College Essay

Throughout my life, I have strove to be like, and better then my brother, in some aspects I have exceed him in others I have not. As long as I can remember I have been compared to my brother, in school, sports, interests, and looks, so inevitably I came to admire my brother who seemed to be the model sibling. However, as I grew older my interests changed, but I being compared to him did not.
Instead of pursuing my own interests I decided that I would outdo my brother, and overshadow him, instead of vice versa. I got a job at the same place he worked while in high school, and throughout high school many of my classes were the same ones he took. I never got use to the “Oh the younger brother of...” treatment, and needless to say this irked me more than words can say, but I just smiled and took it with a grain of salt, hoping to myself that by the time the semester was over the memory of my brother was erased from their minds, replaced by my image. This may sound a bit odd, but hearing how great your brother is from school, parents, friends, and work can make you feel quite bitter at times.
Eventually my senior year came around and with it college applications. I applied to the Colorado School of Mines, in hopes of being accepted, so once again I could try to out perform my dear sibling. When I got my acceptance letter, I felt like a fraud. My brother pulled out better scores on the ACT’s and the SAT’s, and we both had about the same GPA, and he barely got in. I couldn’t help but feel I was riding the tailcoats of my brother’s success at the school. However, my family was ecstatic; they would have a 2nd child going to the school. I finally felt that I was living up to the expectations my brother has set. I realized then that my interests were not my brother’s, but even the people closest to me thought that Mines was my dream school, so I decided to attend the school.
Soon into my college education I began to realize that my life cannot be about one upping family, but I have to follow my interests. During this time, my brother seemed to take on a different persona to me. While I was still trying to outdo him, he seemed to see through my façade and understand the difficulty I was having, and he tried to help me succeed at the school. I was given an invitation to join his frat. Maybe out of sheer stupidity, I did not. My pride forbade to seek out help in anything, and it had gotten me this far, hadn’t it. He pressed further calling me up occasionally or stopping by the dorm. He would covertly offer up tips or advice in a way I wouldn’t realize what he was doing. Sometimes I would pick up on what he was doing, and other times I would not, either way it helped with my problems at hand. Recently, my brother hinted at internships at his company. I came to slowly realize that my brother was trying to help me succeed, and my views changed. This is when I found out one important fact, most sibling rivalries are one sided. My brother didn’t care that I wanted to outdo him; he wanted me to succeed at life.
I started thinking, about my chosen major, is it something that I want to do? The fact is I do not, my interests are not my brother’s. This is why I would like to transfer to Colorado State University, to search out my interests, and find out what I want to do with my life. My brother has found his, but I need to find my own and to realize my potential at your school.