Hello! I am afraid if I am responding to the prompt fully. Also, please let me know if the story focuses more on Andres and less on me. Any critical feedback is truly appreciated.
Q) Please share any additional information that you would like the Earlham Admissions Committee to know about your interests, personality, aspirations, etc. that may not be easily discernible from your academic record or list of activities (500 words).
"I never thought Andres would turn out to be an outstanding human being." I thought on my way back from the Pune trip. As a teenager, I was highly judgemental of everyone around me; I always refrained from interacting people who had a bad reputation in the school. Ignoring the learning scope and personal growth one experiences by interacting with different people within a diverse community, I thought that if somebody is involved in illicit activities, they are bad people; thus there is nothing to learn from them. And interacting with them is nothing but futile. The judgemental behavior not only barred me from interacting with interesting people with amusing life stories, but I didn't take part in innumerable activities because I simply couldn't stand the people involved in that particular activity. But my opinion on people, their life-choices and how I will interact with them was completely changed when I got an opportunity to spend a few days with Andres, a popular brat of my high-school.
Over a span of three days, I realized what Andres or for that matter people with 'bad' reputation do doesn't define the kind of human beings they are. I understood that just because someone else's lifestyle doesn't comply with yours doesn't make them a bad person, maybe they were exposed to the circumstances which compelled them to adopt an illicit lifestyle. That three-day time span made me realize that in order to understand and foster a bond with people around me, I will have to eliminate personal judgments and accept them for who they are; I will have to try and get myself into their shoes. Those days were particularly life-changing because I realized that I might be able to extract the knowledge from books, but in order to understand it fully, I will have to discuss it with people who will give counter-arguments against it, thus the greater scope of learning about life and its complexities is embodied in human beings themselves. And understanding them is the first step to gain learning from them and their life experiences.
Although I have been trying to alter my behavior for a year now, I believe that it will come with more experience and patience only. For me, one of the biggest challenges ahead is people skills-listening to others, trying to understand them on their terms, and working together with others. I tend to get carried away with myself, which has some merit when one is alone or in a reverie but mostly detracts from collaborative learning and further personal growth. I believe that college experience will provide me an opportunity to interact and learn to work together with others, which will eventually help me to attain the people's skill. I quest for this asset as for me it is one of the most valuable asset one can attain to live a fulfilling and well-rounded life.
Q) Please share any additional information that you would like the Earlham Admissions Committee to know about your interests, personality, aspirations, etc. that may not be easily discernible from your academic record or list of activities (500 words).
Earlham Personality, interests and aspirations essay
"I never thought Andres would turn out to be an outstanding human being." I thought on my way back from the Pune trip. As a teenager, I was highly judgemental of everyone around me; I always refrained from interacting people who had a bad reputation in the school. Ignoring the learning scope and personal growth one experiences by interacting with different people within a diverse community, I thought that if somebody is involved in illicit activities, they are bad people; thus there is nothing to learn from them. And interacting with them is nothing but futile. The judgemental behavior not only barred me from interacting with interesting people with amusing life stories, but I didn't take part in innumerable activities because I simply couldn't stand the people involved in that particular activity. But my opinion on people, their life-choices and how I will interact with them was completely changed when I got an opportunity to spend a few days with Andres, a popular brat of my high-school.
Over a span of three days, I realized what Andres or for that matter people with 'bad' reputation do doesn't define the kind of human beings they are. I understood that just because someone else's lifestyle doesn't comply with yours doesn't make them a bad person, maybe they were exposed to the circumstances which compelled them to adopt an illicit lifestyle. That three-day time span made me realize that in order to understand and foster a bond with people around me, I will have to eliminate personal judgments and accept them for who they are; I will have to try and get myself into their shoes. Those days were particularly life-changing because I realized that I might be able to extract the knowledge from books, but in order to understand it fully, I will have to discuss it with people who will give counter-arguments against it, thus the greater scope of learning about life and its complexities is embodied in human beings themselves. And understanding them is the first step to gain learning from them and their life experiences.
Although I have been trying to alter my behavior for a year now, I believe that it will come with more experience and patience only. For me, one of the biggest challenges ahead is people skills-listening to others, trying to understand them on their terms, and working together with others. I tend to get carried away with myself, which has some merit when one is alone or in a reverie but mostly detracts from collaborative learning and further personal growth. I believe that college experience will provide me an opportunity to interact and learn to work together with others, which will eventually help me to attain the people's skill. I quest for this asset as for me it is one of the most valuable asset one can attain to live a fulfilling and well-rounded life.
