As I soon learned—a normal one. My year-old brother often sends his messages with the poop emoji 'echo effect,' so whenever I open a new message from him, hundreds of poops elegantly cascade across my screen. Information is an inebriant, and examples of college essays phones are the bottle in which it is stored. You might say that my upbringing was characterized by my parents morphing everyday objects into weapons and me trying to morph into the perfect white walls that stood unmoving while my family fell apart. I fundamentally value cultural, political, and theological variety; my own microcosm reflecting our global society at large has inspired me to strive to solve the many conflicts of bitterness and sectionalism in our world today. The Lion-Eating Poet: Should We Rethink the Way We Classify Things? Familiarize yourself with the culture of the school, examples of college essays.
Good College Application Essay Examples
Checking out college essay examples is a great way of preparing yourself for writing your own. In this blog, we have 27 awesome examples of college essays essay examples from some of the top universities in the world, including Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, UPenn, Yale, and more! Plus, you will learn how to craft an outstanding college essay step by step, so that your own personality and experiences will really shine. This is the same exact proven strategies we share with our own students in our much sought-after college admissions consulting program. We're not holding back. So let's dive in! Note: If you would like to navigate to specific sections of the article, click "Article Contents" above on mobile or on the right desktop to see an overview of the content. Prompt: The Harvard College Honor code declares that we "hold honesty as the foundation of our community.
Returning from a teaching session with the Maasai women, the other students' excited chatter dances around me as they discuss our invitation to the Maasai coming of age ceremony. The ceremony centres on the circumcision of pubescent males and females; often performed with a sharp rock and no anesthetic. It is a rite of passage for the Maasai. My stomach is a tight knot, picturing the children we met today and imagining the painful procedure they will soon undergo, examples of college essays. The other students, excited about the feast and intricate costumes, examples of college essays, hope that accepting the invitation will strengthen our bond with the community.
I, however, am weighed down by a profound sense of unease when it comes to the main attraction, the circumcisions. Further, the leader of the organization is absent; should she not be consulted? Do I go along with the group, examples of college essays, and participate in something that I am morally opposed to? Or do something about it? Having strong moral values only becomes a powerful agent of change when one is willing to follow through on them with action. Situations, such as this one, examples of college essays, where I feel a sinking sensation deep in my gut, help to cue me to conflicts with my own values, prompting me to gather more information, thus taking the first step towards informed action.
My visceral reaction came specifically from the idea of watching while doing nothing to intervene. Further, I worried that, as students, examples of college essays, our group would be woefully ill-equipped to navigate the nuances of the situation, examples of college essays, potentially resulting in harm to examples of college essays relationship with the community. Plus, due to our association with a medical organization, our presence examples of college essays be mis-interpreted as an endorsement of the safety of these procedures. With the potential to do harm and without an actionable plan in place for stopping genital mutilation, I concluded that I could not, in good conscience, attend the ceremony.
Though I had decided that I could not go, I still felt concerned about the potential impact of the group's attendance, and wanted to gain more insight into the situation before deciding on a course of action, examples of college essays. I shared my concerns with my partner and another student. My partner agreed with me, and we decided to consult examples of college essays physician father. We quickly learned that Canadian physicians examples of college essays not legally permitted to condone female genital mutilation, meaning that our attending the ceremony could have legal ramifications for our physician-run organization. With this information in hand, I knew I had to contact the organization lead about the excursion.
She forbid our group from attending, requesting that I inform the other students, who were obviously disappointed that I had 'gotten the trip cancelled'. Though I believe my course of action was the right one and I would not change the outcome, looking back, I wish I had voiced my concerns earlier; it may have made the end result easier for the other students to swallow. In spite of this, being honest when expressing my discomfort with a situation and choosing an alternative course of action that is aligned with my values has never led me to make a decision that I regret. Though standing up for what you believe in, and doing what is right, is not always easy, it is always worth it, and arguably the only way of living a life without regrets. Would You Like Our Help With Your College Application Essay?
