Scholarship / Conversation with Jesus-Jimmy Rane Foundation Scholarship [3]

THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT!! PLEASE BE HARSH!!
If you could hold a conversation with someone (living or deceased) you consider significant, who would you talk to and what would you talk about? Describe your conversation.

Cast all anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
That him is referring to Jesus Christ, an undeniably influential figure in the history of mankind. Depending on one's religious views, one may consider Jesus a prophet, charlatan, teacher, or creator of the universe. I believe the latter. Nonetheless, there is no negating the influence he has had on development of society, and still continues to have to this present day. Jesus has personally influenced the life of myriads of people since the creation of mankind; he has had a great influence as people thousands of years before his existence awaited his birth, and he continues to have a magnificently large influence on people in the present that are awaiting his return. Thus, having a conversation with him would greatly clear up some points on the mysteries of mankind.

There are numerous things that I would want to discuss with Jesus, most of them having to do with denominations within the same religion. There have been numerous problems and acts of violence for hundreds of years all relating to slightly different beliefs in religious doctrine. I'm not even referring to the differences between completely different religions; I'm referring to the walled barriers that have been slowly constructed around slightly different beliefs within a religion- barriers that have established numerous different religious denominations. The way Jesus answers questions about denominations would have an undeniably large effect on the Christ-believing church; it would provide all Christians, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Presbytarian, a reason to unite instead of separate.

To begin with, I'd ask Jesus about the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the ritual of breaking bread and drinking wine in commemoration of how Jesus shed his blood so that mankind's sins would be forgiven. Catholics fervently believe that when one celebrates the Eucharist, the bread utilized, upon consumed, literally turns into the body of Christ. Similarly, they believe that the wine drank with the bread turns into the blood of Christ. On the contrary, Protestants believe that the Eucharist is solely symbolic and none of the food products consumed actually turn into Christ. However, I can imagine that if I were to ask Jesus about how the Eucharist were to be celebrated, I'm sure he would prove both the Catholics and Christian's arguments futile as he would probably state, with love radiating out of his eyes, "child, all that matters is that you believe in the Eucharist. I commanded for you to do this, and the fact that you have obeyed me is all that matters to me." Then, I can only begin to fathom the sadness in his eyes as he would explain that the Eucharist was intended as a show of love and discipleship towards our creator, yet our imperfect sinful human ways have transformed it into a reason for self-righteous debate between different denominations. Jesus would probably explain to me that the Eucharist, just like various other things related to him, was meant to be a mystery that our frail human minds can't grasp. Thus, we shouldn't arrogantly be debating about it as if we were omniscient enough to actually understand it; we should be more humble about it, stop questioning it, and just do it.

The Eucharist is only one of a myriad of differences that have caused disunity in the Christian church. Another major difference in doctrine between the Protestant and Catholic Church that I would want to discuss with Jesus is the different views regarding the correct time of Baptism. There is no question that the Bible has ordered all of Jesus' believers to be baptized, but when? The Catholic Church fervently believes that the Baptism of a human being is a sacrament that which regenerates and justifies one's belief in Jesus. Thus it should be done as soon as possible, even promptly after birth. On the opposing side of the Spectrum, Protestants believe that Baptism is a testimony of a prior regeneration after trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Though the two meanings of Baptism sound almost indifferentiable, the slight difference is enough to cause monstrous debates between denominations. Unlike Catholics, Protestants believe that one should be baptized later in life when one has been "born again." One isn't born again until puts full trust in Jesus Christ, a step required to join the family of God. Since one can't grasp this concept when one is an infant, Protestants shun Catholics for baptizing their children at such an early age. If I were to ask Jesus about this in our hypothetical conversation, I'm sure he would give me an answer similar to that of the one given to me regarding the Eucharist. Jesus would probably chuckle at my question of "what is the right way to get baptized?" He would probably remind me of his famous statement in the Bible, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." "Remember when I said this?" I can imagine him asking me, "well, the only guidelines I left for Baptism is that one must be baptized by water. The rest I left up to you guys to decide." I'd sigh in relief at this statement as my Baptism has always been a source of anxiety for me. I was baptized in the Catholic Church yet I now attend a Protestant church. I have been urged by the Pastor and other leading figures in my church to get baptized again, but I ardently believe that Baptism is something that should only be done once. Therefore, I'd be extremely relieved to hear that I've made the right decision in not being baptized again if Jesus were to tell me that what he said about Baptism was meant to be taken as a guideline.

