College Essay # 139 - University of Chicago

139. Spanish poet Antonio Machado wrote, "Between living and dreaming there is a third thing. Guess it." Give us your guess. (University of Chicago)

Living. This seems like a really bold prediction to me. I feel many of us are too preoccupied about everything in our life that we forget the main reason we are alive: to live. We're all either too preoccupied with the grades we get, what we need to finish on our to-do list, what clothes we're going to wear, what care we're going to drive, what job we're going to get, how much money we're going to earn, and the list goes on and on and on. It just never seems to end. Ask yourselves: when was the one day I actually LIVED my life? Was it when I was high on cocaine, was it when I was working till midnight grading papers, was it partying from 10 in the morning to 9 at night and then getting caught because I came back drunk, or was it calling women objects for cleaning, cooking, and for sex to bring your male ego higher than it already is? I am no one to say what living is. Everyone has their own way of living; some may be "responsible" in the way they live, and others might be "reckless." But it doesn't matter, everyone lives.

Dreaming. Isn't this all the things we're afraid of doing, or all the things we are insecure about? Do we actually gain anything from this? Some may say fear and others may say inspiration. I don't agree. They are just imaginations. Nothing real. Maybe you're sitting here shocked at my statement. But talk to me when dreams have been completely ripped apart and examined piece by piece. Don't tell me that it already has. Interpretdreams.com doesn't count because even psychologists haven't figured it out completely.

Between living and dreaming comes experiencing. We forget this word. We forget this idea. We forget this memory. We are either too worried about the outcome of things in our life and we're too worried about what our dreams mean and how it is going to affect us, that we forget to experience the pure joy of the combination of living and dreaming. Dreaming may set a goal, and living may be an accomplishment, but when do you have time to experience anything when you're too preoccupied about your achievements or too paranoid about your dreams?

Living and dreaming is ever present, "guess the third thing." For me experiencing is between living and dreaming. Everyone one has their own in-between. Guess yours.

College Essay # 165 - University of Virginia

165. What confuses you most in life, and why? (University of Virginia)

Popularity. What does that mean? Does that mean gossiping and spreading rumors about people, does it mean excluding other people, does it mean being a bully, or does it mean being liked by everyone? But all these things, do they even matter in the end? Does it even matter when you reach your final destination? Do you want to look back at your life and say "I was popular when I was in high school." Does that define you as a person? If you were still that person who gossips, who excludes others, who bullies others, and who is mean towards others, then it does matter whether you were "popular in high school." It shows that you haven't changed a single bit and you're still the same old person. You haven't grown up.

I see many of my friends trying to reach to the top of that "social ladder" you call popularity in high school. I see girls putting tons of foundation to make themselves look whiter and whiter each day. I see girls wearing low necked shirts trying to reveal their cleavage thinking that it would seduce someone. I see people in my grade bullying those who are "lower" than them. I see people trying to out do one another. I understand the idea of evolution and I understand the idea of the "survival of the fittest." What I don't understand is: people trying to hurt their friends and fellow classmates to be the "best", people trying to manipulate others into being their friend, drifters who drift from a group of people who are popular one week to the group of people who are popular the next week. This idea of popularity, doesn't mean a thing to me. I don't care for it.

High school is a time of finding yourself so that you won't get lost in the big, bad world. High school is a time to shape yourself and be the person you want to be for the rest of your life. High school is a time to learn new habits and get rid of old ones. It is a time for change

Though I don't follow most of the things I say, and am probably a hypocrite, I want to be all these things. Though I don't care for popularity, I care for being the right kind of person. One who helps, cares, and means the best for themselves and others. I challenge all of you to try and do the same.

College Essay # 163 - University of Virginia

163. What is your favortite word, and why? (University of Virginia)

Innovation.

I thought I was going to spell that word wrong for the millionth time. When I was in 4th grade, my best friend and I were in an "advanced spelling group." This just meant that we were willing to do the homework sheets that our teacher used to give us and we liked spelling words. We used to learn hard words and it made me feel really smart. Cocky, but true. But  no matter what I tried, I could never ever spell the word innovation. I would always put a single "n" and spell it like this: inovation. I was so adamant about the fact that I was spelling it right, I wouldn't even consider spelling it with two "n"s. My teacher would make me spell it over and over again,  thinking that I would understand it. I did know the spelling but I just wouldn't spell it correctly. I didn't want to. For a while, my teacher thought that there was something wrong with me, but all that it was, was that I didn't understand why and didn't want to give up my belief system and spell it the way it was "meant" to be spelt.

This word is my favorite word because I feel like this is one of those words that define me. Not because of the meaning behind the word, but because of the experiences I have had with it. When I look at myself today, I want to be that little 9 year old girl who stuck to her belief system. These days I feel like the product of the "Combine". They tell me that I need to do 5 extracuriculars and I try to do it. They tell me that my clothes are too short and too revealing, so I cover it up. They tell me to come for an open gym practice before basketball tryouts, and I go and bust my ass off. They tell me I have a math test tomorrow and I study for it. I don't understand. That 4th grade girl shows me that she believes what she believes. She shows me that just because something is set in the world and society we live in today, doesn't mean that we can't question it.

