Undergraduate / A&M ESSAY A: Someone has an impact on you, "There Will Be Change" [7]

Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.

"There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money that I can get away from everyone."-Daniel Plainview

Daniel Plainview is the main character of a movie titled There Will Be Blood-played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who won an Oscar for this role-an oil man who seeks nothing but wealth. To achieve his goal he abandoned his child, killed an innocent man, stole from a naïve family, pretended to be religious, and made false promises. And what's all that for? Money. Armed by his dedication and greed, he made his dreams come true, and ended up being one of the wealthiest men in his country. But, with that came an expensive price. He was a lonely maniac. He hated everybody, especially those who tried to compete with him. He even hated his son.

Amid the snores of my friends, I finished watching that masterpiece. As the credits were rolling, I burst into tears: Everything I saw in Daniel Plainview was featured in my personality. Throughout the movie I felt my television's screen was a mirror, and I was watching myself building my empire of oil wells. I was greedy, stingy, and I envied those with wealth. I was good at school only because I enjoyed crushing my competitors. Up to that point in my life I wanted nobody to success except me. I was Daniel!

But after seeing the end of Daniel, alone in his palace, my inner self was telling me to change; I must strip myself off greed and envies; I must think of others before myself, I must give what God has loaned me, or I'll end up like Daniel.

To fight greed I had to be generous, and who is more deserving of generosity than my family? The next day I asked my family to accompany me for dinner, which would be on me. My father expected to be taken to another cheap fast-food restaurant, but he was surprised when I drove him among my family to a fancy restaurant. We had a nice meal and chattered about different topics. Then came the moment of truth, the bill was brought to me. I looked at the astonishing number with amazement. My father, putting his hand into his bucket, expected me to back off, but amid the amazement of my family I drew my purse and threw a five-hundred note on the table. The bluish king's picture on the note gave me second thoughts for a moment. His smile seemed to be mocking me, saying, "You'll regard it. Believe me" But flashbacks of Daniel's miserable end stroke me. Immediately I called the waiter and paid my dues.

A good feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment was running through my nerves: I was one step farther from greed, and I ignored a king. My father was proud of me, not for inviting the family for dinner, but for breaking the money's barrier.

From that day I thought of money as a loan, valuable papers made of cheap substances that should be returned to society. Although late, I learned that wealth is not essential for happiness, and that Daniel wasted his life for nothing. I continued to work hard to overcome my greed: I dedicated an amount of money for charity every month; walking on the streets, I've never turned back a beggar; I started to donate blood twice every year. Eating in fancy restaurants became a tradition in my family. With enthusiasm I thought I should expand my anti-greed strategy beyond giving money, so I was generous with many different things, such as time, knowledge, and help.

Being the straight A's student, I helped my mates in class to improve their academic records; I started a study group for them, answered their questions, and taught them for free.

Last year I watched the movie again. But this time I felt I was looking at the greedy Daniel Plainview and only Daniel, or at the old stingy Saud that I buried long time ago. I was proud of how different our personalities seemed to be. I enjoyed the movie even more than last time, and was able to pick up some of the good Daniel's features, such as his dedication and intellectuality. The only downside of the experience was-again-the annoying snores of my friends, which were increasing as the movie advanced. " I couldn't ask for a better soundtrack."