Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

@Holt

this is the whole prompt :

Consider something in your life you think goes unnoticed and write about why it's important to you (you may enter up to 650 words).

I copied it directly from commonapp website.

• 
  and just to be sure
  

Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

@Holt

Ok i get your point. Give me sometime to build on another essay, i think i might have something that relates to your first advice.

I have a topic in mind but it sounds a bit weird.

I was thinking if i could write how i switch off the lights and the fans where ever i see them unnecessarily being used.

and if not this then i have this in mind :

A free gym that opened in our public park.

Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

"Not again!!" I said to myself.

All the lights in my dad's room were on even though there wasn't a single person in the room.

Unlike some people my Dad is very careless when it comes to switching off the lights and the fans. When he walks into a room he wants the room to be illuminated like an auditorium but that's not the irritating part, it cranks me up when he doesn't switch them off. I am the only one in the house who is switching off the lights and fans whenever they are being used unnecessarily. It's like I have built an OCD about it.

I wasn't so crazy about it until this incident changed my thinking -

"Not again!!" I said to myself.

"This is the third time today when the internet has gone down."

I wanted to play this game on the internet so much. I applied my small engineer brain to fix it up manually but I failed and I was forced to resent to the low speed internet my grandparents had. While I was going down to see if my grandparent's Wi-Fi was working, I overheard the conversation between our housemaid and my grandmother. She was worried because there had been no electricity in her neighborhood for almost two days and now had to send her children to her brother's place. This news struck me like lightning : here I am, crying on my stupid internet and could not even recall if I had switched off the lights before leaving my room whereas this lady has passed almost two days in the

light of candles.

More importantly, I realized how much dissolved we are in our glorious lives that we often ignore these small things which can lighten the lives of the poor with minimal effort from us. Many of us think of helping the poor in such generous ways but how can we achieve those big goals when we can't even accomplish the small ones. Also we as humans have developed a thinking that we don't like the idea of spending money on unnecessary things but we find it appropriate when we pay those hefty electric bills.

From that day I started turning of the electricals and made it my habit. At first it was difficult because such small things go unnoticed but now it's a part of my nature. Not only do I do this at my home but anywhere I go, even in my school. I am usually the last one to leave the classroom because nobody cares if the lights are on. I have become so obsessive about it that even if I am walking through the corridors and I see the electricals switched on in staff rooms even if there is no teacher around I care to switch them off. Sometimes it just comes to me that the teachers who inflict this habit in us in our childhood are the ones who often forget about these little things.

It is always said 'to achieve big you have to start small', and this was my small thing and although I didn't receive any appreciation for it, I knew I was doing it for the greater good.

just a very rough sketch what i want to present. Not one of my best writings, still need some edits and i also need to improve my word quality.

Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

@Holt
Hi,
i built another essay and wanted to know which one would be better, the lights one or this one.

For four nights before the midterm exams in my senior year of middle school, I coached a friend over the phone because he had missed classes due to an illness. This is mainly based on my nature of selflessly helping friends.

I shot a video for friends in economics club, of which I wasn't even a member, missing classes, travelling to a location two hours away to shoot, and returning home to stay up all night editing and animating the video to make it ready for submission by their deadline next morning.

I can be selfless helping friends in need when I can.

I have also been through times when friends haven't come forward to support me when I wanted their support.

That hasn't stopped me from building a large circle of friends.

Over a period of time I have learned that good deeds take time to receive reciprocation. It's important that I do what I consider is the right thing to do. The example of my grandfather helped develop this perspective. As director of a teacher's federation having its head office in Canada, he did the research and developed perspectives that his superiors presented in international conferences. That didn't waiver his commitment towards the work that he did. Even though it took an accident for him to move up to the podium, but his efforts did pay off eventually and he received the recognition he so rightly deserved.

Staying committed to building and maintaining friendships has already yielded unintended benefits. The success of a friend in raising his academic grades encouraged me to raise my grades in math. Interacting closely with students three to four years senior to me at a computer training institute raised my interest and made computer science my biggest fascination. I discovered my talent in athletics after a friend urged me to attend the trials that led me to become the vice captain of the school athletics team. Inspired by the creative skills of a friend, I developed my own abilities to go on to be the head designer of the school's Computer Club.

Now, I don't expect reciprocation for being there for my friends. It's enough that they inspire me and help me grow in ways that I am myself sometimes astonished to find.

Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

@Holt
the only reason i feel a little doubtful about the lights essay is because of the second part of the prompt that says "Why its important to you?" Any tips on how i can develop on thus part ?

Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

@Holt
"Not again!!" I said to myself.

All the lights in my dad's room were on even though there wasn't a single person in the room.

Unlike some people my Dad is very careless when it comes to switching off the lights and the fans. When he walks into a room he wants the room to be illuminated like an auditorium but that's not the worst part, it cranks me up when he doesn't switch them off. I am the only one in the house who is switching off the lights and fans whenever they are being used unnecessarily.

Being a detail oriented person this was something I just couldn't let go off. Not only do I do this at my home but anywhere I go, even at my school. I am usually the last one to leave the classroom because not many care if the lights or the projectors are on.

It's important that I do, what I consider is the right thing to do. The events going around me helped me shape this perspective. One day the internet in our house was down and I was dying to play a game on the internet. While I was trying to fix the issue, I overheard the conversation between our housemaid and my grandmother. She was worried because there had been no electricity in her neighborhood for almost two days and now had to send her children to her brother's place. I was moved and as I looked around I noticed how all the lights were on and realized

how we had been taking this basic necessity for granted.

I remember my dad crying on the heft electric bills that we paid. But since I grasped this habit, our electric bill has gone down. In fact in just a month our bill decreased by 10%. I realized how we can save a lot of money just by pressing a button. More importantly, I got drifted towards energy conservation. In my early years I started creating science projects on saving electricity. I was then selected to represent my school at various science fairs which encouraged me to keep making more. Even though I got involved in many other activities, I never abandoned the issue of energy saving. In my junior year I took the concept of generating electricity from walking. My goal was to produce more current with minimal walk patterns. I was able to achieve 10mins of charge with 2kms of walk.

It is always said to achieve big you have to start small, and switching off lights was my small thing and although it went unnoticed, its impacts have made a huge difference in shaping my values.

Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

@Holt

what do you think of having this as a conclusion.

I had just gotten up when I saw my dad leaving for work and it instantly triggered me that the lights must be on in his room. As I went to switch them off, I stood there in surprise, the lights were already off.

it completes the answer to the prompt 'you think goes unnoticed' //thats what i think. waiting for your comments.

Undergraduate / From a homebody to the active body. UW Madison Essay -- Something important but unnoticed [19]

@Holt
thanks for all the help !! i really appreciate your efforts !