I am an advocate of Christian unity. I believe that it is arrogant of human beings to believe that we posses enough knowledge to truly dictate what it right and wrong in our religion. God is the final judge; we are imperfect and sinful and therefore unable to judge anything ourselves. We should accept the Christian doctrine provided to us with humility instead of using it to create divisions. If I were presented with an opportunity to converse with Jesus, this is what our conversation would mainly consist of. But must our society wait for a conversation with Jesus to unite us? Shouldn't we be united anyway? After all, as I would tell Jesus in our conversation, "isn't our mutual love for you, our creator, enough to unite us?" Doesn't that trump all denominational differences?

Scholarship / International Cultural Festival- Jimmy Rane Foundation Scholarship essay [2]

Topic: Do you see yourself as a leader or one who is more comfortable working behind the scenes? Explain.
This is for the Jimmy Rane Foundation Scholarship.
Any criticism will be greatly appreciated, this is only a ROUGH DRAFT :)
I looked around the room, scanning the facial expressions of all the officers. It was hard to believe that just months ago, the "Green Team" had solely been a tentative but seemingly overly ambitious idea bouncing around in our heads. Now, thanks to our unrelenting efforts, we had managed to not just start a club-but start a "green" revolution. The Green Team had, after much persistence, convinced the school's administrative staff to allow the installment of recycling bins in every classroom. The Green Team had also, through massive campaigning, influenced the majority of students to ditch plastic bottles in favor of reusable water bottles. Thus, how could Green Team not take advantage of this new challenge and use it as a time to grow? "It's too difficult." Morgan solemnly stated, "We'd never pull it off in time." I frowned, disappointed at the lack of faith the officers were displaying in a club that we'd given birth to. However, their lack of faith only strengthened my desire to not only prove that the team could push through this- but that it could thrive through this. I cleared my throat. "I'll be in charge of the International Festival stand; I'll do it by myself if I have to." "However," I stated, anyone's help would be greatly appreciated. Slowly, Karli and Nahisha meekly raised their hands. "We will help," they shyly muttered in unison. Then Vanessa raised her hand. "I'll help with anything prior to the date but I'll be busy the day of." "That's fine!" I exclaimed. "Anything will help!" I smiled. I knew my team could be counted on.

The International Cultural Festival is an annual tradition at Thomas Jefferson High School. Each year, various school clubs and schoolteachers choose a country or theme to display at a stand in the festival. Each stand offers food, colorful displays, and even games, dances, and costumed people. It is a folkloric way to celebrate the fact that our school is an international magnet academy teeming with myriads of different ethnicities. Usually, stands take months of planning and careful preparation to perfect, but due to our busy schedules, the team had just gathered to discuss the upcoming International Festival less than two weeks before its actual date. The short amount of time left until the festival was what had caused the team to doubt its own capabilities. But I had never doubted.

I couldn't commence my preparation of the stand before I asked permission from our club sponsor, Mrs. Devars. I was terrified yet convinced that she would disagree with our hasty participation in one of the year's most anticipated events; I practiced what I would say to defend my case on my way to her classroom. When I finished informing Mrs. Devars of my proposition, I winced in anticipation of the kind but discouraging speech I was surely about to receive. Yet surprisingly, all she did was smile. "I knew you'd be the one to volunteer to do this." She said with a wise, knowing look on her face. "If it was anyone else, I'd be worried; but I know you can pull it off." I sighed in relief, knowing I'd just accomplished the most difficult task. "One more question," Mrs. Devars said. "What's your topic going to be?" "The benefits of all-natural and organic food," I proudly stated. I could tell by Mrs.Devars'face expression that she was not the least bit surprised.

