Undergraduate / "Bathtub-ers and Shower-ers" Two people in the world- u of chicago supplement [NEW]

Here's my answer to the U of Chicago prompt which reads:
Essay Option 2. Dog and Cat. Coffee and Tea. Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye. Everyone knows there are two types of people in the world. What are they?

I need to turn this thing in today so all comments would be loved. Sorry if it is a tad long. I welcome all opinions and criticism! Will obviously return the favor. Thank you.

"The only time the world beats a path to your door is if you're in the bathroom"
-Anonymous

The significance of the bathroom has dramatically evolved over the past millenniums. Once just a simple hole in the ground, the bathroom now holds a very special place in our society. It is where girls delicately apply their makeup, hoping to impress boys, and where boys roughly shave the jungles that they call beards, hoping to impress their moms. It is the best friend of those who had a long night out while being the enemy of stay-at-home mothers who spend all day in. Sometimes in the mirror we talk quietly to ourselves and other times in the shower we belch out pop songs for the world to hear. There exists a toiletry arms race even. Not satisfied with porcelain or wood, some people opt for gold, whether it be adorned on sink handles or plastered across walls. We build monstrous caverns of his-and-her sinks, remote controlled toilets, and six person Jacuzzi baths. Though the novelty of these bathroom advancements is admirable, one question still lingers over it all: How much do people actually use their bathrooms? Thus, the world falls into two very distinct yet close categories: bathtub-ers and shower-ers.

As one would assume, bathtub-ers are people who take baths. However, the true essence of a bathtub-er doesn't come from what they do but how they do it. Bathtub-ers take indulgence in cleaning themselves. They happily wait the fifteen to twenty minutes for the water to heat and for the tub to fill, lighting their lavender scented candles and setting their bottles of colorful bath salts and oils next to the tub the whole time. Bathtub-ers willingly sacrifice not just a willingness to pay for the extra water utility bill but time and patience as well; "Ahhhh. This is what I'm talking about," they'll say as they melt into the water. A bath only ends once a bathtub-er has reached full satisfaction. Consequently, baths can last from thirty minutes to an extreme three hours. This sort of bathtub behavior extends across all facets of bathroom life for bathtub-ers. Taking a #2 isn't a "task" but instead a relaxing break, spent either reading or just thinking. Bathtub-er Hall of Fame inductee Alicia Keys once said, "If I want to be alone, some place I can write, I can read, I can pray, I can cry, I can do whatever I want-I go to the bathroom." Bathtub-ers view their bathrooms as sanctuaries.

What bathtub-ers really are though are people living in the now. They are thorough thinkers, taking their time to methodically go through every situation to take the most out of it that they can. They prefer the immediate pleasure and accept every opportunity that offers it. They are the ones who stop and smell the bath water roses on this journey that we call life. If you're lucky, you might catch one of them. They like to eat at restaurants on a weekday besides Friday. Bathtub-ers tend to be the looking a bit happier more than most.

Shower-ers represent the antithesis of bathtub-ers. They don't believe in wasting so much time on bathing themselves and so, opt for the much quicker and much more efficient overhead showers. Instead of wallowing in the therapeutic scents of cocoa or passionfruit, shower-ers rush through their routine satisfied with the smell of "Original." They hastily apply body wash, concerned not with exfoliation or smoothness but only with whether they reached every square inch of their body. "Lather and rinse," they tell themselves as they force shampoo into their hair, "never repeat." On a good day, a shower-er gets in and out of the bathroom in less than six minutes and on a bad day, ten minutes. Unsurprisingly, shower-ers carry this mentality throughout the entire bathroom. They refuse to pull out a magazine when sitting on the toilet bowl and will even avoid using soap when "washing" their hands. Shower-ers don't even brush their teeth in the bathroom! Electric toothbrush in mouth, they spend the recommended two minutes typing up emails. To shower-ers, the bathroom represents an inconvenience, a distraction from the other things that need to get done.

