Undergraduate / "Let's Play Ball!" - Harvard Supplemental Essay [6]

This is the optional freelance supplemental essay for Harvard.
Some of the possible topics mentioned are:
- Unusual circumstances in your life
- Travel or living experiences in other countries
- Books that have most affected you
- An academic experience (course, project, paper or research topic) that has meant the most to you
- A list of the books you have read during the past twelve months

I've chosen to write about a sport I play.

Please tell any alterations you feel are necessary.
Thanks in advance!

Let's Play Ball!

I crouched down low on the court, my entire body contracted in a state of tension, as the noon sun beat down upon my back, turning it into a pool of sweat. I strained my eyes past my teammates, past the gossamer-like ropes of the net, past the referee to see any movement from the players of the other team. And then I saw it- a jerking movement on the other side that propelled a massive yellow object above the net. A player in front caught it and flung it back with all her might.

The game was on. But this wasn't just any game of "catch-catch". It was a game of throwball.
Unless you are okay with a ball moving at a speed of 120 miles/hour being aimed at your face, throwball would turn out to be perhaps one of the most terrifying games you could encounter in school. The game involves the passage of a ball, intermediate in weight to a basketball and a volleyball, across a net about ten feet high, between two teams of seven. The rules, though simple to comprehend, are difficult to implement, and every team's Achilles Heel lies in the inability of its members to comply with the norms. Failure to follow the rules by a team results in the other one's being given a point. Games are played for a maximum of three sets, like in women's tennis, with each set being played for fifteen points.

The aim, therefore, is to garner the maximum number of points for one's team, and to achieve this purpose, players adopt a number of tactics that include throwing the ball at an extremely acute angle toward the ground (called a "dip"), throwing the ball with tremendous force at an opponent's face ("smash") and throwing the ball so gently that it just manages to reach the other side.

I was first drawn to throwball in eighth grade when I witnessed my first match. I was enthralled by the game-the deft and agile moves of the players provided a wonderful contrast to the grace with which the ball was passed, apparently effortlessly, from side to side. It was an elegant combination of power and beauty, and I was determined to master it.

For hours and hours together in the summer break, I practiced throwball with my sister, as we both tried to grasp the nuances of the game. Gradually, we began to see the improvement, as the number of times the ball made contact with the ground began to be dwarfed by the number of times we were able to catch it. In a short time, our backyard resounded with thuds as we tried out the various strategies over and over. By the end of the summer break, we had built ourselves into throwball players.

The next year, I participated in the trial round for the intra-school team. Though I had spent most of my summer practicing, I felt that my game was no match for the skill and the proficiency of some senior players. In light of this opinion of mine, I was understandably shell-shocked to learn that I had actually made it.

Unfortunately, the team I got into was a disheartened one, a consequence of its having lost the previous four tournaments in quick order. My teammates were disheartened and pessimistic; at our first practice session, they declared that there was no point in playing, since we were going to lose the house tournament at any rate. The team is cursed, they said, and that was all there was to the matter.

But I persisted. I tried to show them the beauty of the game that had touched my heart, so that they too would be inspired to play the game for its own sake, and not merely because of a desire to win. I came for practice sessions every day, and I insisted that at least two of my teammates joint me. My enthusiasm for the game slowly worked upon them, and within a week of the first session, we were playing three hours daily.

As the tournament drew close, we spent all our time practicing, despite the belittling comments made by the opponent teams. When the D- day dawned, we stood proudly on the field, united as a team in our love for the game. In our first match, we ripped apart our opponents, with our head-shattering blows and flamboyant gestures. Then we swept aside the next team and the next one too, and before we knew it, we were in the final round. Alas, it proved to be an ill-fated one, for it began in the afternoon heat, and with two heat-sensitive persons on our team (one being myself), we ended up losing by a tiny margin- 14-15, 14-15.

But that didn't dent our spirit. I, for one, was positively overjoyed with the outcome, since it meant that I would get to spend more time playing the game I love so much.

