Xavier19
Nov 6, 2011
Undergraduate / "Uniquely, Geeky" : Stanford Common App Essay [3]
Prompt: A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
On my bed holding a laptop that contained an empty word document that would determine my future, I sighed. I was trying to do as my English teacher always told me: "Think before you write, imagine your audience and give them what they want." The more I thought about it, I more I felt harassed, but not for myself; my worst nightmare was realized, I was sympathizing with the enemy: Admissions Readers. I was overcome with grief as I imagined the mountain of clichéd essays, how many of them would introduce their writer as an outcast, or a lone wolf, or a genius? I decided I needed a new approach, but one thing was unclear: How could I win them over as the perfect candidate for my choice college, showing them the unique extraordinary, slightly bizarre guy that I am without being just another paper in that pile of failures.
Writing this, I knew without even thinking about it: I am the complete opposite of what people think as a guy who breeds diversity. Let's be realistic: I am a golden brown, middle-classed heterosexual male. I have absolutely no physical or mental issues except for a small impulse for being overly sarcastic. When I get college catalogues, they are representing smiling, plastic-esque Barbie and Ken teens that seemed to jump right out of a Macy's or Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue who were born playing football when pageants and tanning. I have always known that those kids don't play from my team; they don't even play well with others.
Dictionary.com defines geek as: a person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues yelp especially technical and imagination, not social acceptance. This is who I am. I read voraciously, consuming entire volumes of 600 pages or more in mere hours. I have seen every episode of charmed twice and read every Harry Potter book 7 times. I play football with my friends at least four days out of the week, and still manage to keep my brain in working order. Geeks, you see not just from the ones, were not solely the computer whiz kids, nor are we logistic aimed benchwarmers from some 90s sitcom. Richard Clarke had it right: "Geeks, we get it done."
I can almost hear the admissions readers sigh, just as they thought they had the coveted Holy Grail of papers. I can almost feel the disappointment emanating from them as they proclaim mentally: So what, you're another weird kid, how does that make you even remotely qualified my school, what makes you think you add to campus diversity? A better question to ask would be how could I not add to campus diversity? I am a 17-year-old African male, who happens to be Muslim and listens to hard core Japanese Rock music. I am not afraid to reach outside my comfort zone. Isn't that the very definition of diversity?
Being a geek allows me to peek into the soul of others, and taking myself off of the beaten path. It's not about just physical appearance or computers; It's a way of life unlike any other. My outlook on life varies per person modified everything by using literature, people, human issues and pop culture not to mention religious belief and personal preferences.
Although we look a little out of place as we type away at our laptops, read Japanese comics, quote TV shows and books, and recite our sports stats. Although when we flock together and discuss the latest plot hole in The Vampire Diaries or Nikita, we may get strange looks, we embody diversity. We embrace ourselves, and step out of the comfort zone; this is why I would be perfect for your University: Because geeks, we get it done.
Keep in mind this about 137 letters over the 500 word max :/. Does anyone have Questions, Comments, Concerns,or Opinions?
Prompt: A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
On my bed holding a laptop that contained an empty word document that would determine my future, I sighed. I was trying to do as my English teacher always told me: "Think before you write, imagine your audience and give them what they want." The more I thought about it, I more I felt harassed, but not for myself; my worst nightmare was realized, I was sympathizing with the enemy: Admissions Readers. I was overcome with grief as I imagined the mountain of clichéd essays, how many of them would introduce their writer as an outcast, or a lone wolf, or a genius? I decided I needed a new approach, but one thing was unclear: How could I win them over as the perfect candidate for my choice college, showing them the unique extraordinary, slightly bizarre guy that I am without being just another paper in that pile of failures.
Writing this, I knew without even thinking about it: I am the complete opposite of what people think as a guy who breeds diversity. Let's be realistic: I am a golden brown, middle-classed heterosexual male. I have absolutely no physical or mental issues except for a small impulse for being overly sarcastic. When I get college catalogues, they are representing smiling, plastic-esque Barbie and Ken teens that seemed to jump right out of a Macy's or Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue who were born playing football when pageants and tanning. I have always known that those kids don't play from my team; they don't even play well with others.
Dictionary.com defines geek as: a person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues yelp especially technical and imagination, not social acceptance. This is who I am. I read voraciously, consuming entire volumes of 600 pages or more in mere hours. I have seen every episode of charmed twice and read every Harry Potter book 7 times. I play football with my friends at least four days out of the week, and still manage to keep my brain in working order. Geeks, you see not just from the ones, were not solely the computer whiz kids, nor are we logistic aimed benchwarmers from some 90s sitcom. Richard Clarke had it right: "Geeks, we get it done."
I can almost hear the admissions readers sigh, just as they thought they had the coveted Holy Grail of papers. I can almost feel the disappointment emanating from them as they proclaim mentally: So what, you're another weird kid, how does that make you even remotely qualified my school, what makes you think you add to campus diversity? A better question to ask would be how could I not add to campus diversity? I am a 17-year-old African male, who happens to be Muslim and listens to hard core Japanese Rock music. I am not afraid to reach outside my comfort zone. Isn't that the very definition of diversity?
Being a geek allows me to peek into the soul of others, and taking myself off of the beaten path. It's not about just physical appearance or computers; It's a way of life unlike any other. My outlook on life varies per person modified everything by using literature, people, human issues and pop culture not to mention religious belief and personal preferences.
Although we look a little out of place as we type away at our laptops, read Japanese comics, quote TV shows and books, and recite our sports stats. Although when we flock together and discuss the latest plot hole in The Vampire Diaries or Nikita, we may get strange looks, we embody diversity. We embrace ourselves, and step out of the comfort zone; this is why I would be perfect for your University: Because geeks, we get it done.
Keep in mind this about 137 letters over the 500 word max :/. Does anyone have Questions, Comments, Concerns,or Opinions?