On the much larger level, shower-ers are those who always keep an eye on the future. Rather than focusing on the right now like bathtub-ers do, shower-ers constantly prepare for the "coming up." They're worried about their imminent office presentations or school essays so to make time to work on those things, shower-ers minimize time spent on what they consider the trivial. They rarely cook their own meals or make trips to the gym. Shower-ers center their attention on what they believe are the important things in their life, the things that will give them happiness later. Most of the time, they complete their tasks. In a shower-er's version of "the journey," one is supposed to sprint past the rose bushes and dandelion fields to rest under the shade of the big trees ahead.

So where am I, a shower-er or a bathtub-er? Though the bathtub lifestyle holds obvious appeal, I'm well aware of its downfalls. By becoming too grounded in the present, I might lose sight of the future and what I will need to tackle it. I could stay up late until 3AM with my friends the night before school starts, savoring the last moments of summer, but I would end up with a grumpy start to the new school year. Living life as bathtub-er requires me to constantly give up a little part of myself in my pursuit of immediate happiness. Maybe that's why I always end up wrinkly after a bath. However, life as just a shower-er won't work for me. Sure, I'll get done what I'm supposed to get done. The problem though is that I have no guarantee of the future happiness I am supposing exists. The contentment that a shower-er ever has is the assumption that he will get rewarded for all of his hard work. What if that reward never comes though?

I know that I want to have a successful future, traveling the world to international cities like Madrid or Tokyo, but I don't want to achieve that and then look back at my younger years to see only sadness and frustration. To accomplish this balance, I live my life between the realms of shower-er and bathtub-er. I might convert into a fervent shower-er during finals week and then return to the bathtub-er mindset in the summer months. I'm a showtub-er of sorts. People say that you would learn a lot about somebody if their living rooms walls could talk. I'd rather ask their bathroom walls.

Undergraduate / star in the galaxy -Why Duke? [4]

Here's my answer to the prompt Why Duke?. I tried to make it as personal and as me as possible so please tell me if it comes through. Also, mine is alot longer than most probably (they wanted 1-2 paragraphs) so if you could shorten it thanks so much.

If all the colleges and universities suddenly became stars splattered across the galaxy, I'm pretty sure that I'd still find Duke pretty easily, shining just a little brighter than all of its counterparts. It was the flexibility and incredible room for growth within the Duke academic curriculum that first caught me. While I know what a lot of my passions are, I'm still uncertain about which one to ultimately pursue. As I result, I don't want a college that will just set me on a path, raise the walls so that I can't escape, and then watch from afar. Luckily, Duke isn't that. Duke will give me time to explore thanks to the requirement of the Six Modes of Inquiry and Five Areas of Knowledge, none of which are specific courses but instead a broad array. I can satisfy all of my interests by enrolling in a FOCUS course like "Modeling Economic and Social Systems," gaining the experience of a small class at the same time. Lastly, there's the fabled Program II. I can explore outside and between the usual majors to create my individualized curriculum. That's the beauty Duke; the freedom I have with my education will make my four years at Duke unbelievably unique and personal. In return for all of this, I'll give Duke everything I have. I'll spew my knowledge of Roman columns in Civilizations class while quoting Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in Ethical. I'll raise debate about government censorship in my Cross-Cultural class and then crack DNA jokes in Natural Sciences.

Besides the academics, I love the future that Duke envisions for itself and its students. The school has flawlessly struck that immaculate balance between staying steeped in its Southern tradition while at the same time being grounded in the present. The new Cisco Quad software and recent state of the art Energy Hub are testimony to how Duke has kept up with the pace of technology. The school is built off of a "never settle" mindset that I also carry. While I circle around my pottery wheel searching for flaws in my clay vases, Duke circles around its campus searching for possible rooms of improvement. The Central Campus Renovation plan makes this fact strikingly clear. The students at Duke live with this same dedication and drive too. I can see it when they complain in the newspaper about lack of student-administrator cooperation and when they create blogs like Blue Devils United to raise LGBQT awareness. I know that I'll thrive in this community, being told to attain the bigger and the bolder everyday.

In my eyes, few places offer the combination of academic independence and progressive thinking at the same level that Duke does, and absolutely none pull it off with charm that Duke does. Duke has to be the one. Ask me to find Duke on a map, and I'll point you out Durham. Ask me what star Duke would be in the sky and I'll point you to the sun.