Innovation, my favorite word. Innovation: the little girl challenge the world. Innovation: the word that strikes a lighbulb in my head and wants me to change to the person who sticks by her belief.

Innovation: everything we live for.

College Essay # 90

90. Describe a humorous experience you have had.

My friends and I somehow manage to get caught up in some of the craziest situations when with each other. But the problem is that, there just isn't enough of them. Yes, we have our shares of laughter and joy, but nothing compares to this moment that I experience with one of my closest friends last winter. Sometimes when I get bored or feel upset, I play this memory in my head over and over again. It manages to always cheer me up in an instant.

It was last winter, when my friends and I were preparing for our history exam. I think it was around two in the morning and all of us were dead tired. We were excited that the semester was coming to an end, but we were just so stressed about this history exam. We couldn't be happy but we couldn't be distracted either. It was a real dilemma. So at around 3 o'clock in the morning, we decided to take a break. I said that I was hungry and asked my friends whether they had any food. They looked around at each other and said that they did but the problem was that the only food they had was cooking items. I had an idea ... for as long as I could remember, my friend was trying to break out of the dorm for the hell of it ... just to see if it actually works. Midlands, the name of the dormitory I live in, is exactly like a prison. Long corridors, bright lights, and 20 ft high fences surrounding the proximity (little bit of exaggeration, but it's true). I asked her wheter she wanted to try picking the lock on the kitchen so we could cook and leave immediately. She agreed, though reluctantly. The only problem, we didn't have a bobby pin. So I went hunting ... and finally after 10 minutes of sheer torture, I found one. At last!!

So she tried to open the kitchen and my other friend and I stood guard in case anyone came along and asked us what we were doing. Thankfully, everyone was sound asleep during this hour. After 10 minutes, I heard the "click" and the "clack". I was so thankful at that point. None of you realize how much I was starving then. So in a haste, we cooked Ramen noodles and Maggi, and locked up the kitchen. After finishing the delicious meal, I was prepared to go to bed. After all, a days hard work deserves some sort of reward. But then, just when I was about to leave, but roommate enters the room and tells us that she thought she smelt gas. I looked wide-eyed at my other two partners in crime. We quickly rushed to the door of the kitchen, and what do you know, the gas smell leaked all the way outside, through the walls to the bathroom next door. I started panicking. After all it was my idea.

At first we decided that it would be easier to pick the lock again and air the kitchen out, but picking the lock with shaking hands took longer than we expected. So, instead, we rushed to our dormparent and told her that the kitchen was smelling of gas. She got up immediately and ran down to the kitchen with her keys. She was baffled by such an event, and she started pinpointing who she thought could be the culprit. What she didn't realize was that we were standing right in front of her. Guiltly, I turned around and walked away from the big chaos happening in the lounge.

She started checking the kitchen's gas cylinder every 2 seconds before closing up the kitchen for the night. In the beginning, we all felt guilty for what we had done, but didn't have the courage to own up. Even though we wouldn't have gotten into trouble, it was still embarassing that we weren't able to cover our tracks. But after a week, it slowly started to die down and we started making fun of her paranoia, though we were the cause for that. To this day, I still see her checking the kitchen's gas cylinder in a paranoid manner. It is quite a funny site. But I am thankful to her as well as my roommate, if they weren't there, I don't know where any of the girls in Midlands would be right now.

College Essay # 32 - Amherst

32. Sartre said, "Hell is other people," while Streisand sang, "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world." With whom do you agree? (Amherst)


People who need people are definitely not the luckiest people in the world, in fact, they are helpless, insecure, and simply blinded by some sort of faith. Let me ask all of you a question. Throughout your life, how many people have actually stuck with you till the end? Predictable answer. Many of you will say, my parents, or my friends. But have they really stuck with you? I mean, don't tell me that there has never been an instant in your life when your parents were mad at you for something stupid you did, or a friend got mad at you because you didn't meet her for lunch? If you are still sitting here and nodded your head arrogantly at this blog, then hats off to you. But for all those that I know, no one has felt alone at one point or another.

People who need people are the luckiest people in the world. What a load of crap. Everyone knows, whether they admit it or not, that no one will stick with you till the end. It is your life, and no one else gives a shit. Your parents may care until a certain point, maybe until you're "old" enough to make your own decisions and then take advice from them, but soon they'll stop caring about YOUR life. Eventually they'll just want to have fun and enjoy the time they have left. I mean, middle life crisis, what were you thinking? Your friends will stop caring about you too. They need to care about themselves first. They need to look after themselves before looking after someone else. Haven't you heard the phrase "the survival of the fittest"? Where do you think that came from. Even evolution can show us that "hell is other people" because in the end the strong only survive.

