Undergraduate / Trips to London ;Johns Hopkins Supp/ Interests [3]

Hey guys back again! Once again for Johns Hopkins with a 250 word limit. 2. Tell us something about yourself or your interests that we wouldn't learn by looking at the rest of your application materials. (While you should still pay attention to sentence structure and grammar, your response is meant as a way for us to get to know you, rather than a formal essay.)

London Trips

With a hiss and a piercing squeal, the doors snap shut. Eyes wide with fright, my mother frantically scrabbles at the doors separating her from her two sons. Her efforts are all in vain as the train gradually picks up speed and whisks my brother and I away down the tracks. Rolling my eyes, I turn to my brother and ask, "Do you think she's worried because she doesn't know the way home?"

My family has been spending Thanksgiving in London for seven years; serving as the family's navigators, my brother and I are unparalleled masters of "the Tube." Even the most train-savvy Briton's skills are meager in comparison. Yet, our British excursions provide many more experiences than those in metropolitan transportation. Britain is the rush-hour Piccadilly tube of culture, slammed full to the point of overflowing with attractions to satisfy my family's curiosities. Additionally, England's historical culture gives me an advantage in my studies. Trips to Stratford-upon-Avon and the Globe Theater proved invaluable in British Literature when studying Shakespeare's plays as well as his biography. Most importantly, I discovered the history of my own faith, Episcopalianism, in the Anglican church of England and attended service at St. Paul's Cathedral, a familiar service in a spectacular setting.

Though my celebration of the day of American origination and plenty in the motherland might suggest that I am an unpatriotic BBC fanboy, our trips to Britain have made me more aware and appreciative of the culture and history our two nations share.

Please dont hold back on critiques!!! Brutality is appreciated!

Undergraduate / Johns Hopkins Supplement #1 Chemistry or Biology?.... Wait, Biochemistry! [6]

Hey guys. This is the first of quite a few supplements I have to write over the break and I would really appreciate it if I could get some constructive criticism. I'm really nervous about the application process because my first choice college deferred me so PLEASE be as harsh as you can! I want my writing to be top notch! I will try my best to critique anyone who helps to edit mine. Thanks!!!

I began participating in the medical black market as early as the age of six. And while swiping gauze strips, cotton swabs, and topical ointments may not be exceedingly high risk, I was exuberant to start my own clinic to treat the various "boo-boos" my brother and I acquired. As the son of a dermatologist, I've always been fascinated with medicine and the human body. However, AP Chemistry soon cleaved my scientific passions right down the middle. I became enamored by everything chemistry had to offer. I became the annoyingly curious front-row child, asking "Why?" and "How?" while drooling over complicated explanations of quantum states I had no chance of comprehending. Yet all my curiosity appeared to be steering me away from my original love; I could find no connection to medicine. Finally I linked chemistry and the human body through my bodybuilding lifestyle (and I'm not referring to anabolic steroids). My insatiable curiosity and desire to become a better athlete caused me to stumble upon the biochemistry that linked ALL of my passions. Understanding the body's metabolic and enzymatic regulation furthers my athletic goals and allows me to recognize the body's failures and how to ameliorate them. A concentration in biochemistry at Johns Hopkins would allow me to apply my fascination not only to my studies but also to my personal goals as I strive to perfect myself and humanity.