Undergraduate / "The "One" " tufts what makes you tick [6]

A Hopeless Romantic

I'm a hopeless romantic. There, it's out. Now sure, it might seem like a trivial confession but it is what makes me tick. I'm a big believer in the idea of "the one," and I blame all of my childhood Disney and Pixar movies for it. Shrek made it seem like there's someone destined for me while Cinderella cemented in me the idea that meeting that person will be inevitable. According to them, once I fall in love, life will be perfect. I'll feel totally comfortable in my skin, ashamed of nothing and proud of everything. My hours will be filled with laughter and happiness. Any sad emotions will suddenly disappear the moment I see her. She'll be the end of my pursuit of happiness.

I've spent hours if not days fantasizing about "her" and what she'll be like. Sometimes she's a blue eyed southern bell and others she's an Australian accented pro surfer. I imagine all the similarities and difference we might have. Will she understand my love for grape soda and will I have to overcome my fear of scary movies for her? I fill up the empty minutes walking from Spanish to English class with these kinds of thoughts. I don't sing pop songs in the shower but practice what I might say when I think that I've finally met her. Until then though, it's all a big waiting game, but I assure you, I can wait.

Undergraduate / "Never Again Will I" tufts optional supplement [3]

So the prompt basically says to start an essay with the words 'Never Again Will I..." I recycled one of my old essays and hope that it fits the prompt still. The recommended length was 250-400 words and I'm at 450ish so any edits would be much loved. Thanks so much again.

Never again will I let my selfishness rule like it did when I was young. I have no recollection of my parent's divorce since it happened when I was just two and when the term "separation" didn't make much sense. My mom took my sister and me with her down to Southern California while dad stayed in Seattle. Life continued like this for two years until my dad drastically took all he had and moved to Irvine, an hour away from my mom's house. Suddenly, the man who I only saw on Christmases became a permanent fixture at my school assemblies and piano concerts. He braved the one hour trip across the I-405 every Saturday to watch me huff and puff down soccer fields and took me and my sister to live with him for the majority of weekends during the year. He strived to reconstruct the typical "mother-father" environment for us.

However, rather than recognizing the incredible commitment that my dad showed, I let my selfishness guide me. I detested the weekend trips to his house; "I don't know anybody there," or "There's nothing to do at dad's house," I protested to my mother. I wanted to stay at home and play video games with my friends instead of three-man Monopoly with him. I even lied about school projects just to avoid the dreaded car ride and having to spend time alone with him. Sadly, my selfishness and I often won.

Looking back at this period, I can only feel guilt and remorse for my actions. I failed to give my father the proper appreciation that he deserved. How many hours did he spend alone at his dinner table meant for six? How heartbroken must he have been each time my voice on the other line said, "Not this weekend"?

I've realized the hurt caused by my self-centeredness and though I can never compensate for my dad's hours spent alone, I can and must try. I've adopted that relentless drive and dedication of his. It is what carries me along the highway when I drive to soccer practice an hour away and what kept me up all night with my young camper David when he couldn't fall asleep because of his bug paranoia. I also posses that intent of my dad's to be involved as much as possible in the lives of those who matter to me. Family dinners take a foremost place on my list of priorities, and I always make time for foodventures with friends.

The era of selfishness that ruled over me for a decade of my life has come and passed and through it I've learned invaluable lessons. The chances of it coming back? Never again.

Undergraduate / "The Two Worlds Of HK" -tufts let your life speak supplement [2]

So here's my answer to the Tufts prompt:

2. There is a Quaker saying: ''Let your life speak.'' Describe the environment in which you were raised--your family, home, neighborhood or community--and how it influenced the person you are today. (200-250 words)

I have some concerns about my essay. First off, mine is 280 words so if you could see some things to cut out, do tell. And secondly, the prompt seems to ask for the main environment I was raised in but for this essay I wrote about one of many environments that I've been in. That ok? Anyways here it is...