Want to learn how to get examples of college essays an Ivy League school? Check out our video:. A personal statement essay or a college admissions essay is the part of your college application that allows the admissions committee to get a stronger sense of who you are as a candidate. As our sample above shows, it is usually written in response to a prompt provided by the school; it is important to pay attention to and answer the prompt, examples of college essays, as it demonstrates what the school is hoping to learn about you. Most personal statements tend to range from words to words in length. The structure of your essay will follow the structure of an academic paper, with an introduction, main body, and a conclusion. Your essay will reveal both your hard and soft skills to the admissions committee.
From a technical angle, it will showcase your writing skills in terms of organization, clarity, narrative ability, and spelling and grammar. In terms of content, a compelling personal statement should tell a story that reveals something about your personality and what formative experiences you have had in your life. Remember, the admissions committee is not only seeking academically strong candidates for their school — they want to find students who will also be a good fit for the culture and values of their institution.
The personal statement essay is your chance to show the committee why you are the best all-around candidate for admission. Since the personal statement essay reveals so much about you as an applicant, crafting an outstanding essay is crucial! While this task may seem challenging, we are here to guide you through the writing process and the strategies you should apply each step of the way. Writing a strong college essay requires significant time and effort. The best way to ensure success is to be properly prepared before you even begin to write:, examples of college essays. Set aside enough time. Ideally, you should set aside weeks for writing your essay.
While this may seem like a long time for a short essay, it is important to remember that a good essay will require multiple drafts. The more time you give yourself to write and rewrite, the stronger your essay will be. Giving yourself more time also reduces the amount of stress you will feel while writing, as you will be able to pace yourself throughout the process instead of scrambling to write it at the last minute! Remember, examples of college essays, many US colleges have rolling admissionsso you want to prepare your essay for when the application opens.
Familiarize yourself with the culture of the school. The prompt for your essay may reveal something about the culture of the school and the program to which you are applying. But you should also conduct your own research, examples of college essays. Check their social media and see what kind of presence they have online. Free Webclass: How to Make Your College Application Stand Out ","buttonText":"Register Now! Read and re-read your essay prompt. Read each prompt at least times and jot down each part of the question. Take time to think about each question and let it sink in, to make sure that your essay will actually address all components examples of college essays the prompt. Nothing examples of college essays get your essay thrown out faster than not answering the prompt, so you need to make sure that your essay is on topic!
Make a list of the qualities and experiences you would like to highlight. A strong essay is selective in terms of content. Make a list of important things you might wish to share in your statement, and go over your list carefully. Think about:. Next, dig a little deeper, thinking about what you learned from each experience and how it shaped you as a person. Tease out the experiences that best address the prompt, while showcasing your strongest qualities and most positive character traits. Create an outline or some rough notes. Before you begin to write the essay, try to sketch out its structure. Jotting down your ideas for the introduction, main body, and conclusion is both a useful warm-up exercise and a reassuring reference for you as you begin examples of college essays write your first draft:.
A strong introduction should open with an attention-grabbing sentence that immediately introduces you to your reader in a memorable way. Your introduction will be easier to write or to rewrite and perfect once you have a strong sense of what the rest of your essay is all about, and how your introduction can help frame it in the best way. Most importantly, your essay should demonstrate, rather than simply discuss, how the experiences or the events you write about informed who you are today. While your introduction serves as a first impression for your reader, your conclusion is the final thought or insight that should leave your reader wanting to get to know you better.
You can use your conclusion to emphasize what your formative experiences have taught you, and how they continue to shape and inspire you as a person as you move into the next stage of your life. Check out some tips for applying to UC schools :. No matter what the prompt is, here are some tips and strategies that are essential examples of college essays effective writing in any essay:. We Can Help! School: Cornell College of Architecture, examples of college essays, Art, and Planning. Prompt: What is your "thing"?
What energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time? Everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, inspirations. What are yours? In front of me is one of the photographs I intend to submit for the Charles Lewin Digital Photo Essay Competition. It is a silhouette shot of a tall, smiling woman — my mother — framed against the backdrop of a gorgeous red sunset. That photo essay, capturing the beauty of three generations of women in my family, went on to win me first place in the competition. And yet the moment that I shall carry with me forever is the one from examples of college essays a.
that night, examples of college essays. I was a shy, quiet kid and photography allowed me to experience the world and communicate my feelings like I never could before. Most of our weekends were spent taking pictures, from micro nature photography on our camping trips to event photography for every community event. Even back then, examples of college essays, I was constantly asking questions about why examples of college essays picture looks better than another. The training of those early years helped me develop my sense of aesthetic placements, framing, and positioning. To this day, I am obsessed with learning about the technical side of photography. I have a natural analytical bent of mind that exists examples of college essays my artistic vision; and so, I gravitate towards understanding exactly how aperture, depth of field, shutter speed, examples of college essays, composition, examples of college essays, and white balance can be used as a tool of artistic control in photography.
I also love experimenting with different styles of photography. Though art photography is my passion, I spent a couple of years as the staff photographer for my high school newspaper. This foray into the journalistic arena helped to broaden my horizons and consider the social impact of photography.
high school application essay examples
Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? I had not lived long, but at that moment, I was sure this was the worst day of my life. I was only eleven years old, and I had to listen to a doctor tell my mother that I would have to inject myself every day for the rest of my life. Being diagnosed with Type I diabetes felt almost like a death sentence; my life changed in an instant, and I was terrified of not being able to cope with a chronic disease and afraid that I would never get to be a normal child. Little did I know that this condition would later on allow me to give back to my community through my volunteering initiatives and would make me want to pursue a career where I could help others.
The impact that my disease had on my family was profound. We all had to learn to adjust to a new reality, and I went from having a normal life, to having to mature in a matter of weeks. I knew that it was up to me to make this work, but I felt lost and did not know how to deal with this immense responsibility of managing a new diet, an insulin shot four times a day, and my emotions. After a few days, the initial shock was replaced by denial, then came anger, and little by little, I later gained acceptance. By exercising determination and courage, I decided that even though my disease was now a part of my life, I would not let it dictate who I was or what I could become.
I was resolute to do great things. Besides the discipline and resilience that I had to muster to live my life as a diabetic, I realized that some things in life are better dealt with by having a support system. With this in mind, I looked for volunteering positions where I could share my experience with others and listen to their own struggles. After I got involved in different initiatives, I decided to organize a support group in high school for students who were dealing with difficult situations and just needed someone to talk to. Today, we have more than twenty volunteers, and our meeting times have doubled since we started. Additionally, this group has been a platform for other initiatives that I have helped launch such as fundraising campaigns and mental health events.
I do this as I keep looking for ways to get involved in my community and create spaces for people to support one another in difficult times. We all have challenges in life. Being diagnosed with a chronic disease at such a young age was devastating for me and my family. However, form this experience I have learned that being disciplined is the key to living a healthy life and that being compassionate is the first step to helping those who need it. When I see how many people have been benefitted from our group, I look back and remember being a scared eleven-year-old, and I feel proud of what I have become. What felt like a death sentence at first turned into a way of supporting others in my community proving that the lessons we take from the obstacles we encounter can, in fact, be fundamental to later success.
Would you like more help with your common app essay? Check out our guide below:. School: Brown University. Tell us about an academic interest or interests that excites you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue it. Looking through the eyepiece of a microscope, I was amazed to see the individual cells of a sea urchin embryo. In my high school cell and molecular biology class, we were studying the cell cycle and we had the opportunity to harvest embryos from sea urchins to view under the microscope.
I had used a microscope before, but only to look at prepared slides containing preserved tissue samples. This was my first time viewing a live sample that I had prepared myself. This experience opened my eyes to the wonders of cell biology and how our scientific world has been expanded with the technology of microscopes. I knew that I wanted to continue to incorporate microscopes into my own learning and to learn as much as I could about cells and their inner workings. The excitement I felt when looking through the microscope at a sea urchin embryo is one that I look to bring with me to Brown as my classmates and I embark on expanding our academic horizons and building the foundation needed to be successful in our future scientific careers.
