Undergraduate / Yale short answers - from the why to the personal question [6]

This is my final draft of the Yale Supplement (the short questions). Just wanted to hear your opinion : do they seem to fit, or are they a little bit cliché and superfluous?

Corrections are welcomed as usual :)

What in particular about Yale has influenced your decision to apply?As a person very fond of History, what first appealed to me about Yale was its gothic architecture. Yet, I was mainly persuaded me to apply is its reputation of academic excellence and its offers for an eclectic education that blend Ethics, Politics and Economics in one major. Furthermore, its exchange programmes provide with a vast perspective of the world's diversity that serve as a guide to those whose main goal for the future is a career in International Development.

What would you do with a free afternoon?Feeling that I have neglected my brother lately, I would spend an afternoon with him, probably visiting our favourite bookstore, or eating a sandwich.

Recall a compliment you received that you specially value. What was it? From whom did it come?I know that if I want something done, I should always call you - my employer at the American Embassy of Tirana

If you were to witness one moment in History, what would that be and why?The First French Assembly in 1789, because it would be interesting to witness the intellectual transition of a population kept under the rule of absolutism for centuries.

What do you wish you were better at doing?Considering my passion for colors, details and harmony, I wish I was better at painting.

If you were choosing students to form a Yale class, what question would you ask here that we have not?If you were to live one day as fictional character, who would that character be and why?

Undergraduate / "European Youth Parliament in Albania" - Summer activity I have been involved with [3]

This is my answer to Georgetown's Prompt : In the space available discuss the significance to you of the of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.

Last week, during Herman Van Rompuy's visit on a diplomatic mission to Tirana, I felt very proud of myself when I found out that I could list list all his functions as President of the Council, describe his recent duties within the European Union and even spell his name correctly. Nevertheless, all this information and knowledge that I have gained about Henry Van Rompuy does not derive from my passion for politics, neither from my desire to learn more about that institution to which my country aspires for more than a decade. No, it is but the result of my two year involvement with the European Youth Parliament in Albania and abroad.

Yet, when I think about the European Youth Parliament in itself, the first thing that comes to my mind is not European Politics : it is a group of 250 teenagers, all in a circle, singing "Here we go with the big fat pony, early in the morning". And as ridiculous as it all may sound, one of the most important moments of a EYP session is those two days spent on Teambuilding, where the games, the challenge and the absence of inhibitions change the way you think about friendship and make for a true personality revelation.

And at the same time, EYP is more than just games. It is first and foremost learning about the structure and diversity of the European Union beyond its cultural or legal borders. It is adapting, sleeping in cheap hostels, discussing all night long and defending your ideals in Churches and Parliaments as old as Europe itself. And going from that initial roll in the mud to the suit-up General Assemblies, it is accepting the differences that separates us all and understanding at the same time that, despite our diversities, we are all struggling teenagers building our way into a common future.

All criticism is welcome :)

PS. I kindly ask the Moderators to not merge this post with my post about the Common Application Short answer. Despite the fact that they do describe the same activity they are not the same!

Undergraduate / MUN or Travelling experience - Why Columbia? - Which version is better? [4]

Hello to everyone,

These are two versions of the same question that is part of Columbia's Supplement : Why Columbia? Which one do you think would do a better impression and would provide with a stronger motivation for choosing Columbia.

Corrections and constructive criticism are welcome :)

First Version:

For the first time in my life, I was flying away from Albania. A 7 year old child, crossing the oceanic border that divided my country from the powerful continent. The US seemed so far away and the culture so contrasting to mine that I still hold a distinct impression of towers that penetrated the sky of New York and the fairytale atmosphere of Walt Disney. But, what I remember even more clearly is the statue of a woman holding a book in her lap, arms open and inviting, in front of an imposing white building that was so close and yet so different from the steel that made the Big Apple. Growing up, I knew that my future lay in academic pursuit and I found in my memories a place to start from : Columbia University. The picturesque view, its location just a few minutes from the headquarters of the United Nations, its academic program that incorporates an eclectic education, while never making me chose between my passion for Economics and talent for Politics incorporated everything I was looking for in an institution where I would spend at least 4 years of my life. In a place where international meets the traditional, I found the right balance to prepare for a future career in the International Domain.

Second Version

From my early childhood, I had always known that my future lay in academic pursuit, and upon entering high school I started my search for the place that would fulfil my expectations and prepare me for an upcoming career. To me, finding a university that would incorporate an eclectic education, while never making me chose between my passion for Economics and talent for Politics seemed an impossible deed. A dilemma and an unanswered question, whose answer I found only during my participation at the Model United Nations, where I met a person that much influenced my line of thought : Tienmu, a piece corps volunteer and a former student at Columbia University. Following his advice and doing some personal research of my own, I found out that Columbia did not only encompass the above-mentioned elements that make for an excellent academic environment , but at the same time provided with advantages I had never before considered; starting from its position : it located is but a few minutes from the institution I aspire to work with in the future, the United Nations Headquarters. And above all it offers me the chance to explore a cosmopolitan environment and follow part of my studies at prestigious universities abroad consequently shaping my mind and preparing me for a future in the International domain.

Undergraduate / Essay : The pictures behind my bed-time stories [5]

This is an essay based on a topic of my choice. It is the first of a few ones to come, just wanted to be sure I am on the right track :) If someone could also help me with the 'cutting out' of unnecessary words or sentences - this first draft exceeds the proposed limit by 54 words.

