Posts by Jkinney

Jkinney

Nov 2, 2014

Undergraduate / Georgetown: Karate, Non-quitting Spirit, and Moving forward! [8]

I love that you took the creative side of the prompt at the beginning of your essay, the story is a really good hook. I also like how you tied karate in with learning Arabic. However I don't think the what you have so far describe you. From what you have, all I can only tell is that you like karate and that you know Arabic. Although both are really cool, maybe put something in about where you are from, your family, or why you chose to learn Arabic. Lastly, I think that maybe you should skip the problem solving part of the plan and go straight to studying international relations. I feel that talking about problem solving skills in any kind of application is cliche.

Jkinney

Nov 2, 2014

Undergraduate / Comment/Suggestions for Semester at Sea Application Essay [3]

Prompt:
How will your Semester at Sea voyage create (or enhance) your personal global perspective? Highlight your discussion by referencing at least one country on your itinerary and by explaining how your time there will further develop your awareness. (300-500 words)

Essay:
Pico Iyer, a British novelist with Indian origin, wisely states "We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more." This quote perfectly incapsulated the meaning of travel to me. There is no way to learn about the world other than to see it. No matter how many classes are taken, nothing is as eye opening as the world. If you love art, pictures are never the same as seeing the beautiful murals in Italy. If your passion is architecture, there will be nothing like seeing the Great Wall of China or the Taj Mahal in India.

From what I understand, global perspective is the understanding of the links between people around the world. Also the understanding of different cultures, economies, and politics that shape the lives around us. I have grown up in a small town in Alaska and would consider myself to be slightly sheltered. Although throughout my life I have traveled to many places, I realized in my first semester of college that I still have a very small understanding of what goes on in the world. When traveling, I never experienced the culture. I saw beautiful things and beautiful places but I never felt like I truly experienced what that destination was really like. Recently, I traveled to Belize and didn't realize it was a third world country till after I left.

With Semester at Sea, I would love to travel the world and take my head out of textbooks and experience the world as it truly is. I would love to play with children in places such as Ghana or South Africa. I would love to experience things such as riding camels in Morocco. It has always been a dream of mine to see the world, but I also want to go to school and get a college degree. With Semester at Sea, I will be able to do both.

Word count: 387