Prompt: Tell us about a place or community you call home. How has it shaped your perspective? When I was a child, I was upset to learn that my parents had decided we would be moving houses. I did not want to leave the place I had called home for the past thirteen years, the place where I had friends and happy childhood memories. Since this period in my life, I have moved several times and now when I think of home, the first thought that comes to mind is my parents. I realized that home is not a specific place; it is the people that surround you that make you feel at home.
This perspective allows me to travel to new places and embark on new adventures with the understanding that I can make any place feel like home. The key is building friendships and relationships with those around you so a place does not feel foreign but rather a place in which you feel supported. As I join your community, I look forward to establishing these relationships as my peers and I build a new home at Brown University. maximum of words. Growing up, my sisters and I became hooked on watching chefs like Emeril cook on The Food Network. I never liked mushrooms and despised when my parents included them as we sat down to eat dinner together each night. My parents said that if I did not like it, I could cook dinner myself.
I had been watching cooking shows, so I decided to try my hand at cooking our family meals. My parents were thrilled to have someone else making dinner for the night and I was ecstatic to be put in the decision making seat for what we would be eating for dinner. Over the years, I continue to cook with my family as a way to grow closer together and I also cook by myself as a form of stress relief. As I chop vegetables, I get lost in the repetitive nature of the task and it becomes a form of meditation for me; something for my mind to focus on that allows me to forget about the troubles of the day. While my love for cooking stemmed from a desire to not have to eat mushrooms with dinner, it has grown into one of my favorite hobbies. At Cornell, I know I will meet a wide range of people and even the typical college student that does not know now to cook and relies on a microwave, pop tarts, and ramen to get through arduous study sessions.
I hope to bring my hobby of cooking to Cornell where I can use it to make it through my own stressful hurdles but also to build relationships with my new classmates who may be missing a home-cooked meal. Prompt: Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? Staring down at my scuffed Converse Chuck Taylors, I distinctly remember the feeling of heat rising in my cheeks. I blame it on the growth spurt I experienced the summer before that had single-handedly taken half of my wardrobe out of commission. Though I respected the rules at my school, I was infuriated, embarrassed, and confused about being made to feel as though I had done something morally wrong as a result of my height making my skirt length criminally deficient.
Growing up in a conservative area, my defiance was met with disdain and whispers in the hallway about not knowing my place. Thankfully, however, not all of my peers were so resistant to change. I knew that our school could do better. I distinctly remember the heat rising in my cheeks as I stepped up to the podium to address the school board, but this time they were flushed with excitement and pride, not shame or embarrassment. The results of the reconsideration are not yet in, but I learned the power of using my voice for positive social change — something I look forward to continuing in college. Prompt: Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Nothing compares to the feeling of the first pass of a pigment-soaked brush on a clean canvas. The first slice into a beautifully iced birthday cake or the powerful print of a first footstep in snow may come close, but I can never lose myself in a sugary confection or icy landscape the way I can when standing at my easel. The thrill I felt as a small child when finger painting never left me, though my technique may have improved a bit. Technique aside, the value of self-expression through artistic endeavor has only grown for me as I mature. Many find cathartic release through journaling or sharing their thoughts with others in conversation, but I feel most connected to my feelings and the world when I put paint brush to canvas.
Not all sentiments can be captured in words, which is where art takes over for me. Just as a piece of music can engender poignant emotions in its listener, a piece of art can make a person feel seen in a large and often lonely world. Nobody knew this better than my middle school art teacher Mrs. She often let me stay in the studio after school to put continuous rounds of final touches on my latest masterpiece, knowing that sometimes my piece did not need those additional strokes, but my soul did. A true artist herself, Mrs. Over the years following middle school, I visited Mrs. Williams every once in a while and each time was always like no time had passed. We would set our easels side by side and paint, sometimes chatting a bit, but often sitting in comfortable silence as we watched colors blend and form new hues with the flick of a paint brush.
In the middle of my junior year of high school, I received the tragic news that Mrs. Williams had suffered a massive heart attack and passed. Devastated and trying to make sense of the first death I had ever experienced, I turned to my mother for advice. Williams were here? Of course. I should have known that was the answer to working through my grief. Grabbing my easel and a stool, I set up on the front porch where I could see the sun filtering through the oak leaves in green and yellow shards of glass, smiled at the memory of Mrs. Williams, and began to paint. Yes, your college admission essays are important. Although the committee can evaluate your academic abilities based on your grades and test scores, the essay is your chance to present a full, unique story of your experiences.
