Undergraduate / A HAPPY ESSAY =) (my unique common app essay) [16]

Hi everyone! So this is my common app essay. im thinking about putting it under topic of choice maybe? im not sure if it fits the other prompts though. what do you guys think? i just wrote it too so i need grammar check and a way to shorten it please thank you!

Hello! I want you to be happy.
My mother told me that when I was born, I did not scream and cry in pain like all those babies do on television, I was a peaceful baby who cried smiling. So I guess that means I was born happy right?

When I was small, I took delight in drawing smiley faces all over my walls. I was completely frightened of those "evil" sad faces, and always cried when my mom or dad gave me a dirty look or when my baby brothers mutilated my cheerful faces to sad faces on my walls. Whenever I cried or felt dejected, I would avoid looking at myself in the mirror because I would be terrified to see myself in despair. Since childhood, I cherished smiles and laughter. My favorite Disney song was "Everybody has a Laughing Place" and my favorite place was of course, the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. I often had nightmares about the grouchy Scrooge finding me in the blissful theme park.

My penchant for happiness further developed as I grew older. While I was able to experience more blissful moments like friendly social gatherings, I also learned to brave and understand those vestiges of unhappiness that sometimes plague my peers. As a child, I assumed those frowns and tears on people's faces were poison to humanity, but now I understand that in some situations (funerals) frowns and tears are necessary to relieve negative, self-inflicting emotions. But at the same time, I do not believe too much anguish and detrimental perturbations are desirable for mankind. To help minimize and prevent an expansion of these undesirables locally (I will work my way up to universally), I commenced, not too long ago, a "Be Happy" campaign. Similar to the Free Hug Campaign where participants hold up signs offering "Free Hugs," I hold up signs (usually my school folders) that encourage people to "Be Happy." Some may fancy the idea childish, but all I care is that it helps me fulfill my mission: encouraging people to smile and feel that someone in the world wants them to be happy.

It all started in high school, freshmen year. With my ever-present smile, I was walking down a hallway when I saw a girl weeping behind a classroom door. Curious and taken aback, I approached her.

"What's wrong?" I amiably asked, still wearing my unfaltering smile. I loved talking to strangers.
The girl looked up, surprised I was addressing her. "I failed a Pre-Calculus test! I have no chance of getting into college now."

"Aww I'm sure it was not that bad! Do you want to talk about it? I have a few minutes before my class starts." She nodded. As I sat down next to her, I noticed on the floor a lonely white board with a dry-erase marker, as if the two were waiting for someone to use them. Suddenly I thought of an idea. With the marker in hand, I drew a happy face and wrote "Be Happy" on the white board. Yes I know, that was a random thing to do, but I am a random person sometimes. What mattered was that it made her smile.

"Aww that's cute," she laughed, and then we talked about my spontaneity. When I had to get to class she was beaming and said, "Thank you Chan Chuan! I feel happy now."

After that successful outcome, every time I come across a person crying in the hallways over a test or a sour relationship, I draw them a happy picture: a smiley face, a cartoon, a Christmas tree, even a Pokémon. I wrote my message to "Be Happy" on a piece of paper, a tissue, a folder, a hand, a paper lunch bag, even an apple once! Some thought I was crazy, but I did not care. So far, I always got what I wanted - their smiles and laughter.

Right now, my campaign may have only affected a small amount of unhappy people, but I am determined to expand. Now, I carry my hand-made "Be Happy" folders around wherever I go, and show it to homeless people, unhappy businessmen, crying children, stressed mothers, and basically everybody who wears a frown. Who knows, maybe one day I will garner the same kind of attention as Juan Mann, the man who launched the Free Hug Campaign, and have my campaign in a music video seen by the whole world. Or maybe I can think of my own creative way to increase awareness for my campaign. As for now I'm working on it one person at a time, so I hope my essay inspires you to feel joyful too. If not, "Be Happy" and smile.

Undergraduate / GRANDMOMMY UPENN ESSAY - one day you would share the same dreams that I had [24]

This is for the UPenn prompt, im not sure if this works. tell me your opinion please. I was going for originality. thank you!

ps: and i would read yours if you read mine =)

Benjamin Franklin established the Union Fire Company, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, Pennsylvania Hospital, and, of course, the charity school that evolved into the University of Pennsylvania. As they served the larger community of Philadelphia, each institution in turn formed its own community.

Which of the academic communities and social communities that now comprise the University of Pennsylvania is most interesting to you and how will you contribute to them and to the larger Penn community? (do not exceed one page)

CRASH.
"What happened?" I screamed, rushing into the room to see what had happened. Four year old Lola was standing next to an overturned book shelf and was about to grab a colorful pack of Skittles now lying on the floor next to a thick leather photo album titled "University of Pennsylvania: the center of Asian-American Love." "Grandchild, you found my college photo album!"