Since then I have acted on that passion thrice, as my team lifted the tournament cup the next three years. I have coached innumerable junior teams to victory in their tournaments. And I have spent many a happy hour on the field, attacking and being attacked by the big yellow ball. I am now determined to spread my passion for throwball wherever I go, so that more people can experience the joy of playing this thrilling game. Till then, the game continues.

Undergraduate / 'The origin of us' - Johns Hopkins Supplemental [10]

Here's the first supplemental essay from Johns Hopkins.
The essay prompt is:

Johns Hopkins offers 50 majors across the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. On this application, we ask you to identify one or two that you might like to pursue here. Why did you choose the way you did? If you are undecided, why didn't you choose? (If any past courses or academic experiences influenced your decision, you may include them in your essay.)

The origin of us

The study of the natural world in all its multi-faceted glory has fascinated me for years.
But of all its wonders, the evolution of own species - the dawn of Homo sapiens - particularly enthralls me. My fascination for this idea was amplified last summer when I decided to do a project titled "Phylogenetic Analysis of the position of human beings among the great apes".

I wish to pursue courses in both Biology and Anthropology, because I feel that these two fields will, when united, enable me to connect to my origins in the hot and sweltering African Rift Valley. That they will aid me in getting the bigger picture of our footprints on the Earth. And that from this, I may endeavor to glean glimpses of the murky future.

In particular, I would like to study the biological characteristics (e.g. cranial capacity) of the later hominids, such as those of the genii Australopithecus and Homo, to mark the gradual change in anatomical structure. I would like to collaborate with paleoanthropologists who study the evolution of human culture and to see if changes in human anatomy and morphology were manifested as changes in behavior. Finally I would like to a comparative study of the modern day human physiology and morphology with those of the oldest of our species and to predict changes that may occur in the future.

This quest which I wish to undertake is filled with bitter and harsh uncertainties but I hoe to be part of the expedition that reveals where "no man has ever gone before".

Please tear it apart as much as you want.
Thanks!

Undergraduate / 'Yoga, Take in a deep breath' - Common Application Extracurricular activity [5]

Topic: Common Application Extracurricular activity(1000 characters)

"Take in a deep breath. Feel the energy pervading through your body." I sit still in my cross-legged posture. My guru's words pierce through the veil of silence. My back is as straight as a beanpole; my eyes are shut. I block out all thoughts from my mind. Darkness descends on my inner eye. I feel a sense of inner peace, of intense calm. I become conscious of my own breathing. Breathe in and out, I chant to myself. Focus on the darkness. For a minute, I lose myself to another world. Serenity, tranquility and quietness all cascade like the healing torrent of the waterfall of health. It purifies me; it chastises my being. " Slowly open your eyes." The session has ended. My yoga class for the day is over. But my day has just begun. My karma, my actions are all guided by the power of yoga. I feel energized, ready to take on the challenges the world has to offer. Every day as I curl my legs to begin my meditation, the chaos of my soul falls still. And in this silence, I find my inner self.

Please give your comments.
Thanks!

Undergraduate / Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay -Origins [4]

Here's the first supplemental essay from Johns Hopkins.
The essay prompt is:

Johns Hopkins offers 50 majors across the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. On this application, we ask you to identify one or two that you might like to pursue here. Why did you choose the way you did? If you are undecided, why didn't you choose? (If any past courses or academic experiences influenced your decision, you may include them in your essay.)

Origins
The natural world in all its multi-faceted glory has held me in awe for years.
But of all its wonders, the evolution of the human species - the dawn of Homo sapiens - particularly enthralls me.
I became fascinated by the origin of humans ever since I read Carl Zimmer's book "Where did we come from?", a book that deals with human evolution My interest for this idea was amplified last summer after researching for my Biology project titled "Phylogenetic Analysis of the position of human beings among the great apes". This interest has now culminated into an obsession: I just need to know how we came to be who we are today.

While looking through the list of majors offered by Johns Hopkins, I came across the Biology and Archeology programs. I felt both were holistic in terms of the subjects and individual courses offered. In particular, I was interested in the Biology course on Human Evolution(Course No.020.366).

