Looking back, I have no excuses for weaknesses in my past performance; however, from experience, I have learned to improve upon my weaknesses and excel from them. Frankly, in my undergraduate years, I did not properly prioritize my commitments or manage my time effectively. Like many individuals exposed to their first serious taste of freedom, I indulged in the social aspect of school more than I should have. Fortunately, I was forced to change by working for the Boys and Girls Club.

As a Youth Development Professional working at a perennially understaffed location (we've been understaffed for years), I have been forced to mend the short-comings of my younger self. My first week on the job, I was given a tour then a stack of files. Despite having zero formal teaching training, I was told to create curriculum for multiple programs and to make sure not to "mess up the grant money." Further, I would be held responsible for organizing the athletic teams and trips for the entire club for all sports. All of this was mandatory in addition for being responsible for the transportation of members to the location. This meant at times prioritizing mandatory work deadlines over social engagements. I attacked my responsibilities directly. By the time I was a month into the position, literally every minute of the workday was planned and I found great success.

While my supervisors and I were pleased with my performance, few things were more frustrating than seeing students do the minimum work required when I knew they were capable of more. That opportunity to help motivate and inspire students to get beyond the behavior with which I struggled did much in helping my own personal growth. As a result of this growth, I can say with confidence I believe I have the intelligence and have gained the maturity to succeed in law school and ultimately the legal environment.

Comments

I would recommend against sending an addendum like this. The purpose of an addendum is to explain why the adcom should take extenuating circumstances into account; here, the author admits in the first sentence that there were no extenuating circumstances. In fact, this isn’t really an addendum at all, but a second personal statement.

If the author were to rework this to explain that he had trouble adjusting to college, and that his grades from sophomore, junior, and senior years better reflect his academic potential, ithe addendum might be worth sending.