Personal essay

I am Radek Pospíchal and am 16 years old. My life started in a hospital in Šternberk, which is a town northern from Olomouc. Till I was seven years old, my family and I lived in a flat in a noisy part of Olomouc. Afterwards we moved to a big house which is on the edge of Olomouc and we still live there. Last year, there was a reconstruction of our house so now the first floor and the roof is completely new. I live there with my two brothers, parents and grandparents. There is also a large garden with trees, a greenhouse, a kennel for our dog and a playground for my younger brother.

I study at English Section at Gymnasium Hejčín in Olomouc. It is a bilingual type of studies. I have passed the entrance exam in 2004. Among my subjects at school I rather enjoy humanities; particularly I prefer Geography, History, English and also Physical Education. I do not quite like meals at school canteen but fortunately, there is a small shop at school, where I can buy all kinds of pastry, hot-dogs and drinks. The journey to the school takes me about forty minutes, if I go by bus. The school usually ends at half past three or at half past one. My main after-school activity is table tennis; however I used to play football, when I was about ten years old. But now I am really into table tennis. I have the training twice a week for two hours and almost every weekend a competition.

It is rather difficult for me to describe truly my own personality due to my teenage thoughts. From my point of view I seem to be individualistic but on the other hand also friendly. If I am asked to do something I am very often reliable. I try to be creative – not creative in arts but mainly in literature. I think I have a sense of humour and am able to make fun of me, too. I like almost all kinds of sport, mainly football, basketball and table tennis. Topics which interest me are music, films, books and politics.

What are my reasons for trying to get scholarship to Great Britain? First of all, my primary reason is to improve my English, mainly the spoken one. I like a proverb that says: “The best way how to learn somebody how to swim is to throw him to a river!” and I think that this is a similar example as to be in a different country where everybody speaks English and you have to face it. Secondly, I would like to meet new people and find out the pros and cons of English education system. Another advantage of studying in Great Britain is definitely to get to know the English point of view for all kinds of general problems and issues. Finally, I am a big fan of British guitar bands if there would be a possibility to go to a concert it would be great.

My plans for future could be divided into two groups. The first group contains the ideal plans which are not very probable. It means that I would like to be a writer, preferably writing short stories or screenplays, or a professional table tennis player. Another job that would interest me could be a politician but the topical political situation in the Czech Republic, when the politicians are not able to reach a compromise for 6 months, really discourages me. The second group consists of jobs which are more likely to become the real ones. The area of my interest is focused on humanities. I have been always attracted by literature, economic and global questions, sport and politics. Superficially, these points of my interest do not have anything in common. However if I have to choose the job, I would be an independent thinker who would comment on the up-to-date global and local events and circumstances, give pieces of advice to politicians, travel all around the world, get to know other cultures and people’s thoughts, therefore I would become a respected but also respectful and meek person. That is the plan and I hope that a year of studies in Great Britain would help me to fulfil my dream.

I really appreciate this chance to study for one year in Graet Britain for a relatively small fee and I hope I will be so lucky and interesting that I will be chosen for studying in Great Britain.