layne001
Aug 10, 2010
Undergraduate / England, Family, Memories, Life - Just an idea for the Common App Essay [9]
I just wrote this up in about five minutes or so and wanted to know whether the idea is worth it. Should I continue on this topic and build the essay or is it unlikely to bode well during the application process? Thanks!
It's the Common App essay, I'm guessing the "other" topic.
I love England.
From birth to age 5, I lived in the country I still call home. England remains a place I feel internally attached to, and no matter how illogical it may be, I defend the nation with all intensity, a sort of hypernationalism. It's a place that I relish as the birthplace of my hope and inspiration. But I don't just love the land; my family is there. My cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparent: all there.
I don't love England. I love my family.
They are always there for me, no matter the situation, no matter the price. My dad, shadowing his love with a veil of culturally significant authority. Only recently had I broken through it, and only recently did I realize how much he offers, how much he sacrifices. My mom, dying of a terminal illness, who I truly yearn to be with, yet find it increasingly difficult to do so. This struggle between life and death I face daily, and I can't help to imagine the future. Yet I always find those moments in the past that I can never forget.
I don't love my family. I love memories.
Those moments I can never forget. Those remain visions from the past but seemingly find a way to overtake my mind with a sense of detachment. Lighting fireworks outside with my family, seeing the flame ignite not just the firework but happiness. Then, with my favorite cousin at five in the morning, teaching her how to play blackjack. It's at this moment, this period in time when I can really acknowledge the truth that these moments offer, the truth that life offers.
I don't love memories. I love life.
Yes, life is what procured all of this, but it isn't just memories that define it. The past I cherish, the present I embrace, the future I challenge. I couldn't be doing any of this without my life, without my existence. Sometimes, just looking out my bedroom window, sidetracked from a then trivial assignment, thinking about what really matters, what I'd wish to do in this life. Can I make a difference? Will I be willing to?
I don't love life. I hate it.
Those questions always bring up the concept of an end. Always an end. How could I ever begin to think of what I wanted to do without realizing that in the end life will seal itself up into an abyss of darkness. That fear consumes me, entraps me.
I don't hate life. The fact that there is a finite time with our lives prompts me to take action. Why not make a difference and follow my most ambitious goals? A regret at any stage in life is a regret forever. Even if what I love may fall apart, what falls back together is always something better and whatever action I take, I know that I will have done so with the least remorse and the highest resolve. This is my hope. This is my inspiration. I love England.
I just wrote this up in about five minutes or so and wanted to know whether the idea is worth it. Should I continue on this topic and build the essay or is it unlikely to bode well during the application process? Thanks!
It's the Common App essay, I'm guessing the "other" topic.
I love England.
From birth to age 5, I lived in the country I still call home. England remains a place I feel internally attached to, and no matter how illogical it may be, I defend the nation with all intensity, a sort of hypernationalism. It's a place that I relish as the birthplace of my hope and inspiration. But I don't just love the land; my family is there. My cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparent: all there.
I don't love England. I love my family.
They are always there for me, no matter the situation, no matter the price. My dad, shadowing his love with a veil of culturally significant authority. Only recently had I broken through it, and only recently did I realize how much he offers, how much he sacrifices. My mom, dying of a terminal illness, who I truly yearn to be with, yet find it increasingly difficult to do so. This struggle between life and death I face daily, and I can't help to imagine the future. Yet I always find those moments in the past that I can never forget.
I don't love my family. I love memories.
Those moments I can never forget. Those remain visions from the past but seemingly find a way to overtake my mind with a sense of detachment. Lighting fireworks outside with my family, seeing the flame ignite not just the firework but happiness. Then, with my favorite cousin at five in the morning, teaching her how to play blackjack. It's at this moment, this period in time when I can really acknowledge the truth that these moments offer, the truth that life offers.
I don't love memories. I love life.
Yes, life is what procured all of this, but it isn't just memories that define it. The past I cherish, the present I embrace, the future I challenge. I couldn't be doing any of this without my life, without my existence. Sometimes, just looking out my bedroom window, sidetracked from a then trivial assignment, thinking about what really matters, what I'd wish to do in this life. Can I make a difference? Will I be willing to?
I don't love life. I hate it.
Those questions always bring up the concept of an end. Always an end. How could I ever begin to think of what I wanted to do without realizing that in the end life will seal itself up into an abyss of darkness. That fear consumes me, entraps me.
I don't hate life. The fact that there is a finite time with our lives prompts me to take action. Why not make a difference and follow my most ambitious goals? A regret at any stage in life is a regret forever. Even if what I love may fall apart, what falls back together is always something better and whatever action I take, I know that I will have done so with the least remorse and the highest resolve. This is my hope. This is my inspiration. I love England.