You must work hard to create an essay that will make your application stand out. Each school will have specific instructions regarding the length of the essay, but the range is usually between and words. You need to review the instructions and the word limit carefully before you begin to write. Writing a strong essay requires a significant commitment of time and energy. Ideally, you should plan on spending weeks writing and rewriting your essay. Always remember that a truly effective essay will require multiple drafts! The essay prompts are typically very open-ended. You can choose to write about any topic you like as long as it directly relates to the prompt.
Remember, you must answer the prompt, do not ignore it! As I already said, essay prompts are open to interpretation, so try to be original. Instead of writing about common topics like a sports victory or a difficult test, brainstorm unique ideas for your college essay. Rather than playing it safe, take your chance to be unique and unforgettable. Your essay is your chance to be personable, real, and honest. Do not be afraid to explore different topics. Give yourself ample amount of time to prepare your essay. It might take you weeks or even months to shape it into a great paper. Give yourself at least 8 weeks to prepare your submission.
First, make sure you have set aside enough time for your personal essay weeks. Then, take some time to familiarize yourself with the culture and values of your school and program of choice, to get a general sense of what sort of person they would value having has a student. Read and re-read the essay prompt several times to ensure that you understand what they expect you to address in your essay. Make a list of qualities and experiences that you may wish to include in your essay. Review your list of experiences carefully to narrow them down to the most significant ones. Once you know which experiences you wish to feature in your essay, brainstorm how you would like to tell your story. Create an outline or some notes sketching out what each section of your essay should cover, and keep it close by for reference while writing.
It might be a good idea for someone to review your essay. Do not let too many people read it, as too many reviews could make your essay into a melting pot of ideas and opinions. Ideally, your reader is someone you trust and who can provide you with honest feedback on the content and grammar of your essay. Remember, this is your story. Instead of writing about topics often used in college essays, reflect on your own unique experiences and choose something that will intrigue and interest the admissions committee. You might not think that your life and experiences are very interesting, but you are wrong.
Your essay will feature an introduction, main body, and conclusion. Your main body highlights the formative experience or experiences that you wish to share, and what you learned from that experience. Your conclusion ties your essay together and should leave your reader with an interesting and memorable final thought, which will leave your reader wanting to learn more about you. Some colleges may ask you to submit a curriculum vitae, or a CV. This is not a requirement for all schools, but most colleges have some kind of variation of the CV. For example, UC schools ask their applicants to fill out an activities list.
Admissions committees regularly check for plagiarism from online sources. What Is the Easiest Ivy League School To Get Into in? Persuasive Speech Topics: The Best Questions in. UC Rankings: Your Ultimate Guide to UC Schools. Our site uses cookies. By using our website, you agree with our cookie policy. Medicine Residency Law Graduate College Dentistry Other. Blog Resources Scholarship. Who We Are Work With Us Our Culture Our Philosophy Press. Call or Text. Blog College Application. College Essay Examples: The Best 27 Examples in Plus Top Tips for Writing a Killer College Admission Essay.
Updated: Oct 20, Article Contents. Harvard Sample College Essay Why a College Essay? How to Prepare: Brainstorming Your Essay How to Structure Your College Essay Tips for Effective Essay Writing 26 More College Essay Examples FAQs. Listen to the blog! Sample College Essay Harvard : Prompt: The Harvard College Honor code declares that we "hold honesty as the foundation of our community. Check out our video: Why a College Essay? How to Prepare: Brainstorming Your Essay Writing a strong college essay requires significant time and effort. The best way to ensure success is to be properly prepared before you even begin to write: Set aside enough time. Then I will discuss this formative experience I had while doing volunteering in my community. Then I will discuss what I learned about community from that experience, and why it matters to me as a person.
