Undergraduate / "the robotics club" - JHU What extracurricular activities do you plan on joining? [2]

In contrast with Johns Hopkins, a student at any high school spends around thirty hours a week learning, and probably less sleeping. I'm not worried about this transition into freedom though; Johns Hopkins has more than enough activities to keep me occupied.

Fencing has been a passion of mine since freshman year, and I know I can confidently join the Johns Hopkins fencing team with their record in past years. Running has been a hobby of mine since I can last remember, but I didn't join our track team until last year. I ended up loving the sport and I would also love to continue it at Johns Hopkins. The resulting pride in all the hard work I put into that spring felt too good to pass it up. I have also played frisbee since eighth grade, and I was co-captain this year, so I plan on joining the frisbee club at John Hopkins next year.

Along with the various sports I've been a part of, I was also part of the lego robotics club this year. We built and repaired robots made out of legos for recreational purposes, and I feel I can put a lot of aid towards the goals of the robotics club at Johns Hopkins. I have also become the president of the astronomy club here after three years of contribution, and I hope to continue my interest for the subject through the astronomy club there as well.

See? It's not that hard to stay busy.

I realize its a bit like a list but I have no clue how to go about writing these essays in any other way, if you guys have any tips that would be appreciated. And before you mention it, the concluding sentence is a good break from what (i thought) was a bit of a drab essay, so i think it should stay there.

Undergraduate / "I used to giggle at doctors" - JHU Supplement #1 [6]

Johns Hopkins offers 50 majors across the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. On this application, we ask you to identify one or two that you might like to pursue here. Why did you choose the way you did? If you are undecided, why didn't you choose? (If any past courses or academic experience influenced your decision, you may include them in your essay.)

When I was little I used to giggle at doctors while they were talking about me. I remember one poking at the stomach on a poster as they explained to me that my acid reflux was because my esophageal sphincter was contracting incorrectly. The things they said, while they didn't always make perfect sense to me at the time, intrigued me because I was learning about how my body works. As a result, I have always aspired to do something in the field of medicine. While it was one of the harder classes, biology was definitely one of the more interesting experiences in my sophomore year. Learning about genetics and the functions of cells always got me excited to leave lunch so I could get to my biology class, and the double labs were nothing short of fun. That interest transitioned into my junior year during anatomy class. Not only did the information we were taught come to me easily, but it was also the only class in which I would stay awake after those sleepless nights that happened so consistently, just because the subject matter was so exciting to me. I even stayed late afterschool one day to continue dissecting the fetal pigs we were given. My strengths lie in the field of natural sciences, but my interests also lie in the field of philosophy. Reading Nietzsche in seventh grade gave me an entirely new viewpoint on life, and I would like to experience the same at Johns Hopkins.

The two majors I picked were biology and philosophy - I feel like the philosophy point was really rushed in comparison to the biology points, but then I really just find philosophy interesting and I don't have much to back up my reasoning for it so maybe two sentences on it is enough? Any advice would be appreciated

Undergraduate / "my father wants so badly for me to succeed" - Short Common Application Essay [6]

This is the 'describe a significant experience' one. I feel like at the moment something is missing between the third and last sentence. Any ideas? The word limit is 150, by the way.

Last year I discovered personally why my father wants so badly for me to succeed. It's because sheetrock is very, very heavy. Working with him on private construction jobs opened my back to a whole new world of pain the likes of which many a construction worker has certainly experienced before me. While lifting heavy objects does not mean I am more prepared for college academically, it does mean I have gained motivation to not flop out and fail classes, lest my back flops out on me if I'm stuck lifting bricks when I'm eighty.