Undergraduate / My Mom Isn't a Superhero - transition from childhood to adulthood [27]

Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from
childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family in 650 words or less.I have this essay and my other twin essay, I'm debating between the two of them for my common app. The other essay I've spent a lot of time on editing; if that's the better essay I will not waste any more time with this one. I was wondering which one "seems" like the "better" essay, and I would love to have someone edit this one if it seems like a better idea. Thank you :)

This summer, my mom had surgery for a fractured arm, fractured fingers, and broken back all in a month's span. Shockingly, none of these injuries were related; my mom fell off her bike, walked the dogs, and had an ongoing disc problem respectively. Looking down at my mother laying in bed with a cast on each arm and a back brace made me quickly realize that I was incorrect in my childhood belief that my mom was an undefeatable superhero. She looked much more fragile when her tall 5'9 and well-muscled body w as hidden under casts and covers. It was my turn to take care of her the way that she had taken care of me and my sister for the past seventeen years.

While I have always helped make dinner and run the household, now it was completely my responsibility to do these things. My mom needed help doing the things that I always took for granted: getting up, using the bathroom, showering. It was equal parts sad seeing her inability to do these everyday activities and gratifying to understand how much time my mom spent taking care of me when I was younger. I also realized just how much time it took to be as healthy as my mother; I found myself up in the wee hours of the morning chopping multitudes of raw vegetables, blending them together, and then serving my mom. I became my mom's personal chauffer, carting her around to the grocery store, vitamin shop, doctors appointments... the list goes on.

I'd love to say that I did all of these things with a huge smile and undeniable sense of enthusiasm and compassion, but that would be a lie. I complained... a lot. I wasn't too thrilled that I had to spend more time in my house taking care of my mom rather than spending time with my friends. And when I was home, I just wanted to curl up with a book or run, not do laundry or clean Fireball, our Green-Winged Macaw's, cage. Not to mention, my mom was not the easiest of patients. She has a pretty low pain tolerance, and it was a struggle to get her to abide by my system of writing down how much of each pain medication she took and when. My mom also tried to do too much too fast; the day after her back surgery she decided to go for a walk and the neighbors had to bring her home after she passed out. I felt a mother's disappointment at my mom's stupidity as I helped bring her back into the house.

Taking care of my mom this summer was certainly difficult, but it has been a gratifying experience at the same time. I spent far more time with her than I would have had I not had to take care of her, and we've had a lot of fun. We spent hours giggling on her bed while I painted her nails or brushed her hair. My mom bought Netflix which was very exciting, and we laughed over numerous romantic comedies. We scoured through college information books, excitedly imaging the future me in completely new places. My favorite moment of all though, was reading my favorite book "On the Road" aloud to her. Without the use of her hands, my mom was incapable of reading, but there was something really special about sharing my favorite story with her the same way that she read countless books to me when I was little.

Taking care of another person other than myself has shown me what adulthood is all about. I used to think that maturity and independence marked an adult, but I've come to learn that putting someone else's needs and happiness before your own distinguishes an adult. I look forward to further cultivating the adult I will one day be in college, always remembering the help that I received along my way.

Undergraduate / "Which one is the smarter twin?"- Common App; background or story [9]

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their
application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story in 650 words or less.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a comparison. "Which one is the smarter twin?" "Are you faster than Noelle?" When I was little I reveled in the extra attention that I received due to my physical likeness to my sister. Peers seemed to be drawn to the strawberry-blonde, green-eyed girls that looked and dressed exactly alike. Noelle and I actually auditioned for commercials in New York City during elementary school based purely on our twin-ness (unfortunately we never did anything). However, even then I struggled to define myself as an individual. At any opportunity I dressed myself differently than my sister, much to the dismay of my mother. Our struggle for separate identities went so far as inane physical fights over the same Elmo bubble bath.

The truth is, Noelle and I are quite similar. We have analogous interests; we both love reading and writing; our love of food, specifically dumplings, is unparalleled. We think the same; there are countless times in which Noelleykins and I have heard seemingly benign things, turned to each other, and burst out into hysterics. As cliché as it sounds, we sorta complete each other. Our connection is incomparable to anything that I have ever heard or read about, and I truly treasure our relationship. At the same time, it has made growing up an extra struggle.

