Scholarship / "The Value of Time" - Questbridge Significant Experience Essay [4]

Hey guys! I wanted some more feedback regarding my essay for Questbridge. Feel free to be harsh/blunt!

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
The Value of Time
I stared in awe as he shifted his tiny feet towards me; at that moment, I understood that each minute, each hour spent with him had not gone to waste.

While other students begin their high school career in sports or clubs, I spent a majority of time at home, caring for my baby nephew. With both parents at work and my sister attending evening classes, I was given the responsibility of babysitter. Initially, I felt imprisoned, forced to forgo my freedoms. I questioned why I should suffer for my sister's mistake. Six hours of daily, absolute dread, unable to complete schoolwork under the constant wailing and bawling of my nephew. Undisciplined in childcare, each day would bring a plethora of new concerns from changing diapers to providing meals. Not only was my babysitting fledgling at best, my time management had yet to evolve to fit high school standards; numerous nights were filled with curses and tirades as I scribbled away at my homework with what few hours I had left to spare. Life became unbearable, and my time only seemed to dwindle away.

As freshman year progressed, my existence seemed repetitious; every day was a routine that I was required to overcome. As I entered my home, my sister would hastily grab her schoolbag, dashing out the door. Immediately I was left in charge of the household, barely able to switch from a meager student to a responsible adult. The hours flitted by as I periodically changed diapers, made spoonfuls of food into airplanes, and soothed piercing cries. With evening approaching, the garage door creaked open, signaling the arrival of my parents and an end to my post. As I collapsed onto my bed, I felt raw and exhausted. Weeks seemed like days-time itself irritated me as selfish thoughts flooded my mind. My life appeared fruitless; I felt my time was wasted on my nephew.

That day seemed no different. As I was preparing lunch, I noticed the baby was peculiarly quiet. In a fit of worry, I bolted to the family room to see my nephew... standing. I marveled for what seemed like hours as he took his first step, reaching a significant milestone in both our lives. Suddenly, I realized how mistaken I had been. Although I believed those weeks were wasted, each second spent interacting with my nephew had manifested itself in this moment. I recognized the full potential of my time-not only in my life, but in others' lives.

Nonetheless, this moment was more than a mere memory. This experience influenced who I am today. Now, I aspire to serve others in hopes that my efforts will influence their lives. Be it at the local hospital, volunteer events, or simply tutoring peers, I persevere in my purpose of aiding others. Even the most trivial of tasks can result in global impacts-this in mind, I am thrilled to see how this concept will drive me in college.

Book Reports / How does Hamlet use wit via an extended metaphor to show his rancor and hurt? [2]

Prompt: How does Hamlet use wit via an extended metaphor to show Rosencrantz and Guildenstern his rancor and hurt? (During the recorder/flute/pipe scene in Act III, scene II, lines 353-379)

As a forlorn, melancholic Hamlet is called to avenge his father's most unnatural murder, he is abandoned and betrayed by those dearest to him, thought to be entangled in his own madness. In this strange plight, Hamlet's once closest companions-inept Rosencrantz and dubious Guildenstern-function as henchmen to Hamlet's incestuous, murderous uncle, Claudius, and ultimately as traitors willing to end Hamlet's life. By using a mere recorder as a metaphor to deal a direct slap in the stunned faces of Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, Hamlet reveals their unfaithfulness with bitter wit to portray his malice toward and pain from his once close companions.