Though both sides of my family live within the small area of Hong Kong, each represents a contrasting lifestyle from the other. The aunts and uncles from my mother's side are authentic rag to riches stories. Raised in a rural Chinese village void of paved roads, they now reside in multi level abodes of marble floors and dark oak wall panels and live affluently. Living with them means lavish three hour dinners and even longer yacht trips. It means private chauffeurs and carefree shopping. However, I don't live thoughtlessly in this world but instead marvel at it. This side of Hong Kong reveals to me the pleasure and wealth that hard work achieves.

My relatives from my father's side haven't reached the same dizzying heights of opulence, but I find myself equally as happy when I stay with them, living modestly in tight apartments. I find happiness through the simpler things. I chat with ladies rolling dim-sum carts and travel the city by train. Dinners are at-home affairs where I giggle with cousins about odd looking seafood, and our voices fill the room as we sing disaccordingly in Chinese. Immersion into my father's world of Hong Kong has shown me that I can find pleasure in the ordinary things.

I live my life through a combination of these two worlds. My mother's side tells me to set my ambitions high while my father's side proves that I can find contentment anywhere. His side also reminds me to always stay humble and resist becoming haughty. As a result, I'm a simple down to earth guy but with big dreams. I have merged these two worlds together and seamlessly live between them.

Undergraduate / "suicide rates in America have been steadily going up" - Find X -Chicago [2]

Here's my essay to the prompt of Why X? Any comments or such would be loved. To be honest, I really don't like this essay. I've spent hours trying to think of a witty answer to the prompt but I can't think of one. Here's my best answer.

1. Does it sound too negative?
2. And yeah, I know that my conclusion is crap. Working on it.

Apparently, suicide rates in America have been steadily going up in recent years, since 1999 to be exact. Though this rise is a seemingly minor and insignificant 0.5% buildup, the effects of it on modern society are clear. Everywhere I go I'm endlessly barraged with propaganda determined to keep me alive. Take television for example. Keep the TV on the Discovery Channel long enough and you'll eventually be watching "I Shouldn't Be Alive," a show about people surviving unbelievable circumstances thanks to endurance and belief. Shows like this are popping up everywhere from "Scarred" on MTV to "Animal Heroes" on Animal Planet. The message is always the same "Yay for being alive!" There are dozens of much less discreet forms of this kind of propaganda though. Walking into an underground subway station, I see not only a vividly painted yellow line intended to keep me a good five yards away from the tracks but also large laminated posters that read "Don't Jump," each one filled with bright radiant colors. It's all grand scheme to keep me alive. However, let us focus on the source of all of this, the people who are contemplating suicide. While some people might view suicidal thoughts as resulting because of something, I have always viewed them as resulting from a lack of something, the thing that ultimately gives them happiness. I might never know what it is for them, but I think I know mine.

It's all in my relationships with others. People are my "x." A relationship means so much more than just a connection between two people. One can't label a relationship as a concrete thing but instead as something much more abstract.

A relationship satisfies my constant curiosity. I know my life perfectly inside and out; I live it after all. I know exactly how I feel about certain movies, what I like to order at 7-11, and why I think Taylor Swift is the cutest girl alive. To phrase this another way, I have a certainty about my life. What other's lives offer is an uncertainty. I want to explore the unknown. I would rather go on an adventure into downtown LA than live life easy at home and other people's lives are that adventure into downtown LA. I want to know how they feel, why they act the way they do and how they work. Relationships give my life meaning because each relationship helps quench my thirst for understanding of the unknown.

I also build relationships because only through them can I experience a certain range of emotions. The emotion of worry entails a sense of matter. I worry about my family, my friends, and my teammates because they all mean a great significance to me, whether because they feed me, help me win soccer games or know my deepest darkest secrets. These people matter to me and by matter, I mean that each of them gives my life some sort of purpose. I believe that the same thing happens when others worry about me, that I matter to them and that I give them a purpose. This kind of reaction expands to other emotions as well. Hate, love, and anger all represent different feelings but draw the same response from me, that I have a purpose. The sense of purpose is something that only the emotions of a relationship can build and this feeling is what keeps me going through life.

