Winners of this year’s Optimist International Essay contest, which was co-sponsored by the Eden Prairie Optimists and Friends of the Eden Prairie Library were announced March 4.

The first-, second- and third-place finishers received Barnes & Noble gift cards. First-place essays are reprinted below.

All essays were written on the topic, “Today’s choices shape my future.”

In the category for grades four to six, winners were: Andrew Salmon, a fifth-grader at the International School of Minnesota – first place; Priyanka Shetty, a fifth-grader at Oak Point Intermediate – second place; Hannah Schmit, a fourth-grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help – third place.

Winners in the grades seven to nine category were: Michelle Wu, a ninth-grader at Eden Prairie High School – first place; Sarah Schmit, a seventh-grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help – second place; Caroline Krause, an eighth-grade home schooled student – third place.

Winners in the grades 10 – 12 category were: Svetlana Adusheva, a junior at Eden Prairie High School – first place; Peter Krause, a senior home schooled student – second place; Marta Krause, a sophomore home schooled student – third place.

All winning essays were authored by students that reside in Eden Prairie.

The essay written by Svetlana Adusheva also qualified for entry in the Optimist International District Essay Contest, according to a news release from the club. Her essay will be judged along with winners from other Optimist clubs in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Manitoba Canada, for an opportunity to win a college scholarship.

This is the second year the Eden Prairie Optimists and Friends of the Library have co-sponsored the Optimist International Essay Contest in Eden Prairie. The Eden Prairie Optimists conduct programs and activities that primarily benefit the youth of Eden Prairie and neighboring communities. The Friends of the Eden Prairie Library sponsor activities and conduct fundraisers for the benefit of the Eden Prairie public library.

Today’s choices shape my future

‘Life is the sum of all your choices’

By Svetlana Adusheva

“Life is the sum of all your choices,” was the first thought that came to me after I first read the essay prompt. It was said by Albert Camus, and I thought of it mainly because that is exactly how I view life. The choices we select now, will most likely affect us in some way in the future. I think most people immediately think of all the examples of bad choices, but they’re not the only ones. We all make good and bad decisions, and they all make an impact somehow.

This type of idea is easiest to describe by using an example. A few weeks ago, several students – some of whom I knew – were caught with possession of alcohol because they put up pictures on Facebook. A lot of the students were athletes and the penalties for them were severe. Not only did they get suspended from sports, but some also lost leadership positions. A night, during which they didn’t think clearly, caused a lot of damage to their futures. These punishments will go on their records, colleges will most likely be wary, and chances for scholarships could be lost. All because of that one night of poorly made choices. Someone decided to drink, someone else decided to put pictures of it on the Internet, and someone else decided to turn them in. All those actions were choices made by someone, who by some subconscious decision weighed the pros and cons, and made the wrong choice.

Although like I mentioned above, not all choices that affect your future are bad. Now, I’ll use myself as an example. Sometime during my sophomore year, I heard about a wonderful opportunity called PSEO, aka Post Secondary Enrollment Options. It allows high school juniors and seniors to take college classes for free at several different universities in Minnesota. After I heard about it, I immediately knew that this would be a good choice to make. Not only will it save me money, but it would also give me a head start on college. I began my first two classes this last fall. When I add the credits I received in the fall with the credits of the class which I’m taking now everything adds up to 12 credits. That is almost half of my freshman year, finished. If I add to that the AP credits which I’ve received the number gets even more impressive. When I made the choice to take advantage of that program, I knew that it would impact my future. While my peers will only be starting college in the fall of 2009, I will already be done with not only my freshman year, but also a part of my sophomore year as well.

Every choice we make impacts us. Sometimes we don’t know or don’t think about how it will do that, but inevitably there will be some effect. Choices can be bad or good, but it is what you make of them which ultimately counts.

 Svetlana Adusheva of Eden Prairie is a junior at Eden Prairie High School. She won the grade 10-to-12 division of the Optimist Club Essay contest.