Lola, dumbfounded, looked at her grandmother gleaming at the black book and squeaked, "College? Is that stories?"
Opening the heavy book on a big sofa chair, I laughed. "Yes honey, college is full of great stories. Let me show you."

"Yay," Lola squealed and came over to her grandmother's lap.
I pointed to the first photo. It captured a Frisbee hitting a young woman in the head and a woman next to her like they were dominoes. I pointed at the photo and described to Lola, "This was in the Quad - the center of underclassmen social life and where you could find many flying Frisbees and footballs. I'm this girl wearing the University of Pennsylvania sweater, and this is my Alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority sister Jenna. As you know, I have an interest for Asian-Americans and the sorority was one of Asian-American interest."

I glanced at Lola lining the skittles on the sofa couch. She wasn't listening. I continued to another photo. "This one had me standing in front of the Crest Room, a room used for film screening that day, next to a Taiwanese woman. The film was going to be a documentary about her narrating her life in San Francisco and how she struggled to maintain and define her Taiwanese culture and identity in midst of the city's multicultural society. I remembered I went to the screening since I was intrigued by a protagonist that sounded so much like myself, and my professor in my Asian-American and Popular Culture course highly suggested that I should attend."

I flipped to another photo. This time, I was at a table with a huge sign saying "PAACH and Asian Pacific Student Coalition." Addressing my inattentive grandchild I explained, "Lola, this was the NSO Organization Fair. I remembered that day was pretty hectic. The other students who were to help me at the table all had to drop out since they had other club duties or emergencies. Yet, I also had to prepare for the Asian Pacific Student Coalition Welcome Back and Meet & Greet the next day, and I had only signed up for half a shift. I solved the problem though by manning the shift while ordering food for the incoming freshmen with my phone and coming up with the agenda on the back of brochures."

Next photo. In this one, I was smiling next to a big banner reading "Taiwanese Culture Fair." I exclaimed, "Oh Lola, you don't know how satisfied and happy I was the day of that first Taiwanese Culture Fair in University of Pennsylvania! I dreamt for years about organizing such a fair since I started applying to University of Pennsylvania and I finally succeeded pulling it off in senior year! All those school forms I had to fill out in order to clear the space; all those phone calls I make to request Taiwanese musicians, politicians, writers, artists, and students to come and speak; all those sign-up sheets I made to get student volunteers; all those letters written and money paid to get free or cheap propaganda advertising; and all those fundraisers held to get the money; all for the fair - finally paid off!"

In my excitement, I took a side glance at Lola. She was not sharing my excitement. She had dozed off with a smile on her face and her Skittles scattered on the floor. I smiled at my dreaming granddaughter, "Grandchild, one day you would share the same dreams that I had for University of Pennsylvania and watch those dreams come true."

Undergraduate / IM A BIG GIRL -Boston university essay [9]

Need to cut down characters/words and MAJOR grammar check! =(

will edit yours if you edit mine thanks!

Essay #1: In an essay of no more than 500 words, please select three words that describe your best and tell us how you will use these qualities/characteristics to contribute fully to the BU community. (character available 4000)

After spending countless nights researching, I have concluded that Boston University and Boston fits my kind of personality which is - if I can say without complimenting myself too much - big, creative, and friendly.

Commanding a height of five foot and ten or eleven inches and smiling on the top row for almost all my class portraits, I think I have a reason to call myself "big." I understand why some ladies consider being called "big" an offense, but I find it one of the greatest words to compliment a person. Not only do I describe myself physically big, but I dream big, think big, and do everything big. Maybe I accumulated this "big" frenzy because I grew up in a big city, attended big schools, and have a big family. I have been accustomed to big things in the past and present, so naturally I expect big things in the future, which is why I look to BU. According to Wikipedia.org, Boston University is "one of the largest private universities in United States." Great. It sounds like a big school like my high school, which means more people to meet, more opportunities to take on, more majors to choose from, and more of everything. Plus, I think every sensible person would describe Boston as a big city, which is great since I am used to the big city world - the restaurants, the traffic, the garbage, the diversity, the energy, and the wealth of culture! Boston and BU seem like a big community with big things waiting for every big person. I am eager to live in this big community (like the enormous 1800-student Warren Towers) and start another big BU family and contribute big to the school in the future.