Some people view life in a hugely pessimistic manner. They believe that most of our hours are dark and dismal and that the bright hours of happiness are rare, but I don't like this view. I refuse to believe that I struggle through life only to enjoy hours that are few and far between because honestly, I couldn't live like that. I view life the other way. I am living in a world where the dark hours are dimmed by the ones that have burst open.

So what creates my hours of happiness then? Getting a new car? Eating the best sushi? No. People. People are what give me my hours of happiness. The power of my relationships with other people though is that they don't just offer me hours of happiness here and there; no, they offer me boundless hours of happiness. For example, my relationship with my mom doesn't make me happy only a few times a year. Rather, I am constantly happy when I am with her. She becomes happy when she watches my sports games and I become happy when I see her in the stands. The potency of our relationship is the potential of happiness. The verity that our happiness can always expand is what keeps me so involved in the relationship.

Relationships are something for me to explore, give me a feeling of purpose, and create my happiness. They are my "x" to the grand question of what keeps me alive.

Undergraduate / "The Human Experience" Why Columbia? Supp [NEW]

The question is pretty simple: Why Columbia? and all in 1500 characters. I revamped my essay from my former one to focus more about specific things. Comments and criticism are all very much loved.

P: I'm right on 1500 characters.

The Core becomes really significant in your life," says my Columbia officer, "Alumni from thirty years ago still discuss the things they learned." Freeze it. Right there, that was the moment.

The Core first caught me with its academic side. Interested in far too many things, I browse through street fashion articles and play with the ideas of kinetic energy. With the Core, that's fine. I can keep my obsessions while simultaneously discovering new ones. The Core will expose to aspects I haven't seen yet of the subjects that I love.

There's more though. As my representative hinted, the Core will become a network connecting me to current students as well as all Columbia alumni. For me, someone who revels in interacting with people, it's a dream. I want that experience of discussing the Symposium by Plato with a graduate from four decades ago, learning from not just him but his era. I firmly believe that conversation with others is what truly elevates any academic experience and Columbia stands unrivaled in this field. With the school's booming student body diversity, I'll find people from all cultures and backgrounds to argue and sympathize with. The professors are renowned for their accessibility as well as their achievements. Then there's New York City, access to over eight million people at once.

While the academic rigor of Columbia draws me in, there's also the human experience of endless chatters and discussions. Thirty years? I'll be talking about Columbia for a lifetime.

Undergraduate / "I'm That Guy" -Why Chicago? Supplement [NEW]

Here's the prompt for this essay: How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to Chicago.

The limit is supposed to be one to two paragraphs but I know that UofChi is very flexible with whatever length. My main concerns are:

1. Too generic? Do I get specific enough?
2. Should I reword the essay to go along with the theme of me and UofChi like two of the same people?

Thanks for your time and definitely will read back.

Yeah, I'm that guy. The one who replaces talk about Fantasy Draft picks with talk about Thoreau. The one who incorporates book quotes into daily conversation; "I'm...tired" I'll say in a voice reminiscent of Pete from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The one who is hesitant at choosing essay topics because he likes all of them too much. I'm that guy. At the same though, I feel like if University of Chicago took human form, he'd be that kind of a guy too.

Interested in far too many things, I browse through street fashion articles and play with the ideas of kinetic energy. I adore the nuances of Invisible Man and engross myself into readings about the Cuban Missile Crisis. With the Core, that's no problem. As an Economics major, I can still revel in the lessons of authors like Aristotle and fallen civilizations like the Romans. The Core will expose me to aspects I haven't seen yet of the subjects that I love. Then there are the Interdisciplinary Programs I can access at University of Chicago, like Chicago Studies and Humans Rights. They give me the opportunity to mesh all of my passions together instead of having to choose just one thing, which I'm frankly not very good at. And just in case I have a sudden academic obsession. University of Chicago provides me with so many workshops. You can catch me in "German Philosophy" one night and then "Caribbean Studies" the next. At the University of Chicago, my passion for learning will only be stoked.

