Undergraduate / common app experience. "changing lives one build at a time' [4]

for thee common app i have to expand on a extra curricular activity. please edit!

"Today will be a high of 98 degrees, with a heat index of 115 degrees." Oh no, I thought. The weather of the day was the last thing I wanted to hear in the car on the way to my worksite. This summer, I traveled to New Orleans to rebuild houses for victims of hurricane Katrina. From nine to five, my group swung axes, dug dirt, and hung drywall in order to prepare a house that would be habitable for a family. I have to admit, the first day was the worst. Not used to the heat, or the work for that matter, I felt like I wanted to give up and fly home that day. However, after personally meeting some families and visiting different run-down neighborhoods, it really opened my eyes. I never knew how bad the damage was, and still is. I feel grateful for all that I have and look for new opportunities to help more in New Orleans.

Undergraduate / "my three month stay in the hospital" -evaluate a signifcant experience in your life [3]

Common App Prompt 1:Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

the minimum is 250..is what i have too long?
pleasee help thanks so much

Imagine waking up every morning, struggling to get out of bed. You feel tired and weak as you make your way over to the mirror. Criticizing every curve and crevice of your body the words, "ugly, fat, worthless" run through your head. Next, it is time to decide what the mood of your day will be. When you stumble into the bathroom, even with the lights off, the faint silhouette of the scale is all you can see. Your best friend; your enemy. That one small number can ruin or make your day. If it has decreased, the feeling of success will ruin through your body; however, any increase, no matter how small, will crush you. The thoughts and feelings of uselessness will take over for the whole day.

I never realized how much an eating disorder could take over someone's life, until I had one. There is no clear-cut reason why I developed an eating disorder, but being a high school girl who plays sports, there is no avoiding the talks and comparisons about looks and weights. My life consisted of school and the gym. There was no time for anything else: friends, family, enjoying life. As my disorder grew, the only thing that was important to me at the time was how I looked and acted around others, and my weight. No matter how many people asked me to hang out on the weekends, I always felt lost and alone. There was no one I could turn to, if I told anyone they would want, or make, me get help. I did not want help. I wanted to be thin.

For me, it was not just about the not eating. I would devote up to three, maybe four hours at the gym every day. No matter what. I was driven, but for all the wrong things. As weeks and months passed, I became week and tired, yet I carried on with my daily routine of no eating, gym, and occasionally sleeping. To my surprise-and (thankfulness)-no body confronted me about my behavior. Eventually, my coach caught on; I was frail and could not set the volleyball as far as before. She informed my mom and in no time she admitted me to Sheppard Pratt: Center for Eating Disorders.

"Because you need to." This response ran through my brain over and over, still, I could not fully grasp that thought. Because I needed to. It just did not make sense; why? When I responded with "why" to my nutritionist that was all she had to say. Most people described the hospital a jail. We had strict daytime and night time schedules, and the nurse staff watched every little move I made. I told my nutritionist, "If I am going to live under these rules AND give up the one thing in my life I can control, I need answers." Silence. The only other response I would get? "Because you are sick." I will never forget those four words. As true and meaningless as they sound, they had the biggest impact on me as a victim of an eating disorder.

I realized throughout my three month stay in the hospital that the only people who could truly help were the other patients. No counselor, nutritionist, therapist, or nurse could help in the way I, as well as other teenagers, needed. To the staff, we were patients, not people. They each had the same one goal in mind: to "cure" us. Especially when dealing with a disease, I do not believe anybody would accept treatment as someone without feelings. This got me thinking, what can I do to help? As a teenager, there is not much. I began to help my therapist with any events she planned for the Eating Disorder Network of Maryland (EDN). However, I do not want to stop there. Not much is around in the area about helping others and eating disorder awareness, so I thought I could make a career out of it.

The major of exercise sciences and/or nutrition came to mind. Yes, I endured anorexia, but the bigger part of my disorder was compulsive exercise. I believe that by majoring in exercise science, as well as possibly nutrition, I could help other teens or adults suffering the same tribulations I did. In my recovery, I saw that each person in the hospital with me, either with the same disorder or not, found it easier to talk and receive help from one another instead of the staff. My experience made me realize how much I wanted to make a living out of solely helping others, and provide them with information that I wish I found out about sooner.

Even though this process was hard, and I never want to go through it again nor wish anyone else to go through it, I feel I am a much better person because of it. I take into consideration people's feelings more, since I did that a lot with other teenagers in the facility. Furthermore, I became a stronger individual. I am much happier with myself, and I have more courage than ever to stand up to anything. Helen Keller once said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." I certainly feel as though I suffered, but I over came it and have a stronger outlook on life and how important it is.

Undergraduate / "Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you" -Personal Statement on major [7]

Prompt: "Education and Life: A Personal Statement." In this essay you should discuss your educational goals, including why you wish to study your chosen major.

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are." -Bernice Johnson Reagon

I sat quietly and looked at the confused faces around the table staring at me. That was the response I received when I first shared the idea that I wanted to major in the field of either exercise science or nutrition. I understood this confusion. I was suffering from anorexia and compulsive exercise, put in an overnight rehab clinic, and I was in my first group therapy session expressing the idea of being a nutrition or exercise science major. Looking back, I know that sounded absurd. How could one who obviously does not know the proper way to eat or exercise succeed in a career centered on those ideas? However, like the quote mentions, I did not think of my eating disorder as a challenge which would "paralyze" me. I took this difficult and painful experience and tried turning it into something positive. Throughout my rehabilitation experience, I only thought of it as a bump in the road, and i began to discover who I am.

As someone with a complicated background, I believe I have much to offer to others in the community. I am quiet and reserved to people who do not know me; however, my friends, family, and anyone else meet describe me as loud, silly, and energetic. The idea of pursuing a career in on of these majors really excites me because after spending months in the center for my disorder, I want to give back and share all that I have learned through those months, as well as the years before, after and during my anguish.

i feel like i should add more.
any edits welcome!!
is there another direction i should go?

THANK YOU TO ANY COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, EDITS, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.