There is a different between having friends and NEEDING them. I am sure that friends are there to make your day enjoyable, but not really there for you to need them. Needing someone, anyone, just hurts you in the end. You believe that they won't let you down ... and BAMMMMM ... they let you down. I don't want to sound pessimistic and emo-ish, which I probably already sound, but relying on people just makes you weaker. In the end everyone is going to leave you in some way or another. Someone may leave you while having lunch, your closest friends may betray you, and the rest of the world will probably stop caring about you. Stop worrying about who's going to watch you graduate, or who's going to watch you get married, or have your first baby, or become a doctor, or blah, blah, blah. And the list goes on.

There will always be people near you, but learn to be happy on your own, and try to be lucky for yourself. Learn to be independent, and learn to not NEED people. Because "hell is other people" (Sartre).

College Essay # 143 - University of Pennsylvania

143. First experiences can be defining. Cite a first experience that you have had and explain its impact on  you. (University of Pennsylvania)

Walking up the "high school ramp" was a terrifying experience, but one that I would think about all summer. The long walk to the main building seemed so frightening and seemed far fetched, that it would give me goose bumps thinking about it. The last year of middle school was a piece of cake. I enjoyed every minute of it. Though there were ups and downs, I still looked forward to the rest of my days with my friends. Thinking about leaving the safe haven, made me sad as well though. Some of my old roommates were leaving which was upsetting but there were new friends to make as well. But at the end of the day, I was most scared of facing the teachers who I heard would pile you on with work and wouldn't care about how many tests you had. They would still want their work to get done.

I entered my first English class, excited to be in highschool and be an "adult". Or that's what I thought anyways. I sat there feeling all mature and high headed and tried to learn everything my english teacher said. She talked a lot, but I felt like I was learning more than ever. My old English teacher in grade 8 wouldn't challenge us enough, and it wasn't hard to get A's in her class. My new english teacher however, seemed so enthusiastic and engaged in learning. In one week, my book was filled with notes. But the end of the week soon approached, and we were handed an assignment. She explained that our we needed to write a summary on something we had recently read during the week. As we had discussed how to write a summary during that week, I felt pretty confident. I guess my ego was high as well because I thought the summary would be a piece of cake. I finished earlier than most people during the following weekend. I read it and re-read it and thought I had perfected it. I turned it in and anticipated my first grade of my high school career. I hadn't clarified it with my English teacher and just handed it in on Tuesday morning. I had enough time to go to her and check it over, but I thought that I was amazing at writing and just handed it in, confidently.

It was last period of Friday, and I was excited about getting my piece of writing back. I was jumping from my seat when she was handing back my essay. When she called my name, I immediately got up and practically snatched it from her. But the minute I laid my eyes on that big red mark on the top of the page, my face dropped and tears welled up in my eyes. I looked at the C close and  hard and I couldn't believe my eyes. Most people around me got better grades than me. I don't mean to compare, but I had worked hard on that assignment.

I ran down to dorms that day after school and I promised myself that I would work hard and check my work with others. More than that, I promised myself not to be over confident and finally understood that the expectations set in high school are much greater than those set in middle school. From then on, I tried my hardest to get my work checked by my teachers or peers. I wouldn't always succeed, and to this day, I don't always succeed, but I try. Not only to get higher grades and be the best I can be, but also to learn. At the end of the day, what counts is how much we learned, not what our grades are. With true learning, comes high grades. Or so I believe.

College Essay # 50 - Univesity of California

50. Tell us about yourself. - University of California

Spontaneous when interested
Patient
Reasonable
Enthusiastic
Excited
Honest about who I am
Argumentive at times

2 weekends ago, I went to a college fair in Delhi. Your chaperones asked us to go around and state one thing we learned at the end of the second college fair. Someone stood up and said "Don't be humble when writing your college essay." Our school's college counsellor nodded in agreement. Although the statement above are just comprised in a short list, these are the most important characteristics I have as a person, I feel.

I just want to note a significant experience which happened this weekend. This characteristic shapes me into the person I feel I am today. I  think it's worth noting down.

I consider myself to be a very forgiving person. I try and try with those that pinch at my every nerve. I know that if I say something back, I'm just stooping down to their level. There are a few people who have fallen out of my list to be friends with. I tried during the beginning of the semester and start fresh with everyone. I was close to them, or so I thought. It was just some kind of superficial friendship I had. I have tried being friends with these people time and time again, but it just didn't happen. And I just gave up. One of my other friends, kept telling me that they were bad company, and this and that. I defended them, and I told him that they were good people and you had to get past their "strong face" in order to be friends with them. But in the end, he was right. They turned out to be the opposite of those I defended. They would just backstab me, and I learned not to care. Hats off to them, I learned something from you guys. I tried being patient, and for a while it worked, until I snapped on Friday night. One of these girls had asked my roommate for pasta, which she kindly handed over. After pouring it in the saucer, she talked to her friend next to her and said, "I'm going to give this back to Sandy*, she is in someone's room and she can go and put it in her own room." I tried to control, but it got the best of me, I turned around and said, "You can go put it in my room," and very rudely I might add. I try and be patient, and give everyone a chance but this just ends up going against me. I don't know why.

NOTE: * name changed