Following a sly, scholarly ploy to affirm his uncle's guilt in his father's heinous death, Hamlet immediately seizes a recorder from one of the players, intending to cunningly tongue-lash at his friends for their disloyalty. However, Hamlet first questions Guildenstern's proximity, subtly noting his broken trust: "why do you go about to recover the wind of me, as if you drive me into a toil?" (III.ii.376-377). Similar to a hunter and their prey-"recover the wind", a method used to force quarry into a trap or "toil"-Hamlet's expressive language progressively emphasizes Guildenstern and Rosencrantz's selfish betrayal as he feels cornered like wild game, portraying his shattered faith and crushed confidence in his friends. No longer does Hamlet find comforting asylum in the presence of his faithless companions; rather, similar to the lone, abandoned antelope sacrificed by its herd as prey, he only senses their desire to satiate their own ambitions by forsaking him. In accordance with such clever wit, Hamlet, cunningly and artfully, pleads Guildenstern to "play upon... [the] pipe", comparing its ease to that of "lying"-an act even toddlers are capable of committing (III.ii.381,387). In doing so, Hamlet ingeniously links their deceitful, fraudulent betrayal to playing the recorder-their very arrival to Denmark was based on a devious plot by the incestuous King Claudius to spy on Hamlet, instead of what they originally had told him (to merely visit). Of course, Hamlet persists in stressing the "discourse [of] most eloquent music" (III.ii.389) from the recorders by their mere breaths; here, "discourse" can refer to the utterance of musical sounds, but concurrently hints at the oral communication or converse that Guildenstern and Rosencrantz so desperately desire by "playing" upon Hamlet. Indeed, Hamlet's bitter attitude-a common trait amongst those who feel betrayed-towards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's true, traitorous motives portrays his broken trust in his once closest companions, ultimately leading to contemptuous disdain for the lives of his friends.

Although Hamlet's crafty comparisons served to indirectly illustrate the correlations between a faithless betrayal and the elementary recorder, he soon bluntly reveals his melancholic, scornful feelings towards the traitorous Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. After repeated attempts at persuading a stubborn Guildenstern to play the recorder, Hamlet finally bursts in sarcastic rage as he reveals the true motive behind the recorder: "You would play upon me, you would seem to know my stops, you would pluck out the heart of my mystery, you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass" (III.ii.393-397). With contiguous, repetitive syntax-"would play upon me"; "would know my stops"; "would pluck out"; "would sound me"-Hamlet underscores the relative similarities between him and the recorder; here also, through the use of "would", Hamlet clearly accentuates Guildenstern and Rosencrantz resolute intent to use Hamlet for their benefit rather than them aiding him. Abandoned and forsaken, Hamlet candidly conveys his pain from their deception by comparing it to "plucking out" his heart-an act that figuratively would leave him empty and hollow, but consequently take his life. As with most instances of deep hurt, Hamlet's heavy pain also manifests itself when he sarcastically mocks Guildenstern and Rosencrantz for their insolent arrogance-their belief that they could "play" Hamlet for information. Hamlet even taunts his friends, revealing that there is an "excellent voice, in this little organ" (III.ii.399); in this regard, Hamlet ridicules Guildenstern by referring to the treasured information that his friends so desperately want, yet claiming they will never be capable of making "it [Hamlet] speak" (III.ii.399). Looking for revenge against his unfaithful companions, Hamlet's ultimate insult comes in as he merely brushes them off as insignificant, powerless tools: "though you <can> fret me, you cannot play upon me" (III.ii.401-402). "Fret", in this context, directly refers to those on an instrument, but in tandem suggests annoyance; as a result, Hamlet bluntly states that although his friends may annoy him, they will never play him. With this final slap to the face, Hamlet degrades his friends as inferior, incapable of and untalented enough to "play upon" him. Without a doubt, Hamlet suffers from the betrayal of his once dearest companions as he wittingly insults them for their cocky attitude, stripping them of their friendship and any tangible chance they had of pleasing King Claudius.

Skillfully using his bitter wit-comparing his friends to hunters and himself to prey, likening playing a recorder to lying, juxtaposing a recorder and himself, and ultimately bashing his friends through adept word choice-Hamlet harshly addresses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's betrayal as he scornfully taunts them, revealing his spite towards and hurt from his companions. Through these hardships, Hamlet not only identifies those harmful to him, he also acquires insight on what makes a friend truly a friend.

I'm having some trouble ending this essay on a thought-invoking note. I'm hoping you guys can help me catch any grammatical errors and any areas where the essay does not analyze / flow. Thank you!