The next ten days probably one of the busiest days of my life. But I didn't mind, as this stand was going to give me a much desired opportunity to radiate my preference of the organic lifestyle towards others. Everyone already called me the organic girl. Maybe soon, they'd be calling Jefferson "the organic school." This thought is what kept me going after five out of the six supermarkets I'd visited had refused to provide us with food donations, saying they were unable to do so under such short notice. Publix was the only place that had helped us with the little that they could. I humbly received a bag of organic blue corn chips and salsa from them, forever grateful for their small but meaningful donation. Finally, when my hope was beginning to waver, I decided to try asking for donations at one last place: Evo's, an all-natural fast food chain. When I spoke to the manager, I expected to receive the usual "I'm sorry we can't help you, you should've asked earlier" tirade. Instead, I received an order confirmation of a gargantuan platter of air-baked cage-free grain-fed chicken strips and sauces; the order would be ready the day of the festival! I rejoiced in the generosity of Evo's. Our main dish problem had been solved, now we just needed the rest of the food and displays. I put Vanessa in charge of the posters and and asked Karli to accompany me to the grocery store to purchase the rest of the food items. I purchased ingredients to make organic pasta with tomato sauce, organic chocolate-chip cookies, and organic sugar cookies. Karli was in charge of boiling the noodles and picking up the order of chicken strips the day of the festival and I was in charge of making the pasta sauce and the cookies. The night before the festival, I sacrificed sleep in favor of perfecting the tomato sauce and making sure the hundreds of cookies I baked were not only delectable but also visually appealing. This was more difficult than I'd expected as I had never made tomato sauce in my life and I had no recipe for it either. Also, I had to be exorbitantly careful with the cookies; if they baked for more than 8 minutes they would become overly crunchy when cooled, but if they baked less than 8 minutes they would fall apart. By the time the sun began to rise again, I was convinced I could pass any cookie-baking or sauce-creating test thrown at me.

The day of the festival was an exciting, energetic day. Karli, Nahisha, Vanessa, and I began to set up the stand as soon as the bell rang to signify that the school day was over. When Vanessa showed me the posters, I frowned. Our school's SGA (Student Government Association) was in charge of creating posters for any special occasion if requested. Vanessa's busy schedule hadn't given her the time to create the posters herself so she had assigned this imperative duty to SGA. SGA didn't have much time to create outstanding posters as they were busy with their own stand at the international festival as well. This resulted in couple of overly simplistic, undecorated posters. The stands surrounding us had various creative, beautiful posters; no one else had ordered theirs from SGA. I sighed. Any attempts at making new posters would be futile because of the time constraints; we were going to have to utilize what we had and make it work. Thus, I decided to go with a "minimalist theme" and make it seem like the undecorated posters on giant sheets of brown paper were created this way on purpose.

When the festival began, hundreds of students flocked to our stand, following the delicious smell of freshly prepared chicken strips. As they filled their plates with pasta, chicken, and cookies, I explained to them that organic and natural food was not only healthy, but delicious as well. I reached an indescribably high peak of joy every time I got to see one of my peers face expression's change from distrust and slight terror to happiness and amazement when they bit into a chicken strip or a cookie. I watched their misconception of organic food being bland and tasteless shatter with every slurp of noodles swallowed. Needless to say, our stand was a success. At the end of the night, Mrs. Devars came by our stand to congratulate us on our achievement. Mariana, a Green Team officer that hadn't been able to help with the stand, came by to agree with Ms. Devars. "It's all thanks to Arianna's initiative. If it wasn't for her leadership abilities, Green Team would've never had a stand." I smiled as I realized what I was: a leader.

Scholarship / methods of dealing with negativity (McDonalds Essay) [2]

McDonalds Essay: Please include a personal statement detailing how you have acted as an exemplary role model in your community and the initiative you have taken to fulfill your educational goals.