Your essay needs to be an honest representation of your abilities. Always make sure that you are writing about your own experiences in your own words. Say it with feeling. Write about how situations made you feel, what you learned from your experiences and how it will serve you in the future. An essay written on a topic that you are passionate about will have a more genuine voice and will make for a more compelling and memorable read. The personal statement essay is your one chance to showcase your personality and character, so let your natural voice shine through! It is important to always give examples and use specific experiences to illustrate what you wish your reader to know about you, instead of merely summarizing or listing facts about yourself. Your experiences are stories, and when you tell your story in a well-organized and vivid way, it makes it easier for the reader to stay engaged and remember afterwards what you have shared with them.
sharing an experience about working in a soup kitchen, and what it taught you about community. Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. I actually succeeded in springing it. My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally. My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed.
Clear a hole! Living in my family, days rarely unfolded as planned. A bit overlooked, a little pushed around, I learned to roll with reality, negotiate a quick deal, and give the improbable a try. So what if our dining room table only has six chairs for seven people? Someone learns the importance of punctuality every night. But more than punctuality and a special affinity for musical chairs, my family life has taught me to thrive in situations over which I have no power. Growing up, I never controlled my older siblings, but I learned how to thwart their attempts to control me.
I forged alliances, and realigned them as necessary. Sometimes, I was the poor, defenseless little brother; sometimes I was the omniscient elder. Different things to different people, as the situation demanded. I learned to adapt. Back then, these techniques were merely reactions undertaken to ensure my survival. But one day this fall, Dr. The question caught me off guard, much like the question posed to me in Laredo. Then, I realized I knew the answer. I knew why the coat hanger had been handed to me. Growing up as the middle child in my family, I was a vital participant in a thing I did not govern, in the company of people I did not choose. You participate by letting go of the small stuff, not expecting order and perfection, and facing the unexpected with confidence, optimism, and preparedness.
My family experience taught me to face a serendipitous world with confidence. This has everything we talked about earlier, in the Hook Section. It describes a scene — he is standing next to a car, and he is about to break in, it has a hint of danger and drama — he is making a transgression — and then there is cliffhanger too — how will it turn out, will he get caught? Stephen uses extremely detailed language to build up a visual scene that really makes this experience come to life. We can smell the BBQ. These details aid us in imaging the emotions of the people in the scene. Stephen also captures the tone of a teenager in the dialogue he has written.
It grounds the piece in reality and makes it so easy to picture and visualize in your mind. Stephen demonstrates his inventiveness and resourcefulness in two ways here. Firstly, in a practical way — his resourcefulness has resulted in him unlocking the car door. In this playful way, he is changing the situation from the narrow story to the broader deeper aspects. The insight he has gained from it. His personal growth. The humor relaxes the reader and actually draws them closer to the essay writer while providing details about the author's life. Another thing to take notice of is that this type of humor and phrasing is kept to a minimum in the statement, and is only used around topics where the reader could feel discomfort to relax them. The moderate amount of humor helps keep the prose meaningful and serious rather than flippant.
Stephen ends his essay by reflecting on how his life has prepared him to deal with the future. Stephen connects his past experience to his current maturity through self-knowledge. All great personal essays contain this key element. Maturity and awareness of your own behavior is something that all colleges desire in their applicants. They indicate that a student will be able to adapt to the independence that is required in college classes, will be responsible for their own lives and actions. No piece of writing is ever perfect.
Most writers would be happy revising pieces of writing for the rest of their life if there was a deadline they had to meet. So, what would you have done differently with this essay? What would you change to give it that little extra piece of oomph? These block phrases work against this and dampen the author's unique voice to just one among the crowd. This can make your writing tired and predictable if used in large amounts. The essay demonstrates how Stephen is adaptable to the situation and that he is not afraid to use his inventiveness to adapt to and thrive in difficult situations. This is a great example, and very well used.
Stephen also makes several claims later in his essay that he did substantiate through examples. Remember to make abstract claims concrete, so the reader knows exactly what you mean. An Untitled Tufts University Admission Essay by Bridget Collins. After a long day in first grade, I used to fall asleep to the engine purring in my mother's Honda Odyssey, even though it was only a 5-minute drive home. As I grew, and graduated into the shotgun seat, it became natural and enjoyable to look out the window. Seeing my world passing by through that smudged glass, I would daydream what I could do with it. In elementary school, I already knew my career path: I was going to be Emperor of the World.
