Undergraduate / Brown- Carpe Diem - Inspiration Essay [5]

What is an academic experience, project, class or book that has influenced or inspired you?

"Carpe Diem", or seize the day. What does this saying mean? Songs, movies, teachers, and parents profess this saying on numerous occasions, but is it actually applicable? Is this term saying that you only have one life to live and therefore you should seize it, and make the most of the opportunities that come your way? Is that its only meaning? These aforementioned questions were some of the many unanswered questions that plagued my life before I read "The Stranger" by Albert Camus.

In this novel, one of Camus main focuses is on the "absurdity of the human condition." This absurdity refers to the idea that life is a precious gift that we are given only once. Despite receiving this gift though, it will always be snatched from us because death is unavoidable. This reasoning made me wonder, since every human being is destined to follow this path of events, does this mean that we are all innately the same? What makes me different from my father, my cousin, or my friend? After completing "The Stranger" the majority of my questions were answered by a tiny, yet powerful word: actions. It is our actions that separate us from one another and make us who we are.

Since reading "The Stranger", I now understand a new meaning of "Carpe Diem." Yes, seizing the day can mean grabbing hold of your life and taking actions that allow you to fully live your life, but to me, seizing the day is so much more. Carpe Diem is more about taking the actions in life that are a benefit to others and which affect the world around you. Now in no way am I saying that the actions you should take should always affect others on a grand scale such as achieving world peace. On the contrary, the actions I'm more talking about are the simple tasks such as holding a door open for an elderly lady, volunteering at a local soup kitchen even if it's only for an hour, or even a simple hug when someone is having a bad day. "The Stranger" has helped me realize that seizing the day is not buying the clothes you've always wanted or taking a risk by running for class council. Instead, it's about helping the community around you and taking non self-centered actions that when you look back on them, make you proud. It's making a difference and doing what is right in a world in which our days are numbered. So I say to you, "Carpe Diem." Seize your life and make the decisions that years from now, you equate to feelings of pride as you remember your role in this world.

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Undergraduate / Yale: Your choice essay. "My Gift" [4]

Prompt: You have already told us about yourself in the Common Application, with its list of activities, the Short Answer, and the Personal Essay. While we leave the topic of your second essay entirely up to you, try telling us something about yourself that you believe we cannot learn elsewhere in your application. Please limit yourself to fewer than 500 words.

My Gift

"Can you put these shapes together for me?" the lady asked. "Sure" I respond with a sigh. I thought to myself, "I'm pulled out of recess to put some shapes together and press a couple of buttons? Why am I doing this? Is it because I talk too much? Does every fourth grader go through this? Is something wrong with me?"

To clarify, the aforementioned tests are some of the many neuropsychological tests used to determine if an individual has ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. When my parents received the results of this testing a few weeks later, I was diagnosed with ADHD. It was then that many absurd events from my early school days such as receiving a "timeout" on the first day of kindergarten, a task that seems near impossible, began to make sense. Looking beyond that day of tests though, I am glad I was pulled out of recess. If I had not been tested, I would not have been able to get to where I am today because my diagnosis of ADHD has allowed me to understand and accept myself but more importantly, it has allowed me to become aware of the gift I possess.

Now despite ADHD being a gift, it has also been somewhat of a curse at times. I would be lying if I said my life has been smooth sailing since I received my diagnosis and that I hadn't thought about taking my own life a couple of times. My struggles with different medication combinations and dosages, the unpleasant side effects, as well as the terrible depression and anxiety disorder that coincides with my ADHD has been a rough road for me. But if given the choice to remove ADHD, I would without a doubt choose to keep it.

The reason for this choice is that these aforementioned details are not what I truly care about or what immediately come to mind when I think of ADHD. Instead, I think of the wonderful personal qualities that ADHD characterized me to be. I think of the unlimited energy I have to use for good, the endless smile I possess for a downcast individual, how I'm willing to try anything, how I never hold grudges, how I'm sensitive, loving, warm-hearted and understanding, how I'm crazy, outgoing, and downright spontaneous. These are just a few of the endless attributes that ADHD has constituted me to be and I would not trade them for the world. With this gift of ADHD, I am able to do vast amounts of good, whether it be giving a gloomy person a hug without being asked, giving my coat to a homeless man on the street or simply providing job security to the makers of spell check. ADHD is my gift I can give to the world.

I'm strugging with this essay. Any help to make it better?

I need help with coming up with a conclusion. Any ideas? Also grammar, ideas, anything I can do to make this essay any better. Thanks