Essay A (required; maximum 500 words): The University of Colorado Boulder's Flagship 2030 strategic plan promotes exceptional teaching, research, scholarship, creative works, and service distinguishing us as a premier university. We strive to foster a diverse and inclusive community for all that engages each member in opportunities for academic excellence, leadership, and a deeper understanding of the world in which we live. Given the statement above, how do you think you could enrich our diverse and inclusive community and what are your hopes for your college experience?
J. R. R. Tolkien once wrote, "Not all those who wander are lost." Upon reading this, I was captivated by its various possible meanings, and I, like all others strive to do when interpreting literature, claimed the one that I found to parallel my life. I picture myself as a wanderer, meandering through life to find its meaning, and to see through the shallow layers of deception that lie like a veil, while underneath hide the simple laws of truth that few recognize but all build their lives upon. I am a wanderer who digresses from the path commonly trodden to gain an outside perspective and to view seemingly ordinary, commonplace events in a new light. That I would find myself thinking bizarre thoughts is not an unusual occurrence; they usually consist of matters that I find virtually unexplainable to others, and when attempting to elaborate, I am frequently met with faces showing signs of perplexity as to what could have aroused this curiosity in me.
Aside from having these small revelations about the world surrounding me, I find myself resembling the wanderer who is not lost in that my sometimes dogmatic opinions are inclined to stand contrary to the majority. For example, proclaiming myself as a feminist and a supporter of both homosexuality and abortion strikes some people as an audacity; nevertheless, I am a fervent advocate of Thomas Jefferson's "pursuit of happiness" and having the right to attain virtually whatever that journey may entail.
But what do I anticipate gaining out of my college experience? I hope to enter into my new adult life with a liberal mindset in order to broaden the realms of my knowledge in all ways possible, as well as to ultimately better myself as a person. As a result of my early high school graduation, I will be beginning college at the mere age of 16. I consider myself rather mature, regardless of my young age; however, I still have a great deal of growing up to do and many experiences left to undergo. My expectations in moving away from home into a college atmosphere are to simultaneously prepare myself for a career while becoming a more well rounded and self-sufficient person.
I believe that Tolkien's wanderers are those who wander in thought, but this wandering is where they belong. If no person strayed from the path of ordinary and unoriginal ideas, then how would humanity ever progress? The best and most efficient college seems as if it should be one composed of these wanderers, those embrace innovative new ideas with open minds and who look for new explanations for this phenomenon that we call life.
