Undergraduate / Occidental Supplements (Why?/Interests/Idiosyncrasy) [3]

I'd appreciate some feedback for these essays. Thanks in advance.

There are thousands of colleges and universities. Why are you applying to Occidental? In your opinion, what distinguishes it from your other choices?
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Former Occidental President Ted Mitchell once said that Oxy is an institution of "intimate scale and infinite scope," a statement that embodies everything that I seek in higher education.

The intimate scale of Oxy's campus lends itself nicely to a learning environment that fosters a close relationship between student and professor. In high school, many of my classes were quite large, so it was hard to have thought-provoking discussions. I received much of the material through lectures, which I find generally lend themselves to rote memorization rather than critical thinking. On the other hand, small classes lend themselves to discussing ideas, a method of learning that I find to be the most effective for me because I enjoy the challenge of thinking about ideas on a deeper level. At Oxy, I can trust that my classes will foster engaging discussions, knowing that I can more readily access professors as a resource and trade ideas with fellow classmates.

Oxy is a school whose scope lies not in the physical size of its campus, but in the resources that it affords its students. I firmly believe that Study Abroad can help me gain the international experience that is important in becoming better rounded as a world citizen. I also feel Oxy's large scale through the privilege to design my own major, which would allow me the freedom to pursue wherever my interests will take me. Although Oxy's "infinite scope" refers to Oxy's large-scale resources like Study Abroad, I also think Oxy's infinite scope is also in its location. I find that Oxy's location near downtown L.A. is optimal because it is located in a communal setting near a large metropolis. I've always wanted to live near a center of culture, where there's always great musicians playing or a new restaurant to try. At the same time, though, Oxy's immediate surroundings are comfortable and homey, giving a sense of community. Indeed, Oxy is truly where I belong.

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While we realize your interests may change in college, what are your current academic and intellectual curiosities?
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I get a certain joy from reaching an understanding about the culture around me. Naturally, English has always been my favorite subject in school not just because I enjoy reading and analyzing works of literature, but also because the thinking I do in English fosters an understanding of the culture that surrounds me.

Words have always fascinated me with their ability to say one thing and also have underlying meanings. My appreciation for words grew when I read Oedipus Rex. In Oedipus Rex, I saw the beginnings of modern day works that I'd enjoyed in a story about how one man's hubris leads him to his own ultimate downfall. The Wire, one of my favorite dramas, is similar in that characters that have the hubris to challenge an institution, whether it's the drug trade or the politics of Baltimore, are ultimately struck down. It amazes me that Greek authors laid down this blueprint so long ago and that this framework lives on in great works of art today. I also see structural elements of classic tragedy in my favorite kind of music: hip-hop. Like the orator of a Greek tragedy, hip-hop MCs tell stories that can reflect anything from crack cocaine epidemics to his own life in the inner city. Greek tragedies are thousands of years old, but their stories live on through the art they have influenced.

My desire to explore the world through words also lends itself to why I love journalism. In the classroom, I analyze ancient texts, but as a journalist, I have a responsibility to reflect the events that happen in the community that I'm a part of. Through words, I can piece together not only my understanding of the past, but also my understanding of my direct surroundings.

My appreciation for what words can do transcends an interest in texts - it's a desire to understand the people, the society, and the culture that surrounds me. I hope to further my understanding of the present world through my appreciation for works of the past.

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Identify and describe a personal habit or idiosyncrasy - of any nature - that helps define you.
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My older siblings are 9 and 19 years older than I am, and they often tell me I'm an old man. There's some truth to that - my posture is quite terrible, and while most people today listen to mp3s on their iPods, I have a record collection that includes albums by Led Zeppelin, The Who, and other bands your dad listens to. I prefer vinyl to mp3s simply for the pure pleasure I get from the listening experience.

I enter a certain state of euphoria whenever I'm in a record store. I cherish the little victories in life, so I get incredibly giddy whenever I find a gem after flipping through records for hours, whether it's an original Art Blakey pressing or a rare Roots single. More so than actually finding things to buy, though, my favorite parts about record hunting are simply being surrounded by music and the physical act of thumbing through old dusty LPs. Growing up in the age of the iPod and mp3s, I'd always been fascinated by vinyl. Maybe it was something about the disc's size - an iPod stays the same weight no matter how many tens of thousands of songs are loaded on it, but the weight of a crate of albums can be felt in every gatefold sleeve that's stacked in it. As someone who loves music, I take more pride in the collection of records that I can hold more than I do the intangible mp3 files that have collected in my computer. What I really love about vinyl, though, is the ceremonious nature of listening to it - taking this big disc out of its sleeve, laying it on the platter, then picking up the needle and putting it on the disc to hear the crackles of the vinyl's age.

Growing up in an era of digitalization, I feel that people in my generation don't get enough credit for appreciating mediums of a past era. Many people my age have tired of the impersonality of digital media, so we seek out things like vinyl records and Polaroids - no touchpad or tablet will be able to replicate the ephemeral feeling of flipping through a stack of records or an old photo album.

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Undergraduate / 'The Outsiders' - a book you have read and explain its impact - OCCIDENTAL [4]

I'd like some feedback on this Occidental Supplement response. I feel like the conclusion is a bit cheesy, but this is what I have so far.

Choose a book you have read - at any point in your life - that most affected you and clarify its effect.
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I first read The Outsiders in fourth grade, taking it off the classroom bookshelf purely by chance. I enjoyed it, but only superficially so. It wasn't until I was assigned to read it in seventh grade when I could truly appreciate the themes presented throughout the story. I began to read the characters not as hollow names attached to generic descriptions, but rather as embodiments of real human elements. The Outsiders was the first book that taught me how to read in between the lines not only in literature, but in the way I think every day as well.

And still The Outsiders continued to resonate in my learning when I took AP English in junior year. After reading The Grapes of Wrath and learning about how Christ figures are martyr-like characters, usually with the initials J.C., it dawned on me that Johnny Cade in The Outsiders was the first Christ figure I'd read. S.E. Hinton's contextualization of Christ for her story about social tension showed me that a story could speak past its own pages, further breaking the boundaries of my thinking.

It's funny for me to think that, when I first read the book, I thought ending it with Ponyboy sitting down to write what would become The Outsiders was a bit cheesy. As my appreciation for storytelling grows, though, I've come to revere that ending as one of most beautiful odes to the power of words that I've ever read, and to bring the narrative full-circle so gracefully speaks to the timelessness of storytelling.