I remember when my middle school English teacher told me that I was as creative as Leonardo DaVinci, and everyone in my class agreed. One day last summer, I visited this English middle school teacher to help her with her bulletin board. I always thought her bulletin board was really plain-looking and needed more color. Before I "remodeled" it, the board was just a tan piece of paper messily stapled to the wall. After I "remodeled" it, I decorated it with a colorful border, alternated the colors of strips of paper, and cut out cherry-looking shapes to paste over the board. After I showed my work to my English teacher, she announced that she had such a good-looking bulletin board that she knows her co-workers would be jealous of ad that she will not want to paste any of students' work over it for awhile. I like doing everything as creative as possible. I like creative art, creative writing, creative thought, creative clothing, creative music, creative things. I think the BU community can support my strong creative vibe. From what I read and heard, BU has a very creative community especially being around the Allston neighborhood. I have always dreamed to go to the "Allston Rock City" and a chance to meet all the artists and musicians there. As a BU student, I will channel my creative energy to enriching the community's culture and ways like thinking up new school events and having revolutionary ideas.

My favorite day of school is always the first day of school. At the closing of every summer, I look forward to the day when everyone would be like "Hello! My name is blank. What's yours?" I love meeting and getting to know new people. Even when I am in a rush, I would always try to stop and have a chat with someone, so my friends have often termed me as "the friendly person." I love conversation, and I try not to exclude people from any discussions. I believe my bubbly character would help contribute the BU community because it would help the community be more tightly connected. I always like to make sure everyone I am talking to knows each others' names, and I love introducing my friends to as many people I know.

So for a big girl like me with big dreams and big creative outlet for my future big family at BU, I am eager to meet everyone in the big BU community and make our big dreams come true!

Undergraduate / the FARTING ESSAY: my original common app essay [11]

This is for the common application topic of choice. Need to shorten about 150words. any suggestions? I was going for originality. Would this work for common app? im applying to ivy leagues. i need grammar checks too please! i have horrible grammar

ps: i would be sure to read yours if you read mine. thanks!

According to a random "scientific" site I found online after googling "farting statistics," an average person passes gas fourteen times daily. Fourteen times! I have been with a person (like a friend) the whole day (hangouts during the day and sleepovers at night), and I do not think I heard my friend fart once. Which leads me to wonder, did that person go to the bathroom to secretly fart fourteen times or did he or she fart fourteen times while we were sleeping in the same room?

Maybe that random "scientific" site is not so accurate, but from my personal experience, farting fourteen times a day sounds pretty on target. Maybe that's because I try to be a good child and eat my veggies, gulping down my daily (and sometimes extra) doses of cauliflower, corn, and beans, all which have been notorious for their fart-producing power. So probably I'm supposed to fart more than the average fourteen times, but I don't. I would think I even farted less than fourteen times a day sometimes. Why? Because like most people, I didn't fart in public. I found it one of the most embarrassing things a human could possibly do in society.

Constantly restraining from farting around others had been troublesome for me I admit, especially when I am almost always around people. Not only has the restraint caused me stress, but also lead me to suffer anxiety. I don't mean to cause embarrassment for anyone by talking about this personal issue, but I think the idea provides a good lesson. Why do people get embarrassed and make it harder for themselves (like in the case of farting) when they know everybody else in the world does such biological necessities?

Unlike many self-conscious people in the world, my mother farts whenever she pleases. You wouldn't expect her to fart either. A clean well-dressed middle-aged woman with minor visages of makeup, my mother looks like every other well-mannered average citizen of a respectable state. Yet, she farts. She did not release those tiny farts that no animal or person would hear either, she lets out those loud, flatulence-filled, big bang sort of farts that everyone would hear. When I was young, I hated standing next to my mother while we stood in the grocery line waiting to buy groceries. I remember every time she would give a big gurglemeister, all the people in line would turn to look down at me because they thought I, a child with messy looking hair and spotted overalls, not my mother, a well-mannered average citizen of a respectable citizen, would perform such a social atrocity. My face would heat up in embarrassment, and after my mother and I would leave the store, I would always get angry at her for farting because I myself, tried so hard not to fart in public.

Now, after all those days surviving anxiety attacks, I concluded that restraining from farting was not worth all the trouble. It was like trying to hide a big part of who I am - human. My wise mom always said that every human farts, so who would blame her for farting. Before, I always said I would blame her, but now I understand I shouldn't since I do it too.

Unfortunately, I would imagine that there are a lot more other people in the world that went through similar situations like me, so I would like to help society rid these ridiculous social embarrassments. I want to help people be comfortable with who they are. People should be free to fart, pick their noses, sing their hearts out, and wax their ears if they need to. Doing those things is not too harmful to society, and it's good for the person. Why not do those things for your own personal benefit? Maybe society doesn't accept these obvious human needs in public since our leaders don't do them. I have never seen Bush or Obama fart or pick their noses in public. Someone has to take that extra step and do what other people have not yet discovered the courage to do. I want to be that someone. So I urge you to give it a try now, and let the next person take a whiff of your true smell from the inside.