Undergraduate / Common App Essay - People Watching [2]

This is my response to the Common App Essay... I think it fits under the 'Topic of your Choice' prompt, as I can't seem to link it to any of the others... Looking to get rid of 124 characters, so strong criticism is welcome!! I AM SUBMITTING THIS TOMORROW PLEASE HELP!!

Crisp winter air made me grateful for the seat above the radiator of the coffee shop as I sipped from the paper cup before me. Staring through the window of my hideaway, I was captured by the town. The buildings of Stafford have forever impressed me: old and beautiful; majestic; grand; but that day the architecture was not what held my gaze. Instead, I sat and watched the flow of faces pass by the glass in front of mine and began to imagine the stories they hide.

I've always loved watching people, silently observing, making mental notes; inventing stories, lives, reasons. If you watch a person long enough you start to see the things that compose them. A slight twitch. A nervous tic. A shifting gaze. Or that tiny smile that plays across their lips when they think of somebody else: things that they do when they think nobody's looking. It's these secret things that intrigue me. I find something fascinating about looking at someone and actually seeing them, and knowing that they harbor so many stories and worlds beneath vacant expressions. I wonder about their lives and ponder my own: What do people see when I don't think they're looking? What is it they notice first? Which attributes compose me? It is this thought that causes me to evaluate my choices and actions constantly, and that makes me strive to be a better person.

I can sit in that coffee shop for hours. Oblivious to my observations people continue to pass, showing glimpses of themselves without realizing. I don't think it's possible to hate someone if you watch them long enough. Once you begin to see the things they keep only for them, their worlds begin to reveal themselves.

Although, watching can only divulge so much; to truly discover a person, one must do more than simply look at them. I think this is why I love to meet new people and try new things; I am powered by an insatiable curiosity. I yearn to discover more, to learn more, not only about people and their personal worlds, but about the world I live in; the world around me. It's this endless fascination with people: how they think; how they act; what they hide; what they don't, that compelled me to study psychology at A-Level. The depth and wonder of the human mind never ceases to amaze me and keep me incredibly interested in the people, and world, around me.

I've noticed this curiosity be reflected in my artwork; hidden and contained emotions are a major theme to my studies; in my music taste, which is as diverse as the people I surround myself with, and in my drive to reach out across an ocean to discover and learn: to further my education and try to satisfy my hunger to know.

So yeah, I need to shorten it...please help!
and also, should I give it a title? or not?

Undergraduate / 'aesthetic perfection' Short Answer AND Artist statement for Hamilton [3]

Hi! I'm new to this personal essay stuff...we don't do much of it in England! haha I appreciate any advice/criticism of these two... Not too sure what's meant to be included in an artist's statement, but I don't want the two to be too similar... THANKS!!

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum).

The harsh glare of the desk lamp casts abstract shadows across the cup of cold coffee and clogged-up paintbrushes on the chipped table before me. At 3 o'clock in the morning, sleep beckons. I ignore it. Instead I open myself up. Through subtle flicks of the wrist and twirls of a brush my feelings are unleashed. To me, art is the single most noble of creative professions: an outlet for self-expression. Art allows me to expose and learn about myself and, through the perspectives, experience and emotion of other artists, grow not only as an artist, but as a person too. The manipulation of emotion through carefully crafted aesthetic perfection, to me, is one of the most important and inspiring thing we do as humans.

Artist's Statement

Art is self-expression. Art is emotion. Art is a viewpoint, a vehicle, a thought, a moment, a release. I paint to relax and, once I begin, I am gripped and strive for perfection. For a release. For an outcome, with something just short of obsession.

I have never really been taught how to use paint, it's always been a case of experimenting, learning from mistakes, trying again. I think this is a good way to learn: to know yourself exactly why certain things don't work and others do. I am always trying to be better, in my work and ideas; my art and my life. I hope to continue this personal growth at Hamilton College.

Previously, I was toying with this paragraph, but I don't know how to fit it in?? helppp!:
Raw inspiration can be captured almost immediately with the pencil: the most basic of an artist's tools, so I usually begin a piece with rough pencil sketches, composed of many lines and let my eyes pick out the right ones. I think this initial mapping-out of a piece is very important; my old art teacher used to say, "A painting is only as good as the drawing beneath it."

Thanks!

Undergraduate / 'interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum' - Why the College Of Wooster? [4]

Ok so this is my response to the 500 character essay. I'm 121 characters over (a student told me to put the last bit in haha!) and don't really know if this is the right way to tackle the question? I'm fromthe UK and would be an international student, so should I mention that? Thanks for any help,

Dani

Why are you interested in the College Of Wooster?
Early in my college search I learned that I wanted to study at a liberal arts college. Collaboration between faculty and undergraduate students, a sense of community, and the flexible, interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum are all important to me; Wooster seems to offer all this and more: high quality education and a prestigious independent study program coupled with a diverse community of dedicated people who love to learn all nestled up in rural Ohio. I believe Wooster would enable me to apply myself in ways I haven't before and, ultimately help me find my true niche in the liberal arts. I also love kilts.