vicktoriaria
Dec 25, 2016
Undergraduate / Rice Perspective Essay - Publishing My First Story [2]
The quality of Rice's academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice? (500 word limit)
As a child, I always craved a satisfying ending to every novel, film, and video game I encountered. I'd play back the sequence of their events in my mind, as well as adding a touch of my own imagination into the timeline. I'd write down the narratives in hidden word documents on my laptop, keeping them from the world. It was the forest of my imagination where I could relish in the mixture of my favorite fictional characters as well as own creations.
I soon learned about a website called "Fan Fiction", where anyone could publish stories based on other novels, films, and video games. It was a dream come true for me, being among other who had similar mindsets as I, but it also presented mental challenges as my eleven year old self debated whether or not to publish my own works on the website as well. I spend weeks reading hundreds of the fan-written stories and building up the courage to publish my own stories online. After a long time coming, I finally decided to share my first work with the world.
After spending hours looking over the page-long story, checking for grammatical errors and plot holes, my story was ready. I clicked the "publish" button at the bottom of the page. I waited and waited and waited for my readers' feedback-reviews, favorites, and follows. I received only a single follow and three favorites. I heart danced in joy as I realized that it meant that I had been noticed and they enjoyed my work. My second story soon followed, and it wasn't met with the same reactions as my first story. I received more feedback than I had expected, a plethora of favorites and follows, praise, and constructive criticism. But I could only focus on the criticism as it raced through my mind and cut through me like a burning knife. I reread them over and over again in my mind, until I realized that the reviewers meant well. The comments that I once tried to ignore I now used as a springboard to propel me towards improving my writing.
Over the course of seven years, three completed stories, and two stories currently in progress, both negative and positive feedback now never fails to inspire me and assist me. The helpfulness and encouragement I received from complete strangers was more than I ever expected, and it is what I want to bring to Rice University.
It's a nerve-wracking feeling to dive into the unknown, but it's a feeling that I've grown accustomed to with each new story I publish online. There's never the security of guidance or support; I want to spread forth the inspiration and reassurance as my peers find themselves in uncertain places. In addition, I would like to join the Rice Thresher to share my passion of writing and discussion, as well as Rice Writes! where I can share the encouragement with fellow writers and aid them with their writing.
Word Count: 500 (just made it :p)
--
Thanks for reading, and now I have a few questions.
Does it answer the prompt fully? Should I focus more on what I can contribute to Rice?
Thank you in advance and Happy Holidays!
The quality of Rice's academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice? (500 word limit)
my passion of writing
As a child, I always craved a satisfying ending to every novel, film, and video game I encountered. I'd play back the sequence of their events in my mind, as well as adding a touch of my own imagination into the timeline. I'd write down the narratives in hidden word documents on my laptop, keeping them from the world. It was the forest of my imagination where I could relish in the mixture of my favorite fictional characters as well as own creations.
I soon learned about a website called "Fan Fiction", where anyone could publish stories based on other novels, films, and video games. It was a dream come true for me, being among other who had similar mindsets as I, but it also presented mental challenges as my eleven year old self debated whether or not to publish my own works on the website as well. I spend weeks reading hundreds of the fan-written stories and building up the courage to publish my own stories online. After a long time coming, I finally decided to share my first work with the world.
After spending hours looking over the page-long story, checking for grammatical errors and plot holes, my story was ready. I clicked the "publish" button at the bottom of the page. I waited and waited and waited for my readers' feedback-reviews, favorites, and follows. I received only a single follow and three favorites. I heart danced in joy as I realized that it meant that I had been noticed and they enjoyed my work. My second story soon followed, and it wasn't met with the same reactions as my first story. I received more feedback than I had expected, a plethora of favorites and follows, praise, and constructive criticism. But I could only focus on the criticism as it raced through my mind and cut through me like a burning knife. I reread them over and over again in my mind, until I realized that the reviewers meant well. The comments that I once tried to ignore I now used as a springboard to propel me towards improving my writing.
Over the course of seven years, three completed stories, and two stories currently in progress, both negative and positive feedback now never fails to inspire me and assist me. The helpfulness and encouragement I received from complete strangers was more than I ever expected, and it is what I want to bring to Rice University.
It's a nerve-wracking feeling to dive into the unknown, but it's a feeling that I've grown accustomed to with each new story I publish online. There's never the security of guidance or support; I want to spread forth the inspiration and reassurance as my peers find themselves in uncertain places. In addition, I would like to join the Rice Thresher to share my passion of writing and discussion, as well as Rice Writes! where I can share the encouragement with fellow writers and aid them with their writing.
Word Count: 500 (just made it :p)
--
Thanks for reading, and now I have a few questions.
Does it answer the prompt fully? Should I focus more on what I can contribute to Rice?
Thank you in advance and Happy Holidays!
