Undergraduate / 'Design and Steve Jobs' - Stanford What matters to you and why? [3]

About to submit my Stanford application. Just finishing up my last application -- would appreciate some last-minute feedback!

Nearly everything in this world is designed -- and design is not only how something looks; it's how it works. But few things are designed well. What is designed well is what makes the world amazing. One of the most salient dimensions of who you are as a designer, is simply the way in which you view the world -- we look at something, and think, "Why is it this way? Why is it this way and not that way?" And through this lens, we always search for improvement.

Earlier this year, I read Steve Jobs's official biography. No question, it is a wonderful book. But what really struck me was the degree at which I was emotionally impacted. I realized that Jobs, Jony Ive, the entire Apple organization -- they're part of the reason I love design, the reason I was able to make it this far. But more importantly, Steve Jobs is the reason I thought I could.

Prior to reading Jobs's story, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do. I wanted to major in business. But I realized -- I don't want to sit exclusively on the business end. I want to be on the creative and technological side, too. I want to be the designer who creates the next iPhone, the next MacBook Pro, the next iMac. I want to create something amazing, for everyone -- something that everyone can enjoy, something that everyone can appreciate and revel in. And I'm not sure that I would have discovered this, had I not read the tale of Apple, Steve Jobs, and Jony Ive.

What matters to me is excellence. Not only in design, but if I do something, and it isn't great, and I can't make it great, I'll throw it out, and start over. This is what makes design special, unique almost ... the possibilities are truly endless, and all you can do is improve.

Undergraduate / 'Autodidacticism' - Stanford Intellectual Vitality Supplement [6]

I'm somewhat of wary about the topic...

At some point, maybe around seventh or eighth grade, I realized that I could learn nearly anything that I wanted to. And I started focusing on things I truly had a desire to learn. I stopped wasting time on trivial matters, and spent every unoccupied second learning. I was no longer limited by the boundaries of a school curriculum, and I could venture into the unknown, with nothing to lose.

These forays actually started much earlier, though not on a conscious level. When I was nine years old, I was on holiday in St. Barts. I had just returned from a local jeweler, where I'd bargained for a pack of leather strings and a tray of leftover metal scraps. That night, I set about designing bracelets and necklaces, and my nine-year-old self reveled in my creations. I sold them on the beach, and returned home one hundred euros richer.

From there, I began to dabble in a number of rudimentary activities. At nine, I learned the algorithms necessary for solving a Rubik's Cube, and by the end of the day, I was able to solve it in around a minute.

My first real endeavor was Photoshop - it took a few months to grasp its roots, but now, I've mastered the program inside and out. Later, I tackled Illustrator, which wasn't much of a challenge given it and Photoshop's homogeneous features.

Recently, I developed an interest in architecture - specifically modern architecture. So I began teaching myself Cinema 4D, which I also use to manufacture digital product designs. In an attempt to broaden my linguistic arsenal, I speak with friends in France and Germany fairly often, in their respective languages. Latterly, I've been drafting business models, and figuring out the art of piano playing.

I've always loved fully grasping a concept, or mastering an ability. What I've realized is that success is simply the fruit of failure. Almost nothing I've done has been achieved without failed attempts - and what I love, is that you can set them on the workbench, and move on.

Undergraduate / 'easy going and fun guy' - Stanford roommate essay - Multifaceted [4]

Will revise a bit more, and I may drop the list, but here's what I have so far:

I am presumably one of the most multifaceted people you will encounter this week! I'm fluent in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Cinema 4D, I have a fundamental understanding of HTML and CSS, and I can land a 720 nosegrab on a snowboard. I'm fairly adventurous - I've launched myself off of eighty-foot cliffs into subzero waters, swum through underwater caves off the coast of St. Barts, and soared off of thirty-foot jumps (the unfortunate source of a minor concussion). I play a few instruments, namely drums, and my piano skills are steadily improving. I'm also relatively skilled in interior design, so expect a pretty awesome dorm room.

(Don't get me wrong, I also love learning.)

A few, possibly interesting, facts:
- I grew up in Manhattan, and I've always loved cities.
- My first flight was to Switzerland, at a few weeks old, and I've loved traveling (and flying) ever since I can remember.
- I play tennis, soccer, golf, basketball, I wakeboard, slalom water ski, and I haven't done it in a while, but I can ski too.