I arrived in the US as a non-English-speaking seven-year-old. My mother, who's a single mom, had to constantly abandon me in day-care for hours while she scrubbed the toilets of wealthy people. We lived in a minuscule room that we shared with one other person; the room was located in a high-crime area. The rocky commencement to living our "American Dream" is what inspired me to become a Community Adviser and volunteer at the Florida Institute for Community Studies Multicultural center. At FICS, we focus on helping minority groups adjust and thrive in our community. We specifically target children from the high-crime area I used to reside in. Every afternoon at our free daycare service, we tutor myriads of children who can't comprehend English, much less read it.

Also, at the FICS Community Adviser meetings, we've given birth to an idea that will revolutionize the way teenagers are viewed in society. Various adults associate the word teenagers with trouble, rowdiness, and disrespect. However, most teenagers that partake in atrocious activities do it because they've been raised in malicious environments. Take, for example, my two closest friends: one had an alcoholic single mom whom she'd often find passed out in the bathroom; the other had a single mom who was always either at her boyfriend's house or at work. Out of lack of a nurturing environment, my friends eventually succumbed to drugs. One was eventually kicked out of her house; she was forced to go live with her father, an ex-drug dealer. The other was murdered in a drug-deal gone wrong. These were very difficult things to witness, and though I tried to halt their wrongdoings, my attempts were futile. However, if they had been given an opportunity to do selfless acts for the community, and had obtained the much needed praise and attention that they lacked at home, they would've been more inclined to make better decisions. This is why we (Community Advisers) created the "A Nicer Tampa Bay" organization. The organization consists of people wearing bracelets inscribed with "I made Tampa Bay nicer." Every time someone does something kind for a bracelet-wearer, the bracelet is passed on to the Good Samaritan, with instructions to pass it on to the next Good Samaritan. This organization has been featured in Creative Loafing Magazine and Fox News. It has even been chosen a finalist in the CTB's 10:100:1000 Challenge.

The success of A Nicer Tampa Bay inspired me and my peers to create an organization in school to promote a healthy environment. Green Team has accomplished much since its birth; it's responsible for the recycling bins located in every classroom, the water-sampling stands that inspired students to ditch bottled water in favor of reusable water bottles, and the organic food stand at our school's annual international festival. Though I am proud of every "Green" accomplishment, I am exorbitantly proud of the organic food stand. I brought this idea to life because I 'm a fervent believer in the healing properties of natural foods, supplements, and treatments. For example, thanks to the ph-balancing properties of organic apple cider vinegar, I no longer have to spend my weekends in the E.R. holding back my mother's hair as she vomits because of her intense stomach pain. And thanks to my organic Calcium-fortified diet and twenty-one hours of weekly intensive chiropractic treatment at home and in the chiropractor's office located in another city, I've been able to avoid a life-altering spine surgery. Therefore, I am exceptionally grateful to Mother Nature's purest forms of food. With the Organic food stand, I strive to share my positive outlook on organic living with my peers by offering them free samples of delicious organic versions of typical American food, like pasta and chicken strips. It is astounding to watch my peers' faces radically change from one of disgust and distrust to one of delightful amazement as they shatter their misconception that food can't simultaneously be organic, healthy, and delicious.

I wasn't always this passionate about organic living. When I was a child, my mother and I would walk to the street across our apartment complex every Friday. This street held junk-food galore. We'd devour greasy pizza and burgers, blissfully unaware of the negative toll these foods were taking on our bodies. When our arteries started screaming "stop!" we'd rapidly silence them with another fry. Afterward, we'd walk to the K-Mart across the street. My mom was utterly convinced that rapidly walking around a few isles would somehow erase the calories she'd just gained. Meanwhile, I'd sit in the book section, devouring as much knowledge as I could. Thanks to K-Mart I learned how tornadoes form, the role of enzymes in our digestive system, who the Virginia Dynasty presidents were, and a myriad other things. Unfortunately, this lovely tradition was brought to a halt when doctor's found what looked like a malign tumor in my mother's left kidney. After a major surgery to extract the tumor, the doctor gave us the blessed news that the tumor had been benign. However, we were instructed to halt our consumption of fatty foods as a precaution. This frightening experience has inspired me to participate in various cancer-related walks and fundraisers as a commemoration for those who were not as lucky as we were to walk out of the O.R. with good news.