Today’s choices shape my future

Choices affect my reputation, health and education

By Michelle Wu

The choices I make today may shape my future in both beneficial and harmful ways. There are various ways in which the decisions I make today will affect my life later on. My choices today will affect my reputation, my health and my education and career status in the future.

My reputation is always at risk. If I make a bad decision, people will criticize me for it. I have to be very careful about the choices I make today because one wrong move could change everyone else’s opinion of me forever. On the other hand, making smart choices will cause people to see me positively. They will respect me, and I will be able to live with a favorable reputation. My reputation is crucial for the well being of my future because it determines how people will act towards me and also how people will act towards my community. A negative reputation will harm the credibility of my community, and a positive reputation will cause people to praise my community and its citizens.

The choices I make today will shape the future of my health. If I decide to take drugs, consume alcohol or smoke today, the risks seem insignificant. However, my health will gradually decline through continued use of these derogatory substances. If health problems occur later, not only will I suffer, but my family will also suffer because they end up having to be the ones who take care of me and pay my medical bills. I do not want my family to suffer at the expense of my faults. It is not their responsibility to care for me when I am the one to blame. I need to make decisions that will benefit my health so that both my family and I can be happy.

Education is a huge part of my future. Without education, it will be very hard for me to be accepted into a good university. If I decide not to study hard in school while I still have the chance, my future will be dismal; I will not be able to do all the things I dreamed of doing with my life. In order to make the best of my life, I need to take charge right now and make a definitive decision to work hard and continue to work hard even after I succeed. By working hard right now, I will be able to enjoy life much better later on. Again, the choices I make today will shape my future.

As mentioned before, the choices I make today will directly impact and shape my future. It is up to me to make intelligent decisions that will benefit me. My reputation, my health and my education and career status are three aspects of my life that are jeopardized based on my decisions. It is so crucial for me to do the right things and use common sense every day so that I may end up with a future I will enjoy living.

 Michelle Wu of Eden Prairie is a freshman at Eden Prairie High School. She won the grade seven-to-nine division of the Optimists of Eden Prairie essay contest.

Today’s choices shape my future  

Many things I do now help me along my journey

By Andrew Salmon

What I do today will definitely affect what people think of me and how efficiently and effectively I can get things done. There are many things I can do now that will help me along my journey as I go through the quest of life.

One of the most important things I can do as a child is to do well in school. If I choose to not pay close attention in class I will probably have a rough time studying for my exams. This will mean I will get lower scores on my exams and getting lower scores on exams will greatly affect my scores on my report card. Eventually all of this will determine which university I will graduate from. My goal is to attend a top university where I can learn about mechanical engineering. I know this sounds like a really big goal, but I am determined to reach my goal. Another thing that will help is completing my homework. I have never ever missed any math homework this year. This displays my responsibility and good time management. Those are two very important skills to learn when you are young.

I can also try my very best to exercise regularly and eat healthy foods to keep in shape. I have been playing soccer since I was 6 years old and I have become a really great soccer player now. Soccer is my favorite sport and I play it regularly on a team with all my friends. To keep myself healthy I try to eat a good amount of vegetables every day. Although vegetables are not my favorite food I still understand the importance of them and eat them anyways.

My mother urges me strongly to try my very best in learning Chinese. When I was little, around first grade, I couldn’t stand Chinese. Whenever I had to do my Chinese homework I would always refuse to complete it, which, of course, upset my mother because she really wanted me to learn Chinese. Now I understand the reason for learning Chinese. When you go to a store you will find out that everything has a “Made in China” sticker on it. This means that China will become a very strong country in the future because it manufactures a lot of goods. To be able to help the economy you will have to be able to do business in China. If you want to do good business in China you must be able to speak Chinese. That is my story of learning Chinese in a nutshell.

As you can see, there are many different things that I can do when I am young that will greatly shape my future and the way I will act when I am older. I will try to do my best on these things and be the best person I can be as a child. If I keep my promise, I think that I will see success in my future.

 Andrew Salmon of Eden Prairie, a fifth-grader at the International School of Minnesota, won the grade four-to-six division of the Optimists of Eden Prairie essay contest.