I think everyone can relate to the mystery and confusion of the adolescent years in regard to one's individuality. Everyone tells us that we need to figure out who we are, and what we want to do with our lives. It's especially hard to do that when other people associate your identity as one entwined with another individual. Even I have a hard time describing me without comparing myself to my sister. I think when people ask me "how are you guys different?" they are looking for superficial differences to appease their slight curiosity at the uncommon phenomena of identical twins. A response of "Well, I'm an inch and a half taller," or "Our hair parts in opposite directions" is enough to satisfy the low appetite of the average inquirer. It's sometimes frustrating trying to differentiate myself from Noelle based purely on physicality's; I want to tell people that I love horses, have a passion for long distance running, and want to be a journalist. Of course, people never seem to be interested in those things.

I suppose my interest in individuality stems from the seemingly lack of it in my own life. In my attempt to discover myself as an individual, I have delved into the rich narratives of John Green and Jack Kerouac, filled with characters oozing idiosyncrasies. I am completely enraptured with the uniqueness and non-conformity of these individuals, something that I am striving to figure out in myself. Originally I thought that in order to "find myself," I had to be different than my sister. I thought of my own individuality in regards to my sister's, which sorta defeats the purpose. But as I've gotten older and had my own experiences, I've come to learn that I shouldn't constantly be comparing myself to Noelle. We are our own people; we have different passions and different dreams. Our similarities make us special individually while contributing to the unique connection that we share. I still think that together we are unstoppable; our differences compliment each other and I'll always feel that something's missing in my life if Noelle isn't there. But I think that college is the time for me to develop the qualities I never had to because of Noelle; it's time for me to complete myself.

Undergraduate / Airport- Childhood to Adulthood / Accomplishment or Event [3]

Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from
childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family in 650 words or less.
This essay is exactly 650 words; I'm debating between this essay and a second for my common app essay

Watching the silver Camry merge into the rest of the busy flow of traffic characteristic of LAX airport, I took a deep breath as I braced myself for the adventure I was about to embark. Flying 1,897 miles from the bustling Los Angeles to the vibrant and elusive New Orleans alone for the first time was pretty daunting for my sixteen-soon-to-be-seventeen self. Up until that point I'd always flown with my twin sister Noelle, and I felt comfortable in her presence. This time I was alone, and anxious about navigating the notoriously chaotic and confusing LAX (I'm still not entirely sure what the "X" stands for, though it does make it sound rather ominous). Finally I turned myself around and walked into the sliding glass doors, sealing my fate for the next seven hours.

I would have thought that locating the security check point would be the easy part, but I was utterly overwhelmed by the amount of people and intimidating large metal things in the lobby. The older African American woman watched me with tired eyes as I approached her, me nearly losing my roll-around bag from my hyper-hydrosis hands (sweaty palm disease). "Excuse me, where is security?" The woman duly pointed me toward the left, and I began walking after a hurried "thank-you" so as to calm my nerves. Of course there were about 10 metal looking objects with lines in front of them. I decided on which one looked like security, and proceeded on my way. To my dismay, I figured out that I was actually walking towards a dead end, and had to ask about 5 people where the security line was (turns out it was up a hidden escalator).

After safely securing my position in the seemingly never ending line, I took out my latest and favorite novel, "On the Road," and began to read to pass the time. Unsurprisingly, I became completely engrossed in Sal and Dean's discussion of girls, and was bewildered when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. A young man was standing behind me, smiling politely. "Where ya off to?" he asked me, while furtively acknowledging the growing gap that had developed between me and the person in front of me. "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," I replied embarrassedly, quickly gathering up my stuff and closing the gap. I decided to put away any distractions and keep myself focused on the task at hand. "I'm going to New Orleans."

For the next ten minutes this man, who I learned was Matt, and I discussed the cultural idiosyncrasies of New Orleans as we slowly made our way through the line. Before I knew it I was going through my luggage, pulling out my lap top and charger which was conveniently underneath my underwear. I blushed as I attempted to elusively pull out my bra without anyone seeing. Rushing through the security scan, I quickly threw my laptop back into my luggage, and was mid-way with pulling my sweatshirt over my head when Matt patted my shoulder and gave me a warm "goodbye." I awkwardly attempted to pull my sweatshirt over my head while simultaneously keeping my hair contained and give an equally friendly goodbye.

I was thinking about the funny way that Matt had walked in and out of my life as I walked down to my departure gate, 11A; thankfully the signs were blatantly clear. Sitting down in the leather chair at the gate, it suddenly occurred to me that I had successfully completed my intended mission. I managed to navigate my way all by myself, well with help from other kind people. It suddenly stuck me that that was how life was going to be; an independent journey with help from others along the way. And no matter how much preparation, I'd never be completely prepared. At this moment I understood what adulthood was all about.