While I fall in love with the education at Chicago, I'll fall equally as hard with the community and people. I want to find myself with housemates in the Common Room of Blackstone or Palmer or any Residence Hall really, just musing about whatever crosses our minds. With University of Chicago, conversations become something amazing. It's also people besides the students that promise to make my time at University of Chicago truly remarkable. Though I expect college to be a liberating and independent experience, I'll always have an Advisor to help guide me. The professors aren't world-renowned for just their awards but for their accessibility as well. I've always built personal connections with my teachers and at University of Chicago that won't stop.

An adventure as a Maroon guarantees me so much. I get one of the best educations I can with incredible people on a Gothic inspired campus that I love in a city that I already love. I'll probably leave University of Chicago with more questions than answers. After all, that's what former University of Chicago president Robert Hutchins expected when he said that an education at Chicago had to "unsettle the mind." But until then there's just one question: Will I get in?

Undergraduate / "Invisible Man" Influential Book [5]

This is my essay about Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and its influence on me. I wrote it for the Brown prompt which reads:
"Tell us about an intellectual experience, project, class, or book that has influenced or inspired you."
The limit was 500 words and I'm at 532 sadly. If you could point some things out that would help. Also, my main worry is about the overall flow. Do the ideas connect and make enough sense? Also, I'd like to shorten the education paragraph but don't know how. Ideas?

For me, the unassuming maroon façade of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man belies all the glory that lay within its five hundred and eighty three pages. Maybe that was the only way though. After all, what image could encompass the stirring streets of Harlem, early twentieth century racism, and ultimate betrayal all at once? The book follows a nameless protagonist as he leaves his Deep South home and journeys through the streets of Harlem in the midst of a racial revolution. Though the novel extends across an incredible range of themes like "blindness" and conformity, I've always been captivated by what it's had to say about individuality.

The novel altered how I address my education. The unnamed narrator happily attends a private college that is until the principal, Mr. Bledose, a man who the narrator deeply admires, expels him. During their confrontation, Mr. Bledsoe confesses, "Why, the dumbest black bastard in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie! What kind of education are you getting around here?" (139). Though completely fictional, the incident still haunted me. Here stood a young man, high with ambitions to create societal change, being told that his role model and his education were trying to stop him. His teachings intended to not liberate but only further confine him and his identity. I feared possibly falling into the same position. As a result, nowadays I don't consider everything that comes out of my books and teacher's mouths as truths. Instead, I carefully determine the saliency of what is said based on my aspirations, refusing to let my education make me. That would only compromise my individuality.

Invisible Man also forced me to confront a truth that I had been avoiding. At the end, the narrator describes a gruesome dream in which his enemies castrate him: "They took the bloody blobs and cast them over the bridge" (569). Despite how unbearable, the narrator delights in his loss and says, "I now see that which I couldn't see" (570). The incident cemented to me the idea that great sacrifices would and will have to be made in order for me to retain my individuality. Though I most likely won't have to yield something of that extent, the narrator explains what will most likely happen: "I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest" (572). I will have to brave hostility from others to preserve my individuality and remain true to myself.

"Why all the hoo-hah over individuality if you end up becoming shunned out of society?" you might ask. True individuals are those who change the course of history. Deeming something to be wrong society, true individuals stand outside of it. True individuals are willing to be outcasts in order to change society itself, to carry it in a new direction when no one else dares to.

I now dance precariously with society and the reality that it has created for me, making sure to never succumb too much nor distance myself too far from it. Invisible Man became a how-to guide for me about having the influence on the world that I strive to create.

PS. Do I need the page numbers? hahaha

Undergraduate / "The Embracing Student Body"-Why Yale? Supplement [5]

Here's my Why Yale? Supplement. The limit is 500 characters and I'm right on it at the moment. I know that it's hard to do much with such a short count but I tried my best. Any thoughts would be appreciated. My main worry at the moment is the word "embracing." I feel like it really fails to encompass the student body but I can't really add much. Any ideas?

