Undergraduate / Common Application ("Growing up as an atheist") [7]

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

Any advice is welcome!
Thanks

Growing up as an atheist in a community of super-religious Mormons, it was difficult to not feel excluded. On Sundays, I could ride my bike down the largest roads in town because, quite simply, there was nobody driving around. All my friends and their families were in church, which left me alone in rural suburbia wondering why I was different than everyone else.

In Smithfield, where I was raised, an overwhelming majority of the population was Mormon and they were such a closely knit community that it was very difficult for anyone to fit in without being a devout member of the church. My father was once a Mormon, but had since grown a grudge against anyone who even mentioned religion and my mother had abandoned her faith after a childhood spent in Catholic schools. I, as a child, was torn between the beliefs of my family and my community and confused as to why I felt pressured to choose one over the other.

I had many an awkward conversation with my friends who tried every week or so to "save me" and there came a point at which I was almost willing to convert just to fit in. The desire to be accepted by my community was so overwhelming that I joined the local church-affiliated scout troop, knowing all too well that I would be a prime target for even more pressure to integrate into the church culture. However, the more meetings I attended and the more hymns I sang, the less comfortable I felt in my community. It gradually became clear that though my lack of membership in the church would always serve as a barrier to being accepted by some, my true friends could see past our ideological differences. No longer did the empty streets on Sunday seem so depressing, for Mormonism was no longer an entity that needed to be embraced or fought, but was simply a part of the world around me. I never concluded that my parents were right and my friends were wrong or that religion was foolish and not something I should embrace, but rather that the only way to happiness was peaceful coexistence and being comfortable with oneself.

The lessons I learned from my childhood experiences in Utah allow me to better accept the beliefs of others. One person can never judge another based upon their beliefs because each person in unique and I try and make every effort to not impose my principles upon others. After fourteen years in Utah, my family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. I was amazed by the immense socioeconomic, racial and ideological diversity and the ability of those around me to accept it. I am proud that I have learned to accept others for who they are and I strive to always act in a way that I see as right instead of conforming to the beliefs of others.

Undergraduate / CORNELL SUPPLEMENT, College of Arts and Sciences (Chemistry) [7]

Any advice is appriciated!
Thanks

College of Arts and Sciences:

Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to further explore your interests, intended major, or field of study.

Chemistry with Mrs. Ammons was the stuff of legends. Even walking by her room, one could sense the fear, stress and frustration of everyone inside. Her class was like the flu: the only solace was that it had to be over eventually. I was struggling in chemistry because I could never relate it to the real world; however, that all changed after doing a lab one day. In this particular lab, we were given sodium bicarbonate, acetic acid, and plastic bag of unknown volume and assigned to react the two chemicals in such a way that enough carbon dioxide would be produced to fill up the bag completely. What?!? It took all of five seconds for my lab group to give up and accept yet another failing lab grade, but I was determined to prove to Mrs. Ammons that I was a force to be dealt with. The next day I came equipped with a carefully drawn out schematic that detailed exactly how the desired results could be achieved. To my surprise, we made a perfect grade. Though I knew that certain traits of nature could be predicted, as I had been doing all my life, it seemed like almost a privilege this time. Rocks fall to the ground when dropped and cookbooks burn if they get too close to the burner but I had learned those particular laws of nature through observation; now I could use my knowledge of science and mathematical calculations to predict something I had never imagined or seen before. It was as if I had been given the right to look into the engine of Mother Nature and configure it to achieve any number of results. This marked the beginning of an ongoing quest to better understand the world around me through the study of science.

We are taught to thank our family for what we have, but what about nitrogen, carbon, hemoglobin, DNA polymerase or even mucus. By deciphering each of these biological switches, something I strive to do, one could perhaps understand exactly what it means to be human. It seems almost profane to say that the most valued of human traits, love and compassion among them, are simply the products of a complex series of chemical interactions in the body. Through the study of medicine, this information could be used to cure and understand the many ailments that afflict humans. The diverse number of programs and research opportunities at Cornell University's College of Arts and Science will allow me to explore my interest in both chemistry and biology as I complete my pre-med requirements. The renowned research facilities and the highly respected professors will enable me to gain the knowledge necessary to pursue the answer to the mystery of the human body and apply that knowledge to improving our quality of life in some small way.