While I sat in the car and watched the miles pass by, I developed the plan for my empire. I reasoned that, for the world to run smoothly, it would have to look presentable. I would assign people, aptly named Fixer-Uppers, to fix everything that needed fixing. That old man down the street with chipping paint on his house would have a fresh coat in no time. The boy who accidentally tossed his Frisbee onto the roof of the school would get it back. The big pothole on Elm Street that my mother managed to hit every single day on the way to school would be filled-in. It made perfect sense! All the people that didn't have a job could be Fixer-Uppers. I was like a ten-year-old FDR.
Seven years down the road, I still take a second glance at the sidewalk cracks and think of my Fixer-Uppers, but now I'm doing so from the driver's seat. As much as I would enjoy it, I now accept that I won't become Emperor of the World, and that the Fixer-Uppers will have to remain in my car ride imaginings. Or do they? I always pictured a Fixer-Upper as a smiling man in an orange T-Shirt. Maybe instead, a Fixer-Upper could be a tall girl with a deep love for Yankee Candles. Maybe it could be me. Bridget the Fixer-Upper will be slightly different than the imaginary one who paints houses and fetches Frisbees. I was lucky enough to discover what I am passionate about when I was a freshman in high school. A self-admitted Phys. addict, I volunteered to help out with the Adapted PE class. On my first day, I learned that it was for developmentally-disabled students.
To be honest, I was really nervous. I hadn't had too much interaction with special needs students before, and wasn't sure how to handle myself around them. Long story short, I got hooked. Three years have passed helping out in APE and eventually becoming a teacher in the Applied Behavior Analysis summer program. I love working with the students and watching them progress. When senior year arrived, college meetings began, and my counselor asked me what I wanted to do for a career, I didn't say Emperor of the World. Instead, I told him I wanted to become a board-certified behavior analyst. A BCBA helps develop learning plans for students with autism and other disabilities. Basically, I would get to do what I love for the rest of my life. He laughed and told me that it was a nice change that a seventeen-year-old knew so specifically what she wanted to do.
I smiled, thanked him, and left. But it occurred to me that, while my desired occupation was decided, my true goal in life was still to become a Fixer-Upper. So, maybe I'll be like Sue Storm and her alter-ego, the Invisible Woman. Writing the college application essay is a daunting task. One great way to get started is to read examples of successful essays. Reading sample college essays gives you great ideas and helps to illustrate what is expected from a good college essay. Check out these college essay examples for inspiration! Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
With moments to spare, I catch a glimpse of the boarding platform for my train. Like a captain frantically seeking port in a storm, I haul myself through the turbulent ocean of people, trying to avoid being stranded — or trampled — in the dustiest city in the world: Beijing, capital of both China and smog. Luckily, I board my train with seconds to spare, and without being turned into a pancake — always a plus. The conductor welcomes me aboard. At last, it is time to return home to Shanghai. In another week I will cross the globe to start a new life in a foreign land called Charlotte. Which is home?
The place I am leaving or the place I am going? Arrival or departure? Unsettled, I turn to my ever-present book for comfort. They say the best books tell you what you already know, resonating with your own thoughts and emotions. As I read, it is as if the tempest of my thoughts is spelled out on paper. His words somehow become my words, his memories become my memories. Despite the high speed of the bullet train, my mind is perfectly still — trapped between the narrative of the book and the narrative of my own life. I read the last page and close the book, staring out the window at the shining fish ponds and peaceful rice paddies. I feel like a speck of dust outside the train, floating, content and happy to be between destinations. I am at home between worlds.
I speak both English and Chinese: Chinese is for math, science, and process, but I prefer English for art, emotion, and description. America owns my childhood, filled with pine trees, blockbuster movies, and Lake Tahoe snow; China holds my adolescence, accompanied by industrial smog, expeditious mobility, and fast-paced social scenes. We are drawing into Shanghai Hong Qiao station. Home is neither arrival nor departure, neither America nor China.
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