Undergraduate / What book or piece of literature you believe is important for the entire Colgate Class to read? Why? [3]

Supplement essay for Colgate University

Colgate's core curriculum teaches students empathy, informed debate, and critical thinking. Please tell us what book or piece of literature you believe is important for the entire Colgate Class of 2023 to read. Why?

This is a supplement essay question of Colgate University. The maximum words are 250. Could someone please help me review my essay and also help me sort out a few words. My essay is 261 words.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

This book tells the story of our species, how Homo Sapiens came to rule the world. The author combines two and a half million years of evolution and dwells into the intricate fabric of human society, norms, and values.

The main idea Harari places forward is what makes our species different. By using religion and our economy as an example, Harari points the difference to be that Sapiens are myth-makers; they use imagination and language to communicate ideas and alternatives. The importance of shared myths is that it allowed Sapiens to cooperate, organize at scale, and dominate the world.

Agricultural revolution pushed our species on the forefront of the food chain and scientific revolution helped in making us a super species-a species capable of destroying Earth. We made our culture and social boundaries by assigning somethings to be right while others to be wrong. The reason I think his book should be included in the class of 2023 is because this 400-page book, in its basic form, boils down to a simple yet profound question:

What is it that makes us humans?

Is it the culture, the weapons, the myths, the religion that makes us humans?
Should we continue to exploit other species and the environment for our own benefit? Does ethics only apply when dealing with us, the Homo Sapiens? It sparks the discussion in everything we stand for as a species. The book is filled with our own history, making us think about Harari's each and every claim critically.

Undergraduate / What you learned from working with others? JHU Supplement [3]

Successful students at Johns Hopkins make the biggest impact by collaborating with others, including peers, mentors, and professors. Talk about a time, in or outside the classroom, when you worked with others and what you learned from the experience.

This is the complete question. It would be a great help if somebody could comment on my essay. Does it answer the question? Any suggestion would be welcomed and valuable. I would really appreciate any feedback and help.

our journey - paddling in the water

The essay:

"Why don't you paddle faster?"

"It was the left side that ruined everything, not the right side."

These were the shouts coming from our raft, floating along the Trisuli River. We had just undergone our first rapid (part of the river with high water flow) and were blaming one another.

Just before the start of our journey, the instructor gave us important codes we had to follow. Our group which consisted of 8 people, my closest friends, were to be positioned in either the left or the right side of the raft. When our instructor shouted "reverse paddle", it meant paddling in reverse, "forward paddle" meant paddling forward. Our instructor could give a separate command to either side so we had to be in perfect synchronization.

The first rapid showed us hell. How could we control the raft against the flow of water?

The few minutes of the rapid were a blur and when we finally reached calm water again our instructor was furious. The left side blamed the right side and vice versa.

I had paddled with all my energy and will. Who were they to blame me for not following the instructions? We were furious with each other. The accusations, the betrayal. Were they even my friends?

Why couldn't they understand? I was doing my best. According to my friends, they were doing their best too. If this went on, we couldn't enjoy our ride.

I finally swallowed my pride and declared, "If I am doing something wrong why don't you all tell me. Let's communicate and look at each other."

This seemed to calm the group down. Our instructor had lost all hope but I hadn't. The next rapid was a success. We all shouted instructions to one another, behaved like a proper unit. We adjusted to each other's pace, canceled any mistakes and had fun all along the way. Wet from the water and heart filled with adrenaline, I saw a group and realized the importance of communication. I trusted the judgment of every member and respected their feedback. We knew each other's strength and weakness so we divided the work accordingly.

Anup paddled the best so he showed us some tricks, Bipul showered us with encouragement and motivation. I learned from the group things I could never have learned myself.

And what would you know? We completed the next three rapids with perfection.