In life, there are two methods of dealing with negativity: continuing it with more negativity or utilizing it as inspiration to do wonderful things. I strive to accomplish the latter. This has not only helped me attain a leadership role in my community, it's also fueled my ardent passion for academic greatness. My academic goal for this year is to become a National AP scholar, and I know this is possible because through avid studying and diligence I've achieved the highest standardized tests scores (AP, SAT & ACT) in my school. I hope to utilize the academic and leadership skills I've attained to prepare me for a fulfilling career in Integrative Medicine.

Undergraduate / Eat,Pray, Love- UVa supp [4]

UV Prompt: Describe how a work of art or literature has influenced you.
I raised my eyebrows, chuckled, and outright laughed hysterically throughout the book. It wasn't considered a "classic" work of literature like Little Women, or an extraneously challenging read like War and Peace; it was simply a comical memoir-a memoir powerful enough to radically alter the way I view the world. The book was Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love.I'm a devout Christian -or at least I ardently attempt to be. However, I've never highly approved of denominations; to me, Catholic, Episcopal, and Baptist are all synonymous for "loving God". But whenever anyone dared to venture outside the shell of Christianity, my mind would commence to bubble in judgmental turmoil and subconscious shunning. I'd been raised that way; it was in my blood. So I was utterly astounded when, through Eat, Pray, Love, I learned that what Christians call "getting closer to God", Buddhists and Hindus call "meditation." The book revealed that the miraculous sensations that embraced Mother Teresa when she reached her spiritual peak when silently praying to get closer to God were the same sensations as those experienced by Buddhists and Hindus thoroughly meditating. But how could it be that the religions I'd been taught to ostracize because of their wrong beliefs were able to experience the same level of spiritual bliss as experienced by the most fervent of Christian believers? I also read that Muslims, whom unfortunately America stereotypically and wrongfully portrays as terrorists, were actually so avid in their faith that they halt whatever activity they are partaking five times a day to pray. While I'd already learned about this in my AP World History course, it was reinforced in a new context in this book. I realized that I, as a Christian, had never committed to such a dedicated act of respect towards God like Muslims had. Ashamed, I took off the blindfold that had been blocking my view of different religions, and I realized that the majority of religions are just striving towards the same thing: blissful harmony with God. While I will always thoroughly believe in Christianity, who am I to judge others on their different methods of reaching God? Thanks to Eat, Pray, Love I've realized that only God has the power to dictate that. As Mother Teresa said,"There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I've always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic."

Undergraduate / Shape me by shaping others- Brown RD Essay supplements [3]

Please be harsh!!
1.If I could do something w/o the risk of failing, I would...

Only apply to Brown.Brown is my dream school; it has a myriad of tools that'll help me help the world. Also, I wouldn't have to spend my whole savings account on college-application-related fees.

2.What is something you created that makes you especially proud, and why?

I set up an organic food stand at an International Festival.This made me especially proud because I was able to share my fervent passion about natural foods and simultaneously promote the importance of a proper diet. Many people visited the stand with the predisposed notion that organic food is strange and not as pleasant tasting as its "conventional" counterpart. I was able to watch people's facial expressions, and consequently their opinions, radically transform from skepticism to enlightenment as they sampled free-range chicken strips and organic pasta. People left my stand with the realization that food can be healthy and tasty, helping me fulfill my goal of improving community health.

3.We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you.

My friends and I have created a "Green Team" in hopes of radiating our love of "Terra Mater" throughout our school. Our first accomplishment was installing recycling bins in every classroom. We have to empty the bins twice a week, and we've transformed this boring chore into a time for the Team to brainstorm new "green" ideas. This allows our creativity to bloom, flooding our minds with revolutionary propositions. It was during this time that we decided to have a fundraiser for a forest preservation organization; it was also during this time that we decided to create a stand where passing students could sample bottled waters and tap water. Most of the school then ditched bottled water in favor of reusable water bottles! Successes like these have helped me intertwine my passion for the "organic lifestyle" with similar earth-friendly passions of others who also strive to simultaneously better the community and the planet. The Team has shaped me by helping me shape the lives of others.

