This is my answer to Georgetown's Prompt : In the space available discuss the significance to you of the of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
Last week, during Herman Van Rompuy's visit on a diplomatic mission to Tirana, I felt very proud of myself when I found out that I could list list all his functions as President of the Council, describe his recent duties within the European Union and even spell his name correctly. Nevertheless, all this information and knowledge that I have gained about Henry Van Rompuy does not derive from my passion for politics, neither from my desire to learn more about that institution to which my country aspires for more than a decade. No, it is but the result of my two year involvement with the European Youth Parliament in Albania and abroad.
Yet, when I think about the European Youth Parliament in itself, the first thing that comes to my mind is not European Politics : it is a group of 250 teenagers, all in a circle, singing "Here we go with the big fat pony, early in the morning". And as ridiculous as it all may sound, one of the most important moments of a EYP session is those two days spent on Teambuilding, where the games, the challenge and the absence of inhibitions change the way you think about friendship and make for a true personality revelation.
And at the same time, EYP is more than just games. It is first and foremost learning about the structure and diversity of the European Union beyond its cultural or legal borders. It is adapting, sleeping in cheap hostels, discussing all night long and defending your ideals in Churches and Parliaments as old as Europe itself. And going from that initial roll in the mud to the suit-up General Assemblies, it is accepting the differences that separates us all and understanding at the same time that, despite our diversities, we are all struggling teenagers building our way into a common future.
All criticism is welcome :)
PS. I kindly ask the Moderators to not merge this post with my post about the Common Application Short answer. Despite the fact that they do describe the same activity they are not the same!
This is a very strong response to the prompt. I can't imagine people writing essays much better than this, because the activity is as impressive as the writing. It would be better, though, if there was some small interesting, unexpected thing.. anything at all to make the reader pause for a moment and reflect on your lively personality.
Also, I think you should kill the first two words Last week
:-)
