“I have acted in every instance from a conscientious desire to do what was right, constitutional, within the law, and for the very best interests of the whole people. Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent.” stated President and General Ulysses S. Grant. This quote from my personal hero, Ulysses S. Grant inspires me to learn from his errors of judgment, while I am acting from my similar nonstop desire to do right, lawful, inside the law, and for the very finest wellbeing of the entire community. Ulysses S. Grant’s horsemanship, character, and pacifism inspire me endlessly.
Ulysses S. Grant’s horsemanship was, superb; therefore, I aspire to one day equal his magnificent horsemanship. At the fresh youthful age of nine he was so adept at breaking horses to pace that several farmers in the area came to him for aid in teaching their horses. His intense love for horses continued all the way through his life. He even set a high jump record at West Point that remained for over twenty-five years. At West Point he was known as a fearless and expert horseman. I may now only be an intermediate level horseman, but I also have had an intense love for horses ever since elementary school. I hope to be able to learn at the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences more about horses, among other large animals, how to help them, and how to love them and other large animals even more, and to improve my horsemanship.
As magnificent as his horsemanship and his command of the Union Army was, Ulysses S. Grant’s modest personality, was surprisingly unusual. For example, he was very reserved with strangers, but would carry most of a conversation with people he knew. He was honest to a fault, and never swore or used abusive language. He was motivated beyond content, and he was also a very modest, humble, and cool as a gentleman. He had a compassionate heart, and kindnesses to friends and foe alike were attributed to him. It is significant that throughout his entire military career he never asked for a promotion; all advancement that came to him was unsought. I have always been inspired to be more like him in personality, so I hope to be able to exemplify his personality even more at Cornell University.
“Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace.” Stated General Ulysses S. Grant, “There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.” Those quotes are two of the biggest reasons that he is my inspirational personal hero. He may have been the General of the victorious Union Army in the Civil War, but he never even felt any love for war or promoted it, aside from as a means of peace. He felt that there was always another way to compromise without going to war. He never shot anyone or even carried a weapon usually. He even rarely wore a dress sword for show. He even inspired me to become a pacifist because of this because I do not like guns or war, and I love peace.
General Ulysses S. Grant may not have made many mistakes as a general, but he made many mistakes and had many failures during his Presidency. These mistakes were in who he chose for public offices because they ended up being corrupt and lead to scandals and failures during his presidency. He even asked for forgiveness upon leaving the White House, not for mistakes of purpose but for mistakes of judgment, which is inspiring in and of itself. If the eighteenth President of the United States of America can make mistakes of judgment, so can I, as long as my purpose stays true. His true place was one of the greatest generals of all time, so my true place shall be as a large animal veterinarian.

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