Shannon McClain

Standing 5'2 with dyed auburn hair and blue eyes, I walked across the soggy grass in front of 749 other students and hundreds of relatives and friends, who were there watching, waiting, and cheering on their graduates. This was one of the most important days of my life. It was the day I had worked towards for 13 years. I had trudged through a countless number of papers, tests, projects, and other assignments to acheive my 3.6 GPA and my "honor grad" status. As I walked across in front of the stage, all eyes on me, I could hardly contain my excitement. I was grinning with pride as I grabbed my diploma from my principal and shook her hand. I had joined the growing percentage of Americans who had earned a high school diploma. My success story did not stop there, however. I had been accepted to the University of Georgia, a public research university and the oldest public university in the United States. It was not an easy feat to accomplish with over 20,000 applicants each year. While that statistic was surely a daunting one, it never phazed me. I never took my eyes off the prize and I worked exceptionally hard to achieve my goal. And now that I am a student at the University of Georgia, I must say that I have never been happier.