Describe two or three of your current intellectual interests and why they are exciting to you. Why will Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences be the right environment in which to pursue your interests? (Please limit your response to 650 words.)
I saw this prompt and the first thing that came to my mind was something that is simple- yet quite demanding in its own right. I love reading. No. I looove reading. I enjoy turning pages, exploring the world through the ink on pages of papyrus. My mother tells me that I was such an active fetus that I made it impossible for her to read books. She could never balance them on her tummy as I kept moving. I say to her that it's probably because I was itching to snatch the book out of her hands and devour it myself.
The reason I find it so incredibly exciting, is that it keep reality at bay like nothing else can. You can watch a movie while you're doing a chore, or you're engaged in conversation, but not with a book. It demands your complete focus. You forget everything- the family problems, the high school drama, the school pressure, and focus entirely on a world that' not quite your own, yet you feel strangely at home. I believe that I am the person I am because of what I read. Reading Harry Potter taught me that I have both good and evil inside of me, and I can choose to be what I want, which has been a deciding factory my entire life. My favorite genre has to be historical fiction. The first historical fiction I read was 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory, and it literally blew my mind (okay, figuratively.) I hated Henry VIII with a passion and yet I couldn't wait to know more about his fascinating life (He killed his own wives!) Ever since then I have been passionate about Tudor history. Reading 'A Passage to India' helped me see how Muslims were discriminated against, and how people in Colonial India survived. See, it's not just about imagination, it's also about information. Historical fiction tells you so much about people who lived in different eras, and the added bonus is that the scandalous plotlines with bits of fiction keep it from getting boring. Historical fiction is mesmerizing because these are things you will never get to experience. It's almost like an elite club, you're only in if you read. My other intellectual interest is giving what I get from authors to others i.e. writing. I love the feeling I get when I read stuff by others, so I want to give back that feeling to people who read my work. I started blogging for fun when I was in freshman year. One day, one of my classmates came up to me and said "You are the best writer I know of our age, I am so addicted. Our country needs good writers, never give up!" and it was so entirely heartfelt that I couldn't not do it after that. Another thing about me is that I am a bit of an introvert, which is why writing is also therapeutic. What I can't say, I write. I believe that you are nothing if you aren't opinionated, and I express my opinions truly when I write. I actually have epiphanies when I write, because it helps me put my thoughts into order. What you write is also immortal. When I read things I wrote seven, eight years from now, I find things about myself I never knew. I am almost giddy about literary devices. It's so amazing that through metaphors and similes, you can make unreal analogies and get your point across. Hyperbole is so awesome I could go on for ages about it (pun intended!)
Cornell will be absolutely amazing because I can develop my own program while majoring in English. I can choose to focus on a particular historical period or genre, or combine creative writing with literature. It's basically all my interests combined together into a beautiful package that I cannot wait to explore.
Is it too general? I absolutely love reading and writing, passionately, so I thought these will be the most apt, and show a true picture. Is it okay?
I like the idea of this essay a lot! However, I believe Cornell is looking to see if you would be a good fit there, so I would spend more time on connecting your passion for reading and writing to Cornell and specifically the college of arts and sciences.
Thank you so much, I'll definitely work on that. I was pretty confused about if Reading and Writing count as proper intellectual interests. In most essays I read, people wrote about Science or Math or English (basically a subject) or about specific things like 'economic slowdon' 'world war 2'
So it's not too general is it?
It is way too general.
The idea behind your essay is nicely personal and already gives a little sampling of the kind of passion you have with your interest. Good!
Yet the prompt explicitly asks for Why will Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences be the right environment in which to pursue your interests? ; therefore, you definitely need to put more focus on this. It is okay if you have never visited Cornell and cannot give first hand thoughts on how you might chime well with Cornell's campus, yet you need to demonstrate somehow why Cornell is special to you. Don't let it come too short. Be creative to make it look as specific as possible.
Sincerely,
OMGreeny