4.C. Compare your life to a roller coaster. Shiekra, the nation's first roller coaster to have a 90 degree drop, is highly overrated; it represents a lifestyle I shun. Before its first drop, riders are suspended 200 feet above land for 6 seconds. The high altitude permits riders to view the entire Tampa area; the bustling downtown with its majestic buildings, the architecturally grandiose highways, and the lush urban forests make for jaw-dropping scenery. However, riders always forsake taking pleasure in their ethereal surroundings in favor of staring at the frightening upcoming drop, and soon the ride is over. But what's the purpose of this? What quality of life can be achieved if one solely focuses on the upcoming unavoidable "downfalls" of life instead of enjoying the beauties of the journey through it? My mom is a very sickly woman; if I were to focus on her unavoidable sick days looming in the horizon, I'd live a tempestuous life. Montu, however, epitomizes my life. It doesn't have a specific amount of defining events, like Shiekra's two 90 degree drops; its astounding beauty lies in the finished product as a whole. Its small loops represent those simple moments of pleasure that warm the soul, and though drops sometimes immediately precede them, one is so entrenched in enjoying loops that drops solely serve as a reminder of how blessed one is to have loops. As I write this, I resemble Montu as I rejoice with my mom about our Peruvian Christmas tradition of opening gifts at midnight. We have placed her recently diagnosed metaplasia (in layman's terms, precancerous cells) at the back of our minds for now, for I'd rather rejoice in loops than ponder upcoming steep drops. Montu's drops precede turns because negative circumstances serve to guide one to one's correct path; which explains how my mom's battle with illnesses has inspired my pursuit of a health career. Elements like these combine to make a perfect rollercoaster, and my imperfect, but beautiful life.

Undergraduate / School Brochures- Vassar Supp to the common app [2]

Starting sophomore year, I began to receive myriads of school brochures every day. I became slightly frightened of my mailbox, as I sometimes felt that opening it would cause its contents to fall out and engulf me. Senior year, when I became a Questbridge college match finalist, while perusing through Questbridge partner schools, I stumbled upon Vassar. I was familiar with the rest of the Questbridge partner schools as they had flooded me with mail. However, I'd never heard a peep from Vassar. My relationship with Vassar commenced with a psychological desire to seek out what hadn't shown interest in me; in other words, to "want what I can't have." Now I must make a rapid clarification; I am aware of the fact that mailed brochures don't indicate a school's interest in a student. In fact, I know that school flyers exist solely to help the student become more interested in a school, not the other way around. Nonetheless, I couldn't help feeling slightly insulted.

As I researched the school that had "ignored" me, I began to realize its utter magnificence, marveling at the irony that the school that seemed to possess the most positive qualities was the one that I would've never heard of was it not for Questbridge. Various aspects of Vassar grabbed my attention; whether it was the Alumnae house where my mom could bunk in if she desired to visit, or the Andean Worlds class that could help me expand on the knowledge I currently held about my ancestors. Vassar begin to epitomize a land of opportunities, a place that would help me soar and reach the peak of my academic prowess. With Vassar, I could venture outside my preferred-major bubble and explore classes that would've been an unfathomable option at other schools, classes like Nutrition and Exercise, where I'd express my love of nutrition by discussing the inflammatory health benefits of the little known Sacha Inchi oil. If I don't obtain the grade I desire and I've filled out the Non-Recorded option for this class, I can simply eradicate my grade! No longer would grade repercussions halt me from exploring a class that has the potential to be utterly engrossing to me! In addition to letting me peruse every academic habitat available until I find my own niche, Vassar would also allow me to participate in extracurricular activities that I could only dream of at other schools. For example, I could rent a small plot of land in the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, where I'd plant carrots and basil June through September, Chicories September and October, and whatever other seasonal produce my heart desires. I'd utilize my humble crops to create mouth-watering dishes that I'd proudly display at Vassar's HOWBOWT Organic Art Festival (From my research, I wasn't able to conclude if HOWBOWT has become an annual event, or only happened in 2009. If it only occurred in 2009, I will ardently work towards re-establishing it), because to me, the creation of mouth-watering platters is a type of art as well. I would use this display to spread the word about the importance of consuming organic food-not only to our bodies but to our beloved planet as well. This wouldn't be difficult as I've already done this in a local festival in my city. In addition to utilizing my garden for earth-friendly purposes, I would also utilize it to plant various types of antioxidant-filled herbs; I'd create tea infusions with these herbs and share them with my peers at 3o'clock- the time every Brewer reserves for soul-warming tea at the Rose Parlor.

