Undergraduate / About Footie Pajamas: Common App and Pitt Personal Statement [14]

I really need help! My essay is not completely finished and I have major writer's block. I know I'm not that great of a writer and I highly appreciate constructive criticism!!!! My essay is about footie pajamas because I like writing about unconventional things. It is just a personal statement with "topic of your choice". In parentheses are the things I still need to write. Oh and any title ideas and ideas of how to shorten it are also helpful! Thanks.

"I don't know what to write about!" is my quintessential complaint these days. "Write about your Israeli heritage and how all of your trips to Israel have impacted your life," Mom suggested over the chopping of her lettuce. "Write about being born with cataracts and how the surgeries have affected you," Dad prompted over his Sunday paper. "Write about a person who has influenced your life, write about playing guitar and composing music, write about USY, write about being a yearbook editor," Ikleel, Becca, Sarah, and Claire encouraged. Write about this, write about that. Sure these were all good suggestions, but none of them struck a chord for me. "I just don't feel like that is an accurate portrayal of myself," I told each of them in turn. These may all be prominent aspects of my character, but they don't paint the whole picture. I want colleges to know me. I won't settle for anything less.

(Paragraph about zoo animals here.)
...

(Something in this paragraph about how footies show my inner child and about how all different parts make up the whole.)

"So how is that essay coming along?" Ben teased. "I don't know what to write about!" I cried in frustration, forgetting that I'm supposed to be pretending he doesn't exist. "Write about your footie pajamas," he said with a snigger. Hah. Write about footie pajamas for a college essay? How absurd, how ridiculous, how ingenious! How me.

Undergraduate / "Super Babysitter"- Common App Short Answer [5]

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (150 words or fewer).

You can call me Super Babysitter. Its been five years and 23 families, yet I refuse to retire. I couldn't have done it without my trusty sidekick, Mama Babysitter, who uses her Kindergarten teacher powers to scope out desperate victims in need of an escape from the whirlwind of stress their children have imposed on them. From exploding science experiments to interesting dinner creations to Mad Lib bedtime stories, I've done it all. Each child has had a powerful impact on me. There is nothing like the look of relief on a parent's face when I give my reassurance that everything went smoothly and their hyperactive children are sound asleep. The crinkling of fresh 20 dollar bills as they enter my wallet is just an added bonus. "Super Babysitter to the rescue!" I think every time I start up the engine to the Super Babysitter Mobile. It's just what I do.

What do you think?

Undergraduate / UMD 300 word essays: personal style and what is your something [4]

Here are my UMD essays. They are still a little rough, and I have used my previous essays to write these for anyone who has seen my other posts. Please tell me what you think and give me suggestions! These really need to be completed today. Thank you! :)

2. "Seek the fashion which truly fits and befits you. You will always be in fashion if you are true to yourself, and only if you are true to yourself. You might, of course, rightly wear that style which is emblazoned on the fashion magazines of the day, or you might not." - Maya Angelou.
There are no boundaries to personal style, whether it is expressed through the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, or the books you read. What does your style say about you?

I remember my first sighting of adult-sized footie pajamas as though it occured mere hours ago. They were elevated in all their glory above the other pajamas on a shiny silver rack at Target. I could practically hear my inner three-year-old squeal with rapture. I hastened to don them the second I arrived at home. Nothing had ever fit me better - in the metaphorical sense, that is. The smallest size available was still moderately roomy.

The more I examined them, the fonder I grew. The childish zoo animals gazed at me, their smiling visages each emanating a different aura that I could easily relate to, for my persona is ever-changing. One day I am like the lion, tackling every task with perseverance and pride. The next I am like the monkey, curious of every minuscule detail and filled with exuberance.

After several laundry cycles, the heavenly fleece has developed tiny spheres of lint so numerous that picking them off would be unfeasible. Like fleece, we have imperfections that make us unique. Without my dry sarcastic humor or my aggravating toe-cracking, I would not be Arielle.

I zipped the zipper up and down, hearing the sound of fall jackets and jumping into piles of multicolored leaves, the sound of slipping into each dress for each dance that is sure to be the night of my life: sounds of freedom. Suddenly, it got caught on a thread. How off-putting. Why must I always encounter obstacles? I ripped the hindering thread, and my zipper glided freely once more.

And to think, so many spectacular attributes sewn into a single masterpiece! So what if my footies are a tad large? There is always room for growth.

"Why footie pajamas?" I am often inquired.

"That's my style," I respond.

4. According to Henry David Thoreau, "One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do something." What is your something?

You can call me Super Babysitter. It has been five years and twenty-three families, yet I refuse to retire. With my exceptional analytical powers, I am able to evaluate each child in order to determine which way to best handle them. I never fail to leave a positive first impression so that kids plead for me the next time their parents announce they will be absent for the night.

The creativity, imagination, and life skills that I have developed from babysitting are the most life-changing rewards one can ask for. From exploding science experiments to interesting dinner creations to Mad Lib bedtime stories, I've done it all. Each child has their own pedestal in my heart and has taught me something valuable. Katelyn coached me in the area of patience. She would bawl hysterically unless I scratched her back until I could hear the consistent breathing that indicated she had fallen into a slumber. Daniel taught me responsibility by showing me that even though the big kids seem more mature, they can be more mischievous than the little ones. I recall walking down the stairs after putting two-year-old David to bed to find the entire kitchen floor covered in aluminum foil, and Daniel hiding beneath the kitchen table, a goofy grin plastered to his face. After that incident, I trained to become successful at multi-tasking.

At the end of the night, the look of relief on a parent's face when I give reassurance that nothing was destroyed and their hyperactive children are sound asleep is exceedingly gratifying. The crinkling of crisp 20 dollar bills as they enter my wallet is just an added bonus. "Super Babysitter to the rescue!" I think every time I start the engine to the Super Babysitter-Mobile. It's what I was born to do.