Essay #1 (Required for all applicants. Approximately 250 words)
Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income,
cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your
place within it.
The Compass
"Please don't tell anyone!"
Those words were a special bond between my best friend Tabitha and me. However, a few hours later at the basketball concession stand, I encountered deceitful glances and awkward exchanges with friends. I felt exposed, so I redefined my acting skills to hide in another layer of lies. Finally, a few of them approached me. Butterflies, cold sweat, and tears hit me all at once when they told me they knew my secret. Tabitha told her friends what I had recently discovered: my sexuality.
This situation gave me a choice: I could either retreat to comfortable lies or own my new identity. I chose the latter, and soon realized I would need a support system.
My internal compass guided me to those individuals in the only place I felt comfortable, school. Ms. Young and Blake Ruscinski played major roles in my development. Blake already experienced coming out and dealt with the aftermath. He told me that hiding my true identity would eventually lead to self-destruction. On the other hand, I had the most knowledgeable woman I knew, Ms. Young. She gave me the advice I needed to come out to my mother. I will always be thankful and never regret answering yes when she sat me down and asked "You're gay, right?"
Now in my senior year of high school, I believe I have prospered and become a leader for those kids in the hallway who are facing what I did a few years ago.
