Undergraduate / Invent a Past for a Present - UChicago Supplement [7]

Prompt: Unusual presents, accidental presents, metaphorical presents, re-gifted presents, etc. - pick any present you have ever received and invent a past for it.

I place my latte back on the table as I continue to type furiously on my laptop. Suddenly, a notification pops up: You have 2% battery left. The dusty book comes tumbling out of my backpack as I reach for my laptop charger in haste. The neon green and yellow Post- Its sticking from the book look out of place with the rest of the murky, yellow pages and the faded black cover. I pick up the book and turn it to the front cover. The top and bottom right corners of the book cover is missing. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie is printed in bold white letters on the page. I received it back in seventh grade as a white elephant Secret Santa present during the year my parents were in the worst of their arguments. The book shrouded me from their fights and provided somewhere safe that I could go. My parents' screams could not reach me when I was in the pages of the book. The book once belonged to Lizzie's grandmother, when she was a little girl. I always wonder why Lizzie decided to give me the book and if she ever knew how much it had helped me

Elizabeth Patricia James just turned 12 and received a book for her birthday. Elizabeth understood that it was hard for her father to get his hands on anything, so the book must have taken him weeks to get. But still, she had wished it was a new dress. With a sigh, she picked the book up and looked at its cover. The smooth black cover still had a sheen to it and the pages were crisped. And that's when the loud siren rang, echoing through the entire neighborhood. Like the drills, she ran to her backyard and saw her mother standing in front of a large rectangular box waving frantically for her to go inside. Before she had both her feet inside the bunker, she heard the first boom. The impact made Elizabeth squeal in shock. This was the first time she had heard the bombs so close to home. Only now did Elizabeth realize she was still holding onto her book. The booms were continuous, and occasionally, she felt the ground shake when the bomb had hit closer to home. She was petrified every time the ground shook because she didn't know if her beloved home made it. Having nothing else to do, Elizabeth decided to read the book to take her mind off the bombs.

Her mother told her to go back inside, and Elizabeth looked up in shock. She had forgotten that she was in a bunker and she didn't even notice the bombs had stopped. Somehow, the book made the Elizabeth forget all her troubles. Each twist and turn in the plot had her so engaged that she had completely forgotten the warfare outside her house. Each time the bombings came, Elizabeth made sure she had the book in her hand before handing to the bunker. Everywhere she went, the book went with her. Her childhood, once desolate by bombings and warfare, was cured by a single book. By 1945, when Winston Churchill announced the end of the war, she could tell you all the characteristics of each character and their fates.

As Elizabeth grew up, the book in her heart slowly faded away. Now 30, Elizabeth was packing to leave her husband. The name calling early on in their marriage had become shoving and pushing which now escalated to a full scale beating. She grabbed her suitcase and the dusty black book fell down. And Then There Were None. Memories flashed through her head as she remembered her childhood, raged by warfare and her escape from it, through this book. The book's pages were yellowed and the once shiny cover was now dull. Might as well bring it with me, she thought. I have no other personal possessions. On the way to the airport, Elizabeth quickly flipped through the pages of the book in order to take her mind off her husband. Names and phrases jumped at her as she vaguely remembered parts of the book. Just like years ago, her angst subsided as she became entranced by the plot. The intricate twists and turns of the book took her mind off her abusive soon to be ex-husband and gave her solace. Elizabeth smiled as she stepped into the John F. Kennedy airport. She made it through World War II with the book. Now, she could make it here too, in the city of New York because she has the book with her. The title was right. And Then There Were None. There were no more fear, sadness and doubt in her heart, none. She knew everything will be alright from here on.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Smith decided to give the book away. After all, her friend needed it more than she does. From her grandmother's stories of her childhood, Lizzie knew the book was special. It was her grandmother's anchor; it kept her strong all these years even through her childhood and her abusive first marriage. The book was no longer just a book. It was a symbol, a symbol of strength, hope and resilience. In her family, the book meant that everything could be, will be better. Lizzie wanted to let her friend know that things will be better, just like for her grandmother. She wanted to share the spirit of strength and prospect that the situation will improve despite the fights. Lizzie knew her grandmother, Elizabeth, would be proud of her for doing so.

Undergraduate / Intellectually-rich culture and traditions such as the Scav Hunt - Why UChicago Essay [6]

Hi this is my draft of the why uchicago essay. It will be great if I can receive some feedback!

Prompt: How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

Throughout my life, I have always been attracted to adventure. The thought of exploring new places and discovering something I never knew entices me. I longed to travel, but not just to the typical big cities of the world. I want to visit the small towns and villages where the cultures of those people are truly preserved and not stained by globalization. The attraction for physical adventure has translated into intellectual adventure as well. I enjoy challenging existing ideas and to look at things at different angles. The want to challenge beliefs stems from being intellectually oppressed as a child. Growing up, I was taught to keep my mouth shut, speak only when spoken to and to never voice my opinion. What my elders believe is what I should believe and I must never question that.

Now, I want to challenge those beliefs and to learn to think for myself. For three years, I have worked at three different summer camps with elementary school children. To me, children are the ones who are the innovative thinkers. They are young enough to imagine and to believe in the impossible. Children are the ones who are able to always find another way, another angle of looking at something. This is something I want to achieve, or to regain. At the University of Chicago, I hope to find my inner child, to enhance my ability to think creatively. Even from the supplemental essay questions, I can see that this university values both critical and creative thinking. The essay prompts seem a bit strange, but are very thought provoking and requires imagination to write. I have not seen any other schools with supplements which require me to think at such a high level.

In addition, my love for adventure has translated into my love for learning. It isn't until junior year of high school that I realized I enjoyed both the sciences and the arts. I have grown up in a tunnel vision in which I only focused on the sciences. However, I recently discover I enjoyed history as much as I enjoyed science. Because of the expansion of my interests, the renowned Core curriculum serves as the perfect platform for me to explore my options. The Core curriculum is often interdisciplinary so it offers me not just one or two perspectives, but a multitude. I know that at the University of Chicago, no matter which direction I decide to go into, it will be strongly fortified by the core curriculum. Because the University of Chicago is capable in both the humanities and the sciences, I know I will be able to immerse myself in whichever field I will study in.

The University of Chicago itself is located in such a diverse city which taps into my desire to absorb a different culture. Chicago has a rich history of being an industrious city and one of the most urban cities in the US. The university itself also has a rich history and traditions such as the Scav Hunt. The sense of community it emulates satisfies my want of belonging. I want to fit in a community that is not only rich in culture, but also rich in intellectual thought. The University of Chicago is the perfect combination of the two.