Maybe it's how I giggled reading about the Naked Run and smiled watching the "Why I Chose Yale" video. Maybe it's how my tour guide waited for me despite my late arrival. It might be all the smiling students I saw flooding the lawn of Old Campus when I walked through. The thing I am sure though is that I want Yale because of its embracing student body. While the teaching I receive at Yale will certainly be outstanding, I know that the students I meet will elevate my experience to another level.

Undergraduate / "My Biggest Mistake - I caused the hurt" Yale Supplemental [2]

So here's my supplemental for Yale. The prompt is pretty much to write anything about myself. The word limit is 500 words and sadly I go over it. I'm about 70 over to be exact. My main concerns are simply:

1. Does the message come through enough?
2. I feel as if I lack "show" and "tell" too much instead. Are there any instances where I could fix that?

3. Are there any sentences that I can combine together just so that it's tighter and more concise?
Thanks for your time and I will definitely return the favor.

"Hey bud," my dad greets me over the phone, "You ready to come down here this weekend?" It's a line that I've heard dozens of times over the recent years, with "come down here" referring to staying at his house in Irvine. I pause for a moment. "I don't want to," I tell my dad straightforwardly. He grunts and loudly shuffles over the phone before replying, "Ok. That's fine. Can you give the phone back to your mom?" I hand it back to her and resume watching cartoons.

I have no recollection of my parent's divorce seeing as how it happened when I was just two, an age in which you can't really recall memories from and where the terms "separation" and "divorce" don't make much sense. My mom took my sister and me with her down to Southern California while my father resided in Seattle. Life continued like this for two years until my dad drastically usurped all he had and moved to Irvine, an hour away from my permanent residence, my mom's house. Suddenly, the man who I only saw on Christmases became a permanent fixture at my school assemblies and piano concerts. He braved the one hour trip across the I-405 and down the I-110 every weekend to watch me huff and puff down soccer fields. And lastly, he would take me and my sister to live with him for the majority of weekends during the year. He strived to become more eminent in the lives of me and my sister and construct the typical "mother-father" environment for us.

Looking back at this period though, I'm only filled with guilt and remorse. Not because of his actions but because of mine. I failed to recognize and appreciate the incredible commitment that my dad showed, affirmed by the one hundred and fifty thousand miles amassed on his Lexus RX300. The older I got the more I detested the weekend trips to his house; "I don't know anybody over there," or "There's nothing to do at dad's house," I protested to my mother. The worst part though was that my selfishness and I often won. I can only imagine how many hours my dad spent alone at his dinner table meant for five. How heartbroken must he have been each time my voice said, "Not this weekend"?

I've realized the hurt caused by my self-centeredness and though I can never compensate for my dad's desolate hours, I can and must try. I've adopted that relentless drive and dedication exhibited by my dad. It is what carries me along the highway when I drive to soccer practice an hour away and what kept me up all night with Kippy, my Tourette's Camp camper, when he couldn't fall asleep because of his bug paranoia. I also carry that intent of my dad's to be involved as much as possible in the lives of those who matter to me. Family dinners take the place of my top priorities and I always make time for foodventures with friends.

Nowadays, my dad has found a different outlet to pour his commitment into, his new family consisting of my five and seven year old sisters, while I have to the inescapable college applications and school to distract me. Nevertheless, assuming that both of our unwavering devotions continue, a trip to his house can't be that far away.

Undergraduate / "The Mindset" Why Engineering?-Columbia Supplement [3]

Here's my supplement for the Columbia supp that simply says Why Engineering? The limit is 1500 characters and I'm pretty much on it right now. My worries and concerns are listed after the essay so that they don't influence you:

Maybe it began with my parents. As my dad walked me through the endless rows of embroidery machines that he owned, my mom would spend hours explaining how she coordinated her workers with customer demands. Or maybe Jeffrey started it. Him being too little to construct the monstrous Lego and train sets that he bought, the duty often fell to me. I'll probably never know the exact source of my fascination with concepts like resourcefulness and design, but I do know that with engineering, I can continue this passion.

