Prompt: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
Sure, works in molecular biology, calculus, old English literature, and Renaissance art have all left me unsettled, challenged, or crying for my parents at times. However, after conducting research with Dr. Watanabe at the UNCW aquaculture facility this year, what has really left me perplexed is how such remarkable advances in science can remain in the labs, never to be seen by the public. With all of the technology and resources available to the US, aquacultures have the potential to cut down on the annual seafood trade deficit of around $10 billion, while helping to preserve wild fish stocks. Yet they still remain relatively small in size and virtually insignificant in the national market. It is not just aquacultures, though, every year ground-breaking discoveries are made, announced to the scientific community and never heard of again, bringing up a lot of what ifs. What if there is an answer to world hunger out there, what if we can cut down on childhood obesity with a little pill. I have come to the conclusion that science involves as much business as scientific research, whether I like it or not. In the case of aquacultures, there currently is not anybody able to head a large-scale commercial aquaculture industry in the US, the science is there but the commercial aspects are not. At UVA, I hope to be able to study under some of the top business professors in the world so that people will no longer have to ask what if.
Prompt: What is your favorite word and why?
"Oh, what a brilliant goal that was." There's one adjective in that phrase so often used by my favorite English announcers that is able to conjure up an entire chapter of my childhood, engendering emotions that cannot be quantified. Since the age of three, soccer has helped to define me, for better or worse. It has taught me about being passionate, taken me across the US, and introduced me to some of my best friends in the world.
When the final whistle blew in the quarterfinals of the NC 4A state playoffs, I found it hard to breathe; I realized my soccer career was coming to an end. I had always imagined I would go on to play soccer in college, but for some reason, I found myself unable to commit; I just didn't see the point in playing soccer in college. I loved the game, but not enough to make it a job.
In a way, soccer was my train, and as the conductor of the Polar Express said, "The thing about trains... It doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on." Soccer didn't take me where I thought it would, but it certainly took me on the journey of a lifetime, pathologically and physiologically. When I hear the word, I no longer think about what could have been; instead, I choose to reflect upon what soccer was to me- brilliant.
* did waiting till the end to explicitally state the word work out?
I liked your first essay, the last sentence ended it well. The only thing is that you don't talk about yourself much so it doesn't fully elaborate the way I suspect the prompt demands, but your goals are implied so overall well done. I think I commented on your second essay in another thread.
