My love affair with psychology started at a young age. I was all but eight years old; it was two years my elder, that book of black-and-white optical illusions. We met at a book fair, where I handed the cashier two crisp dollar bills, my soft and tender hands already reaching out for what I had decided was infinitely better than every other book underneath the gazebo's roof.
It was the most magical object in my house. In inclement weather, I invariably reached for the comfort of its pages. It was a great heavy book, the sort which you would expect to cost twenty dollars or more, not two. The cover's silver embossing that used to read "Now You See it, Now You Don't" now read "N w ou See t, ow You Do 't." But while the letters outside may have been fading, I only had eyes for the wonders which lay inside.
Pupils widening over the illustrations within, I marveled at Muller-Lyon lines. How was it possible that I had believed with such conviction that the line on top was longer than the line beneath it, but upon measuring them both, found them to be exactly the same length? If anything, I thought my own brain could be trusted to make a simple observation.
Ten years have passed since I first encountered those lines that confounded and confused me. I have since made a hundred thousand more erroneous judgments, many of which were followed by should-have-would-have-could-have statements tinged with hindsight bias. ("I knew I should have bought the dark chocolate instead of the milk chocolate." "I knew I should have waited for the M train instead of walking to the bus stop." "I knew I should have trusted my instincts; if I had just picked my favorite number, I would now be the sole winner of the California Super Five Lotto.")
There's no telling what makes my brain works the way it does, in part because psychology offers too many answers to ever sift through completely. The answers belong to over a dozen different schools of psychology, each providing plenty of food for thought. I like thinking, and I like the thought that for as many hours I spend picking apart the musings of Freud, Beck, or Rogers, I will never fully comprehend all there is to know, as psychology branches out to all other disciplines that somehow collide together to provide infinite answers for the most basic questions about human existence.
Being completed baffled by optical illusions is still a hobby of mine, but I now spend nights by indulging in the musings of Malcolm Gladwell and Carol Dweck. Reading about the workings of the human mind, I am in a state of flow, the same feeling artists have when they sweep a brush across a fresh canvas. It is the feeling of being stretched, mixed with a heady dose of utter and sheer contentment. Each time I grasp a new concept that answers ten other questions about life, I am elated. So until a credentialed scientist declares the meaning of human existence to be forty-two, indeed, my love for psychology continues unabated.
Would this make an appropriate Common App essay as well? Does it show my personality well enough?
How was it possible that I had believed with such conviction that the line on top was longer than the line beneath it, but upon measuring them both, found them to be exactly the same length?
Excellent sentence but needs a little rewording to maintain sentence flow.
heady
heavy
that answers
answering
declares the meaning of human existence to be forty-two, indeed, my love for psychology continues unabated
I actually laughed out loud but not all people might get this joke.
[b]This would go in the "Topic of your Choice". It shows your personality, don't worry. I am also taking Psychology so I understood those people you pulled into the essay. Not all people might get it though. I'm pretty sure Adcoms cannot parlay with Psychology. It's a unique topic though.
Can you take a look at my common app essay as well?
Is it a love affair or is it more of a deep, everlasting love?
Love affair is more negative, short-lived, secretive connotation. Don't use it.
Otherwise, solid essay.
Thanks, guys. I'm also worried that the reference to Hitchhiker's Galaxy won't work, and that would just suck, since it's right at the ending.
I wound up using this as my Common App essay for most schools, except Cornell, but I'd like some additional feedback. I guess this is college-decisions anxiety, but I've reread this many times and feel like it lacks humanity. In your opinion, did I put myself at a disadvantage by submitting something that I didn't pour my soul into?
What's wrong with a reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide? It's great.
This whole thing is great. I'm glad I read this today; it really is a great experience to read this.
I like a lot about it, for example, "I like thinking, and I like the thought that..."
I don't see any other errors, but I agree about the love affair comment in the beginning... if nothing else, it is cliched.
One thing I would do differently is discuss my particular approach to psychology after doing this reading I have done. Would it be cognitive, existential, psychoanalytic? A combination?
Anyway, you write really well...