The quantitative and analytical mindset of an engineer perfectly suits how I think. I love seeing things build off of each other and how simple ideas can collaborate into larger ones. Molded out of a "never settle" attitude, I don't view things just in the realm of what they have achieved but also in the realm of what they can achieve. While my ceramics teacher Mrs. Webster praised my porcelain vase, I instead focused on the wayward centering and asked myself how I could fix that. An engineering degree will teach me how to break down problems and build the best solutions to them through the lens of the almighty three E's: effectiveness, economic, and efficiency.

My mom says I worry about too many things. I stress over things like improper government spending, lack of access to clean water and food, and the best route to get to my friend's birthday party. Though I may never solve all of them, becoming an engineer gives me the best chance to try.

1. My main worry is whether this essay is strong enough. I've never really had an AH-HA moment that other people tend to have when it comes down to why I want to be an engineer. It's just sort of popped up as the proper degree to pursue for my intended goals.

2. Any other comments and such?

Thank you so much for your time and effort.

Undergraduate / "The Eccentricity" Why Brown Supplement [4]

Here's my answer to the Brown prompt of Please tell us more about your interest in Brown. Why does Brown appeal to you as a college option? Who or what has influenced your decision to apply?

The limit is supposed to be 1000 char and currently mine's at 1047. I'm not too worried but it'd be helpful if you could point out a thing or two to shorten. My aim was to not talk about the New Curriculum and stereotypical stuff that everyone else seems to do. Opinions, criticisms, anything would be loved. Thanks!

I remember that I was the only one who laughed at my tour guide's pH scale joke about Sciences Library. As I chuckled to myself, my group of thirty remained silent. Sure, it was nerdy but it was so me and at the same time, so Brown. That moment of pure correlated quirkiness between me and Brown both sparked and confirmed my love for the school.

I have my own brand of eccentricity, sharpened by sudden midnight drives, an obsession with Slurpees, and a growing array of socks, that I know will seamlessly fit with uniqueness of Brown. The university won't ask me to change but instead embrace what I offer. Also, with my Tourette's Syndrome, I've developed an outlook that doubts the traditional. It's the kind of "never settle" mindset that Brown is built off of, seen in how its student body fights for its right to hold the Naked Donut Run and against its fear of the university becoming too corporate. It's not just Brown's outstanding educational offerings but also its one-of-a-kind energy that have bred my infatuation for the school.

Undergraduate / "the interconnectedness of the Core" What Appeals To Me About Columbia [4]

First off, thank you so much for your time for looking at this supplement. I would love some serious criticism because I know that I talk about things alot of people probably will but these honestly are what attract me to Columbia the most. My thing is around 1700 words so if you see spots for change please share. Thanks again and link me your essays and I will surely read them.

PS: Yeah, I know the ending is terribly cliche and sappy. Any ideas?
PSS: I wanted to go into detail about why I want Columbia for my engineering major but I mean, isn't that what the engineering essay is for?

After trudging up and down the East Coast for several days, bogged down by spring showers, I arrived at the gates of Columbia drenched not in water but in sunshine. The clouds had surprisingly opened up, as if someone up above wanted me to view Columbia in its entirety. The silence among the university's buildings startled me first. Having just adjusted to the outside blur of car horns and footsteps, I was delighted with this calmness, not just because it was immediate relief but because such a thing existed in New York City. Columbia would become my sanctuary. Then came the buildings themselves. The mesmerizing bricks of the undergraduate housing contrasted against the stunning granite of Low Memorial. I can't imagine myself forming world-shattering theories or having overflowing study parties anywhere else than on the steps of Low and in the halls of Hartley.

I'm also in love with the intellectual offerings that lie under Columbia's façade, most notably the Core. I love the rigidity of energy conservation while at the same adore the nuances of Invisible Man. I engross myself into readings about the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as articles about street fashion. The Core allows me to maintain my obsessions while simultaneously helping me discover new ones. It'll expose me to aspects I haven't seen yet of the subjects that I love. Most importantly to me though is the interconnectedness of the Core. Not just the one on campus, but the one that encompasses every Columbia alumni. I want that experience of seamlessly conversing about the Symposium by Plato with a graduate from four decades ago. For someone like me who revels in meeting and interacting with people, the Core stands unrivaled.

Each day in Columbia will be me living the life I love.