fresh start to a new year by being active and exercising. During this holiday we will turn off all electronic devices. (And maybe cars) I think this because people are getting too attached to electronic devices and aren't careful when walking. Lastly, I think that very unhealthy (such as gas station food or fast food) foods shouldn't be sold on this day. This is because there are millions and millions of fast food restaurants everywhere and people eat too many carbs.
So, in conclusion I think that if I could create any national holiday it would be get outdoors day. Even thought people may be sad it just might be for the greater good. Finally, maybe if we try hard enough and try to convince more people this holiday might be from paper to reality come true.
ZACHARY PARK – 11th GRADE
While largely overlooked until relatively recently, mental health is a significant factor of every person's life, possibly being even more important than their physical health. Because of its capacity to negatively affect an individual's daily life, overall health, and society as a whole, mental health should be regarded as something as important if not more so than physical health.
First of all, mental health is an important part of the day-to-day functions and behaviors of people. This includes personal well-being such as psychological and emotional health, as well as social interactions and relationships. Our lives are a direct result of the actions, behaviors, and mindsets that we use. However, these can all be affected by our mental health, for the better or the worse. This means that the state of a person's mind could influence their decision making, social skills, and any other cognitive and emotional capacities. If mental health has this much of an impact on our lives, then there is no question that it is important to not only take it seriously but also even prioritize it.
However, mental health also directly correlates to physical health. While physical health is important, it partially stems from having a healthy mind. With this being said, having a healthy mind is an important foundation for building a healthy body and life. Poor mental health can directly lead to conditions including depression, anxiety, and chronic stress which all are shown to weaken the body physically. It can also result in a lack of motivation and sleeping problems. Without proper sleep and motivation to exercise and keep the body in good condition, physical health can quickly fall apart. Because of this, it is crucial to promote good mental health in order to also support oneself physically.
Mental health is undeniably as important as physical health, as it includes our cognitive, emotional, and social well-being. Because these are all major factors in a person's actions, attitude, and productivity, mental health can also indirectly influence our society as a whole through individuals. This means that paying more attention to mental health can also positively affect societal outcomes such as productivity, the economy, and social interactions. Because mental health can have such widespread impacts, it should be recognized and prioritized.
The acknowledgement of mental health as a medical priority is just as important as physical health in a person's well-being. It impacts daily function, decision-making, physical health, and social interactions, which in turn influence the state of our society. By increasing awareness of mental health, we can also increase healthier lifestyles and a more successful society and world. Thus, mental health is just as important, if not more important, as physical health.