"The pictures behind my bed-time stories"

Somehow, I had never been very fond of movies. I liked the occasional masterpiece that conveyed a message related to some passions of mine or the latest franchise that related to a book I had spent my childhood with. It is not that I was averse to art, on the contrary. It was just that I rarely had the patience to watch a movie to its full extend, they were sometimes to person, or, as was always the case with Albanian movies, they just seemed to portray the same stories, enveloped with different titles.

Because living in Albania means growing up listening to your mother's bedtime "fairytales" about the bloody revenges that still take innocent lives on the north, of the long lines at 5 AM during the Communist era or the conditions that push thousands to illegal immigration. Contemporary problems, or historical realities that make up a considerable part of my formal and informal education were portrayed en masse in most Albanian movies. An almost unhealthy nostalgia that made me averse to national cinematography. And this is why, it was always with passionate scepticism that I followed my friends to their discovery of the latest Albanian franchise.

Yet, if there was something I learned during my life is to never underestimate the power of art to surprise you. I ignored this piece of common-knowledge and forgot that stereotypes are not made to live within humans and their versatile psychology. I sat more than once on the fifth row of the small cinema, unknowingly waiting for what was to be the turning point of the opinion I retained about movies and their individuality. Each time a new story. I looked at the screen, I heard the voice of an actor speaking in broken German, witnessed the pain of a couple divided by political decisions of a suffocating systems and a student's life turned upside down by a senseless vendetta.

I watched the same films more than once. I looked again at the screen with the same awe of a child discovering for the first time a truth he had consciously ignored. We had all discussed these problems in Sociology classes, reprimanding the sometime perpetual necessity of a lost generation to turn back the time and find a way to make their future easier to live. I pretended to understand yet refused to accept their pain. And it was in that dark room one afternoon that it came to me : in Albanian cinematography I so much distrusted I had found the pictures behind my bed-time stories, made me realise that every life has its own history to tell and not two sufferance are the same.

Nowadays, though I still feel a little bit reluctant when invited over to watch a movie, my attitude has changed. Old habits die hard, but thankfully new ideas are even easier to become part of your life. That piece Albanian culture I had rejected turned into my guideline into deciphering the individual destinies of a population I shared but the blood with. Do I know everything now? Of course I don't. Those films were but the beginning of understanding the past and present of something I am a small part of. Because one thing I know for sure : there is no human being to be understood without its identity.

Undergraduate / MUN and EYP - How I spent my last two summers [5]

This is a short essay, based on the prompt offered by Princeton on its supplement : Please tell us how you have spent the last two summer (or vacations between school years), including jobs you have held, if not already detailed on the Common Application.

This is the first draft and I was hoping to write something that incompassed my most important activities, but also what I usually tend to do with my family.

Be as harsh as you need to :)

The traditional Albanian summer vacation precludes two weeks spent by the sea, in company of your closets ones, enjoying the tranquility of the sea and the warmth of the sun, where mundane problems are as untouchable as the horizon that separated the blue sky from the even bluer water. And despite the fact that my family has always been fond of tradition, this is one 'piece' of the Albanian modern culture we have decided to sidetrack. Most of our summer vacations have been spent in between re-discovering our countries' history, exploring the unrivalled mountainous beauty of the north, and enjoying the peacefulness of small lake-town such as Ohrid. A custom we still follow nowadays.

Nevertheless, walking around or just sleeping is not the ideal way I spend my summer, instead I usually dedicate my days to two of my biggest passions : debate and diplomacy. This is why, last year I decided to become part of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) , participating at the 2nd National Selection Conference where I was selected to represent Albania at international session in Frankfurt. And it was indeed in Frankfurt that I spent this August, building friendships with people from all around Europe, discussing current issues that undermine the bedrock of the European Union and debating my ideas in the cradle of Europian Democracy : the Paulskirche. It was so easy to feel that you belonged, in a city where one in three passports is a foreign one , in a city that incorporated everything that is global and modern in the old continent.

While this last summer, I had to divide my time between organizing the 4th National Selection Conference of EYP Albania, preparing for an upcoming Model United Nations and studying for my French and TOEFL exam. One day looking for sponsorship and building a strong programme for the EYP session and the other creating a resolution on Japan's foreign policy and trying to find potential allies, these activities made me feel connected with the outside world, learning more and more as the months passed by. While studying for all the exams, gave me a sense of purpose, since they were my first concrete step towards my academic future.

Undergraduate / The European Youth Parliament - Common App. Short Answer [5]

This is my first draft for the Short Answer of the Common Application. All sorts of criticism are welcome :)

When I think about a European Youth Parliament session the first thing that pops in my mind is a group of 250 teenagers, all in a circle, singing "Here we go with the Big Fat Pony". And as ridiculous as it all may sound, Teambuilding was always one of the moments I enjoyed most about the EYP structure : the games, the challenge and the lack of restriction that made for a true personality revelation. On the other hand, EYP is more than that; going from a roll in the mud, to the suit-up general assemblies, it is a way of understanding Europe and its political structure beyond the geographical or cultural borders. It is adapting, sleeping in cheap hostels and discovering that despite our diversities we are all in the very end, teenagers struggling towards a better future and the European Youth Parliament is our common beginning.