While reading Mr. Zimmer's book, several ideas wafted through my head. These included the study of the biological characteristics (e.g. cranial capacity) of the later hominids, such as those of the genii Australopithecus and Homo, to mark the gradual change in anatomical structure and to see if changes in human anatomy and morphology were manifested as changes in behavior. I believe that I can check the veracity of these notions by studing courses in both biology and archeology, which I believe are deep and challenging fields.

And I hope that where the threads of hominid evolution and human artifacts do entwine, I may help to unravel the mystery behind the emergence of the human species.

Please give your comments!!!

Undergraduate / Julius Caesar is one of the most powerful pieces of literature; Amherst College Sup [3]

Topic:"Literature is the best way to overcome death. My father, as I said, is an actor. He's the happiest man on earth when he's performing, but when the show is over, he's sad and troubled. I wish he could live in the eternal present, because in the theater everything remains in memories and photographs. Literature, on the other hand, allows you to live in the present and to remain in the pantheon of the future.

Literature is a way to say, I was here, this is what I thought, this is what I perceived. This is my signature, this is my name."

Ilan Stavans, Professor of Spanish, Amherst College
From "The Writer in Exile: an interview with Ilan Stavans" by Saideh Pakravan for the fall 1993 issue of The Literary Review

In 300 words

Literature forever

Literature, I thought in ninth grade, was for the birds. Anyone who grown up on books like The Famous Fiveï and Nancy Drewï would share my opinion. But then I came across Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.

Julius Caesar is one of the most powerful pieces of literature. Unfortunately, though, I had no notion of this prior to my venture.

I had taken Julius Caesar for my tenth grade English class, but when I first pursued it I was not impressed. It was the first time I had ever read Shakespeare, and for the inexperienced reader, Julius Caesar just looks like a whole lot of letters strung together.

However, as I read up more historical facts, the significance of the play hit me like a brick. I could connect to the characters, to Marcus Brutus and to Mark Anthony,

And the fickleness of human nature left a deep imprint on my mind. Each time I read it, I become a part of the story, a spectator to this intense saga.

Through this play, Shakespeare captures that instant of time when the Roman Empire was plunged into its biggest crisis. Julius Caesar reveals the fallacies of human nature graphically and boldly. The perfidy of Brutus and the rest of the conspirators, the youthfulness of Octavius Caesar, and the scheming Mark Anthony ï all are beautifully portrayed in this drama. And overriding them all is the megalomaniac Caesar ï omnipresent in both life and death.

In my opinion, Julius Caesar is a timeless masterpiece, because it links the past, present and future. History repeats itself. Though the betrayal of Caesar, an event of immense historical importance occurred nearly two millennia ago, the overall gist of the incident is manifested in the dealings of political leaders all over the world today. Moreover, human nature, despite all efforts, can never alter itself. Superficially we may appear very different from the people of Rome in 49BC, but as far as behavior is concerned, we still share the same emotions as them ï the same hatred, bitterness, jealousy and pure seething ambition. And with this knowledge, one can glean glimpses of the murky future.

Literature is more effective than drama because while drama enforces itself on you, literature allows itself to permeate slowly through your mind. Also, the scenes one visualizes on reading are much richer and longer lasting than seen in a live play. This is because your own imagination has to supply the imagery. Had I watched Julius Caesar

Live rather than read it, I do not think this would have had as profound an impact on me.

Julius Caesar may not be a part of my courses any more, but the play has left a lasting legacy in my heart. Lines from the drama play in mind again and again.

Literature is eternal. It regales the past, dwells on the present, and glorifies the future.

Undergraduate / 'the mysteries of the world' - Common Application main essay [5]

Doubling up: 18 years + Twice the fun

Day 0: A new life was born.
Day 5 or 6(approximately): Something stirs. A second life emerges as well.
Day 210: My mum and my dad sat waiting in the gynecologist's reception room. 10 long minutes passed, probably the longest in their lives. My mum counted the seconds in an almost frenzied agony. My dad squeezed her hand to reassure her, but she wasn't convinced.

The door banged. The doctor, Ms. Sharma, strode in.
My mum was laid flat on the operation bed. The scanner of the ultrasound machine passed over her swollen abdomen. Her heart raced with anxiety and excitement. What would the scan reveal?