- Breaking Bad, House, Dexter, and The Big Bang Theory rank among my favorite TV shows.
- My iTunes library is eight thousand songs strong, and includes everything from Beethoven to U2 to Jay-Z.
- I have friends in San Francisco, Los Angeles, The Netherlands, France, Spain, England, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, and New York, obviously.
- Heavenly / Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places in the world.

I would say I'm a pretty easy going and fun guy to be around, and I can assure you some memorable times. An added plus: if you're an engineer, into business, computer science, whatever, we can build a product or company, and test the waters of Silicon Valley.

Cheers,
Christian

Undergraduate / Working for Microsoft - Common App Main Essay [2]

Applying to Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, NYU and a few others. Just finishing up my common app essay:

In seventh grade, I bought an iPod touch, just after Christmas. But as the screen lit up, I noticed this one icon - the Settings icon, I think - and I hated it. I even went so far as to call Apple. It looked like someone gave up halfway through the design. So I decided to fix it on my own. I'd always had an eye for design; all I needed was a Photoshop skill set.

When I was fourteen, I built my first iPhone application. I met an iPhone developer online, Emilio Peláez - a Computer Science major from Mexico City - whom I quickly befriended. We spent hours, endless nights, discussing ideas for the perfect cocktail of design and functionality. And then we found it. And it was staring us in the face the entire time: we would bring back the classic iPod click wheel - but on the iPhone.

We spent a few months designing and developing iClassic, which would later accrue upwards of 50,000 downloads. Within a week of its release, I was able to purchase a MacBook Pro, which soon became the hub of my entrepreneurial endeavors.

From there, I decided to build a website, a personal portfolio. A couple of weeks later, I had a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and a bit of JavaScript. Another week or two passed, and I had settled on a design. When I finally published the website, there was this massive influx of e-mails. I remember someone had tweeted about the website's launch - someone with a few hundred thousand followers - and I was receiving something like ten job offers an hour.

The first project I accepted was with Kettle, a design firm based in lower Manhattan. I worked on the iPad application for Christie's Real Estate. Eventually, I began receiving e-mails from some larger companies:

"I noticed your work, and I am very impressed. I was wondering if you'd like to talk about coming to work for Apple."

"I just stumbled across your website, and really enjoyed looking through your portfolio. I was hoping you might be interested in a position at Google Ventures."

Unfortunately, most required a relocation. In early 2011, I accepted a job offer from Microsoft. We worked out a remote employment deal, and by June, I had started working thirty-hour weeks. And what was great about this was that I could travel, which I love like nothing else. That summer, I had flown to Switzerland for a two-week snowboarding trip, and amidst hurtling down the Alps, I was building the next Microsoft Office, and designing Windows 8.

Now, I'm doing more than I've ever done. I'm building three companies, working for Microsoft, mastering Cinema 4D. Hell, I'm even teaching myself piano and three languages, and I'm relatively proficient in the culinary realm. But what I really want to do, what I'm determined to do - in the words of Jony Ive, I want to enjoy the celebration of making something great, for everyone.

Undergraduate / "stay hungry, stay foolish" - Common App Essay - Steve Jobs Influence [4]

Applying to Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, NYU and a few others. This is a pretty early draft of one of my college essays. Doesn't really flow/connect at the moment, just wanted to get some feedback - deadline, as I'm sure you're aware, is in a few days.

I have nothing to lose, and I love it. I was offered a job with Microsoft earlier this year, and I decided to accept. But nothing is stopping me from handing in my resignation when I please. I don't have a family to support, and I don't have bills to pay. What I do have is ambition.

A few years ago, Steve Jobs said something that really struck a chord with me: "... you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." And that's what I'm doing. I want to discover what I really love. And I don't know what it is yet, but I certainly won't rest on my laurels until it presents itself.

I want to go to college because I want to see where it will take me. I don't need to go to college - I want to. I want to meet great people, learn something, and have a good time. And along the way, I want to do something that matters - I want to enjoy the celebration of making something fantastic for everyone. I'll always have at least one vocation to fall back on, so why not.

For the creative and the ambitious, we're plagued with difficulties different from those of most. We fear stagnancy, we fear becoming complacent, and losing all that we've built up. So we keep going, and to quote The Whole Earth Catalog, we "stay hungry, stay foolish."