Undergraduate / Common App Extracirricular Essay: Mock Trial [3]

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

The Essay:

Mock Trial is a competition in which teams from different schools compete against each other to either defend or prosecute a party in a court of law. Participants in the program must be well-versed in all rules, regulations, and protocols in order to succeed in this intellectual full-contact sport. Questions must be fluid yet concise, objections and their responses must be known to the letter, and closing statements must be delivered with the force of a Shakespearean soliloquy. An attourney must learn to wield their words skillfully so as to chip away at the other side's story while reinforcing their own. I know from experience that a mock trial attourney must eat, sleep, and breathe their craft. Your case packet becomes your Bible. Your questions must be fabricated with the utmost concern to detail. Your fellow teammates become siblings. You see your attourney coach more than you see your parents. You don't feel like yourself until you're up on the podium, questioning away.

I joined my school's mock trial program in fall 2011, just in time for the season. In a few short weeks, I went from new recruit to capable attourney, brushing aside other hopefuls for the chance to go up before a judge and compete. Practices started as mere bi-weekly affairs, but by trial season, they were tri-weekly, six-hour odysseys. But hard work inevitably paid off, and our team made it to the county's top 5. So far this year, I'm working even harder, thirsting for a chance at county finals. I will do my best to get there.

Mock trial has changed the way I think and behave. Perhaps the most profound change was work ethic; never before in my life have I worked so doggedly. But it has also influenced the way I view the world and the way others view me. It has allowed me to comprehend complex arguments with greater ease, and to be a better public speaker. These skills were something that no class would have given me, and that no teacher would have bothered to teach me.

I am the arbiter of my own edification. Before mock trial, I thought that I was receiving and excellent education. Once I joined, I saw what I had been missing. I think I might just be born to be a lawyer.

This is what I have so far. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!