Undergraduate /
Common Application Essay- Costume [3]
Here is my essay. I actually do not know which prompt to put this essay under for the common app. Any help would be appreciated in editing and finding what topic this fits under!
A Costume
Long before I braved the late nights of homework, before I devoured science fiction novels, I wanted to wear his costume. I have always wanted to see him standing on top of a building in the darkness. The wind blows toward him while he stands there like a rock; his cape wavering wildly in the back. At night, when most children are too tired to stay up, he roams the city to watch over its people.
One Saturday, when I was five, my friend and I came across a costume store in the suburbs of Bethesda. We saw every costume we dreamed about, but I stared at a particular costume. In front of me, laid the dark knight with his overwhelming black cape. He waited with a yellow belt filled with innovative contraptions and perky ears sharper than the paws of a panther. A dark blue radiated from his gloves and boots. How lonely the suit appeared! When we went shopping on Saturdays, I begged my mom to take me to that store to stare at the silent, incorruptible guardian frozen in time.
Months later, the end of October had arrived. I found myself inside the very dream I had imagined earlier. Outside my window, I saw superman, power rangers, and many other TV characters. As I slowly put on the trousers, tightened the belt, and placed the mask over my face, I joined the others in their quest for candy. From the moment I put on my uniform, I felt the justice of the night seep through me. As I watched the streets of Bethesda, I collected my sweets for compensation. The hours passed away, but I refused to return home. Collecting candy had become my duty.
On that day, every year, I assumed the form of a superhero. What appeared as a childish endeavor was, in fact, my curiosity. I was a kid who was learning English, a fan boy who believed in heroes, and a loner who constantly moved around. With the years, however, the costume became more important. When we moved with my dad's work, I lost many of the things I cared about. Yet, no matter where we were, something in our lives remained constant. Even though we had no permanent home, friends, or school, we always had the costume for one day of the year.
So it came to be that when we moved away, we searched for a costume store in Baltimore. Failing to find one, my mom and I decided to create a new costume. Using the original costume as a template, my mom sewed the black pieces of cloth together to expand the uniform. I took six spray painted altoid containers a yellow tint and attached them onto the sides of the yellow belt. For the cape, we took a black bed sheet and cut several sharp peaks into bottom and trimmed off the necessary sides; we sewed the trademark bat sign into the cape. Yet, beneath all of the new additions was still the same costume from the store.
When I had gone to Anime Expo in Los Angeles with a group of friends, I still wore the same costume. I cut new bed sheets and added new layers to stretch out the uniform. This time, I bought the materials with my savings. After wandering around, I noticed that there were other fanatics in costumes. It was like that night years before, but, there was no mom to urge me to walk up to the door; I was alone. And even when I ate lunch, I did not take off the costume. I wore the costume to celebrate my self-sufficiency and relieve myself from the frequent longing to be home.
Every year, I still make my costume. And each time I touch the soft, dark fabric, I remember how much I have changed and yet, not changed since those childhood days of battling evil and rescuing fair maidens.