Ms. Sharma peered at the graphics on her computer screen. With a jubilant smile she announced "Well, that's the two of them!"

And that began the journey of 17 incredible years.
That's the two of them? That's right. That's the two of us. My identical twin sister Deepa and me.
Twins, triplets, quads. You hear a lot about them these days. But back then, in my hometown, they were the exception rather than the norm.

"Bless your souls! You're getting twins!"- Our parents were touted the lucky ones. But the truth could not get farther.
Let me get it straight. We weren't Little Miss Perfects. Neither were we a pair of adorable baby dolls. Instead, right from the ripe age of three, we adopted a Calvin-ish approach to life. Our policy: life was (and still is) short and sweet. And we were determined to extract the maximum juice from it.

So, instead of squabbling over pink frocks or blue stuffed elephants, we expended our time in what we thought were rather useful pursuits. By the age of five, we were like a pair of extremely nosy, very curious meerkats. When our parents talked between themselves using big words like" ambidextrous" and "rhinitis", we were convinced that it was one of their fiendish plots to conceal some critical adult information from us unsuspecting simpletons. So, we'd trot up to our big dictionary, fling it open and plunge ourselves into a world of unfamiliar letters. Our efforts were mostly futile attempts, but through them, we ended up learning eclectic stuff that conventional pre-schooling would never have taught.

Growing up with Deepa was pure fun. There was always someone to sing karaoke to the songs of " The Lion King", to embark on various schemes such as setting up our own environmental club, and to play doubles with on our 8-octave Casio, our fingers growing long and spindly as we vainly endeavored to stretch out across 10 keys.

As the years rolled by, our activities became more complex and, consequently, were disapproved by our parents to a greater extent. From collecting rocks in nearby fields to add to our growing rock collection, we graduated to more sophisticated pastimes.

By 10th grade, we were dissecting butterflies and cockroaches and scanning their entrails with our own electric microscope. I would hunt down the vile arthropods, while Deepa would get the setup ready and peer at the unfortunate insect. We fooled about with chemicals in the school laboratory, especially with concentrated nitric acid, which, as I discovered later, turned my fingers a hideous yellow. Our over-enthusiastic love for animals culminated in us trying to toast a cockroach (which incidentally is impossible) as breakfast for our pet lizard.

Much to our mum's chagrin we'd never express any girlish desires. We were, to simply put it, deeply interested by those objects the rest of humanity found repulsive.

Not that we hadn't tried to please our mum. We did try to temper our boisterous spirits by engaging ourselves in the delicate art of cooking. We decided to commence with scrambled eggs. Unfortunately, eggs aren't meant for butterfingers and of the four eggs that were available, only one made it to the cooking pot. Our breakfast that morning was essentially "a scrambled egg". Evidently, cooking required much finer skills and nerves.

Generosity, patience, perseverance ï I wasn't destined to have them. But life with Deepa taught me that if you happen to be the only one left with a complete Math book at the end of the academic year, you simply have to grin and share. Sharing and caring were virtues that were enforced on me from birth, but I realized their preciousness only much later.

Through my interactions with Deepa, I had come to understand others better. Living together for 17 years gave us a mode of silent communication ï our body language. We'd subconsciously noted each other's body language for years- it spoke when our voices did not. A single nudge conveyed a plethora of emotions, so much so that we could silently communicate the entire day. I used this knowledge to interpret the true feelings of others. For me, conversing with a friend face-to-face yielded much more information than an

e-mail or a text message.
We share the same genetic make-up, but not the same minds. Sadly over the years, Deepa and I have diversified. She loves dinosaurs; I love human evolution.

We're growing apart. Perhaps it's a good thing. Perhaps it isn't. At any rate it is a bittersweet truth that must be faced before the voyage goes on.

Life has been a kaleidoscope of experiences these 17 long years. And I hope that this roller coaster ride continues in college as well. I hope to people who share my insatiable curiosity to probe into the mysteries of the world.

Is it O.K.?
Please comment!