Undergraduate / So here I am - I am ready to be a Carl: WHY CARLETON ? [7]

Why are you interested in Carleton College and how did this interest develop?
Limited in 500 characters.
I know it is not a brilliant essay and I know it is risky to write why essay so frankly. Can anyone help me make it more impressive?

For me, I have always wanted to be a media person to help build and shape the public value. I find CAMS Department perfect for me because few colleges provide this major to help me further chase my dream. With the progressive and open-minded environment, Carleton becomes my best place to spend my next four essential years.

A welcome video called "Life is good at Carleton" writes in the end: See you next year with a better self. So here I am - I am ready to be a Carl.

Undergraduate / "I gaze at the sunset with the woman I love and think, F8 at 1/2"; personal stateme [7]

Plz be harsh D:

"I gaze at the sunset with the woman I love and think, F8 at 1/250." - Canon Print Advertisement.

Funny words, but it is true. Photographers truly look at things from different aspects. They are calculating the aperture sizes and shutter speeds even in the most romantic atmosphere, trying to seek the best combinations of these elements. Yet beyond the principles photography fans should memorize, I have learned more.

At first I took great pleasure in photography as a tyro with neither professional equipments nor exquisite skills. Once I participated in a photography competition which required me to take pictures every day. With my small Sony camera, I recorded every single element of my daily life. Sometimes a blooming rose, sometimes the clouds in eccentric shapes, or just the smiling face of my friends.

Yet gradually things changed.

I began feeling stressful to be judged by others due to the presence of my schoolmates who were able to create works of profound message. Therefore I struggled to dig out deeper nature of my images. That was a period I took lots of pictures and later deleted them all merely because they seemed superficial to me. Like stuck in the middle of the bottleneck, I didn't know how to solve the predicament. I could not help considering taking photos as a burden for I have not experienced the innocent merriness since then.

Fortunately, I had the chance to be a volunteer in Nepal this summer holiday. I worked in a local orphanage, mainly looking after the homeless kids. One day, Olegan, the youngest boy in the house, asked me shyly to take photos of him. I accepted his request without hesitation. He stood in front of me and suddenly jumped up. In a muddle, I snapped several shots of him. Then he ran up to me to check the photos and laughed excitedly. Curiosity drove me to find out what was going on. To my surprise, Olegan browsed the photos in sequence so quickly that made them seem like a short film! Even a little boy could find the pleasure in the photography while I failed to, why?

Maybe it's time to change my attitude toward photography. I suddenly realized that this art can have quite simple meaning. I deviated from my original way because I put too much focus on meaningless connotation. Just as an ostentatiously designed vase, so my photos lost the soul inside. Bottomline, it is the feeling contained in the picture that makes it vivid and alive.

Peter Adams once said, "Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field". After all, it is the photography that helps me remember the landscapes I have seen, the things I have been through, and the people I love.

I want to take photos of the friendly regards from strangers when I travel abroad.

I want to record the kiss and exchange of rings in my friends' wedding ceremony.

I want to film my dear son playing football with his peers on the lawn.

I want to make the happiness eternal and share the emotion with all the people.