Vassar encompasses everything I desire in a school. With Vassar, I'd be able to carve out my own path in life, one that no one has ever dared to venture upon. As Vassar creator Matthew Vassar once wisely stated, "If we only follow on in the old beaten paths, we will make no progress. We do no more than others have done before us. We are only copyists and not progressionists. My motto is progress." And so is mine.

Undergraduate / Eating Guinea Pigs-Penn Optional [3]

heres my penn optional :)
150 words): introduce yourself to Penn. Our aim is to better understand how your identity, talents, and background guide your day-to-day experiences.
My classmates stared with incriminating disgust. "You've eaten Guinea pig?!?" I nodded. "And frog, snail, buffalo, and rabbit." Now I'd caught my teacher's attention; her face had disfigured, radiating utter repulsion. Accustomed to this reaction, I smiled nonchalantly. Guinea Pig is considered the "prime rib" of Peru, an utmost delicacy. Peru has an infinite supply of exotic foods, so why Guinea pig? Because Peruvians, like me, know that it's what lies beneath the surface that counts. At first sight, these "pigs" are just pet rats. However, inside these rodents lies a tender, savory meat that can be compared to no other. This eating habit, and other unique facets of my culture, has taught me to venture upon every unexplored option- no matter how unfathomable it may seem, or how much it deviates from what society considers "normality," because a delicacy of life may be lurking anywhere, waiting to be discovered.

..

Undergraduate / Making Brownies to help cure cancer: Bowdoin Supplement [5]

In an effort to understand your interests and aspirations for college, we ask you to select one of the three topics below and provide a response of

up to 250 words. Please include your name and birth date at the top of the page.
Bowdoin students and alumni often cite world-class faculty and opportunities for intellectual engagement, the College's commitment to the
Common Good, and the special quality of life on the coast of Maine as important aspects of the Bowdoin experience.
Reflecting on your own interests and experiences, please comment on one of the following:
1. Intellectual engagement
2. The Common Good
3. Connection to place
1, Intellectual engagement
I plopped into my couch with my permanent companion, my APUSH textbook. It was 10:00p.m.; I was exhausted. I felt like a battery whose energy had been drained. Thursdays were difficult for me; it took an extraneous effort not melt into hibernation after three consecutive days of driving to my chiropractor in Palm Harbor, a city an hour away. The phone rang, and I lazily answered. "Can you whip up some goodies for tomorrow? We're having a fundraiser, and your treats always fly!" "Of course!" I exclaimed. My night instantly brightened; I danced around my kitchen gathering ingredients; oatmeal, spinach, apples. I'd bake oatmeal cookies, chocolate muffins sweetened with applesauce, and brownies moisturized with spinach puree instead of butter. At 1:00a.m., my mother peeked into the kitchen, frowning. "Why can't you just purchase cookies from the bakery? After this you'll have to do your homework and you'll end up staying up all night like a vampire." I receive the same lecture every time I commence "kitchen duty"; the only thing that varies is the metaphor. My mother doesn't comprehend that baking is how I strive towards the common good. I constantly donate baked goods to FICS, a multicultural center dedicated to serving minorities. It's my way to intertwine my love of nutrition with my passion for helping others. My schedule doesn't permit me to do much "conventional" community service, and my age and resources don't allow me to cure cancer just yet. However, every time someone bites into my brownies, they are unknowingly obtaining a flavonoid boost from the spinach- and flavonoids help prevent cancer.