Does this essay answer the prompt? What did you learn about me after reading the piece. Do any parts of the essay subtract from the overall message and, if so, what would you recommend be changed? Thank you so much!
Stanford Supplemental
1. Stanford students possess intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development.
The committee's votes were evenly split; half for one proposal, the other for my own. Bickering had prolonged an agreement for far too long; a polished piece of legislation needed to be submitted soon. The deciding vote would be taken following a final debate. I had five minutes to prepare.
Five minutes to condense my countless hours of research: a bulwark of statistics, testimonies, and reports for a bill crafted to be universally appealing. Fellow concerns - tax reform, debt relief, funding for education - were encompassed into one simple bill, an amendment to Prop Thirteen. I had poured over analytic papers, audits, and editorials on the same legislation that had nearly forced my family into foreclosure. But while my proposal was pressingly urgent, it was, unlike the other, naturally dull. So the opposition drew lines - fun versus not fun. As designated killjoy, I set my passions and anger to paper. The five minutes ended. The two camps squared off.
I spoke. They spoke. I lost.
A frustrated few stood to leave, but I sat despondently still. Already the others had began to vocalize the details of their first draft. I swept up the documents, now made useless, that were scattered before me. Strangely enough, it felt renewing - like wiping a messy board clean. The winning bill, though promising, lacked substance. There were undoubtedly countless more documents to pour through, abstracts to write, and minds to convince. Starting anew, this fresh challenge seemed enticing. After all, their bill, a proposal to build widespread bike infrastructure in cities, seemed more much lively than a quantitative analysis on property taxation. Compared to my previous bill, this research would be a walk in the park - or a bike ride, rather. One thing was certain, though: I'd better start now.
