Undergraduate / UF Essay- My Experience With an Author. [8]

In the space provided, please write a concise narrative in which you describe a meaningful event, experience or accomplishment in your life and how it will affect your college experience or your contribution to the UF campus community. You may want to reflect on your ideas about student responsibility, academic integrity, campus citizenship or a call to service.

------

Please tear it apart if you must! I am open to all suggesstions, feedbacks, and opinions :)) Thank you all so much!

------------

A seemingly incessant stream of nerves flooded through me as I uneasily sat in my desk, fidgeting with the now tattered scrap of notebook paper in my hands. Nervously, I stared at the clock, waiting for the afternoon announcements to list the winners of my school's fiction writing contest. I tried to prepare myself for the inevitable disappointment, considering I was merely thirteen and it was, after all, my very first short story contest. But no amount of persistent coaxing could ease me; this was something I fervently desired, something I desperately needed. In the midst of my rambling thoughts, the familiarly yet still alarming sound of the intercom came buzzing through the room, and I suddenly ceased my tantrum of constant fidgeting as I grew tensely still, feeling a small flicker of inexplicable hope pulse through my veins.

Then, it came ringing through the selective list of incomprehensible names; Gabriella Balza. All worries suddenly exhaled out of me as I breathed in the rejuvenating air of sheer ebullience, of irrevocable joy. My writing had left an impact, whether it was a considerably large or relatively small one, it incontrovertibly influenced someone to choose me, and this filled me with an overwhelming wave of irrepressible thrill.

Within the next week, our prize was presented. We would have lunch with author Robert Elmer, to whom we would read our stories aloud. The carefully planned course of the meal, decorations, and room still remain a hazy blur since my primarily dominant memory of that afternoon is that of me sitting right beside Robert Elmer while a rushing thrill of nervous excitement flooded through me as I waited to read my story. When my time came, all of my previously held nerves faded when I saw the familiarly welcoming appearance of my emotions, my thoughts, my words flowing openly on the page before me. I read through it, allowing my carefully crafted words to overtake me and smiled at the pleased grins which luminously painted the faces of those in the room. It was then, as I released the potent words which I had so fervently poured life into and watch them come alive in the reactions and faces of others, as well as within myself, that I realized this was something I would continuously desire to do. It was incomparably freeing, exhilarating; it was like letting a parrot finally utter its own words.

This honorable experience has caused me to assiduously strive to create writing that not only fills me with unsurpassable bliss but also fully embeds others with validation, with encouragement, and with inspiration. It has caused me to also strive to leave a colossal impression upon others and to vigorously work to achieve my goals. If I were honored with the prestigious acceptance to the University of Florida, this inextinguishable light which I possess for people, for writing, for academics, and for service would radiantly shine through. I would actively involve myself among a variety of divergent departments and people.

It is my responsibility as a student to not only surpass in academics, but also to excel in helping to further advance and add to the atmosphere around me. It is my duty to uplift others, to fill the campus with life, encouragement, and inspiration. Therefore if I were given the opportunity to attend, I would put forth devotion, dedication, time, effort, passion, and encouragement to the campus, to the students, and to my own learning experience at the University of Florida.

Undergraduate / Essay on an intellectual pursuit exemplified in a craft! [8]

Here is the prompt:
For almost one hundred years, the Latin words, "Vires, Artes, Mores" have been the guiding philosophy behind Florida State University. Vires signifies strength of all kinds - moral, physical, and intellectual; Artes alludes to the beauty of intellectual pursuits as exemplified in skill, craft, or art; and Mores refers to character, custom, or tradition. Describe how one or more of the values embodied in these concepts are reflected in your life.

Please give me your honest opinions and feedback! Tear it apar if you must! Thank you :)

The art of evoking potent emotion through effective wording requires practice, persistence, and passion. All of these qualities are ones which I assiduously use through my daily commitment to mastering the English language, which is a goal I vigorously strive to achieve. For years, I have adamantly pursued and wholeheartedly devoted myself to the enriching world of writing, as I continuously pour all of my efforts into this artful craft. The familiarly welcoming appearance of black text effortlessly flowing over a white canvas is one which I have immersed myself in from a young age, as the worlds which were so intricately created by infamous writers have left everlasting impressions upon the person I am today.

At a young age, learning to read was a tremendous struggle as others began to severely doubt the degree of my success at accurately reiterating the foreign words before me as I desperately desired to understand their meaning. After several months of persistent practice, I succeeded in reading my first book, authored by Dr. Seuss, immediately transfixed by his poetic wording and fantastical creations which so vividly leaped off the page. Even since that time I have read voraciously and written incessantly all while continuously asking teachers, adults, and friends for constructive feedback and advice on my writing. This long process has helped me immensely as I constantly gain new knowledge on how to improve, how to excel. I remember entering my first poetry contest, my first short story contest, and the sense of accomplishment when I won each, the sense of accomplishment of not only being able to read, but effectively write.

I find myself continuously growing through this expressive art as it has effectively allowed me to incessantly gain a plethora of knowledge pertaining to the person I am as well as the world around me through universal themes, through parallel worlds, through tragic character flaws, through incredibly innovative plots. Even in the literary works of those which I so greatly admire, my morals, customs, and character developed from the enlightening knowledge which elicited within the enthralling pages of such respected novels. I have learned countless lessons through Beowulf's incomparable determination, through Elizabeth Bennett's unjust prejudices, through Frankenstein's obsessive pursuit of knowledge. Literature has taught me, writing has shaped me.

Therefore my intellect, my values, my character, has been intricately fused through this one driving desire, this one vehement passion. Through this, I am able to reach out, to influence, to excel, as I direct this form of expression into brazenly accomplishing what the infamous works of others have done for me; to allow others to think past the ubiquitous opinions of the world which surround them, to allow others to examine the world through various divergent perspectives, to allow one to embark upon the perpetual pursuit of self growth, to allow one to find the inextinguishable passion for something which ardently consumes them and causes them to leave a memorable impression upon the world.