This is a short essay, based on the prompt offered by Princeton on its supplement : Please tell us how you have spent the last two summer (or vacations between school years), including jobs you have held, if not already detailed on the Common Application.
This is the first draft and I was hoping to write something that incompassed my most important activities, but also what I usually tend to do with my family.
Be as harsh as you need to :)
The traditional Albanian summer vacation precludes two weeks spent by the sea, in company of your closets ones, enjoying the tranquility of the sea and the warmth of the sun, where mundane problems are as untouchable as the horizon that separated the blue sky from the even bluer water. And despite the fact that my family has always been fond of tradition, this is one 'piece' of the Albanian modern culture we have decided to sidetrack. Most of our summer vacations have been spent in between re-discovering our countries' history, exploring the unrivalled mountainous beauty of the north, and enjoying the peacefulness of small lake-town such as Ohrid. A custom we still follow nowadays.
Nevertheless, walking around or just sleeping is not the ideal way I spend my summer, instead I usually dedicate my days to two of my biggest passions : debate and diplomacy. This is why, last year I decided to become part of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) , participating at the 2nd National Selection Conference where I was selected to represent Albania at international session in Frankfurt. And it was indeed in Frankfurt that I spent this August, building friendships with people from all around Europe, discussing current issues that undermine the bedrock of the European Union and debating my ideas in the cradle of Europian Democracy : the Paulskirche. It was so easy to feel that you belonged, in a city where one in three passports is a foreign one , in a city that incorporated everything that is global and modern in the old continent.
While this last summer, I had to divide my time between organizing the 4th National Selection Conference of EYP Albania, preparing for an upcoming Model United Nations and studying for my French and TOEFL exam. One day looking for sponsorship and building a strong programme for the EYP session and the other creating a resolution on Japan's foreign policy and trying to find potential allies, these activities made me feel connected with the outside world, learning more and more as the months passed by. While studying for all the exams, gave me a sense of purpose, since they were my first concrete step towards my academic future.
This is the first draft and I was hoping to write something that incompassed my most important activities, but also what I usually tend to do with my family.
Be as harsh as you need to :)
The traditional Albanian summer vacation precludes two weeks spent by the sea, in company of your closets ones, enjoying the tranquility of the sea and the warmth of the sun, where mundane problems are as untouchable as the horizon that separated the blue sky from the even bluer water. And despite the fact that my family has always been fond of tradition, this is one 'piece' of the Albanian modern culture we have decided to sidetrack. Most of our summer vacations have been spent in between re-discovering our countries' history, exploring the unrivalled mountainous beauty of the north, and enjoying the peacefulness of small lake-town such as Ohrid. A custom we still follow nowadays.
Nevertheless, walking around or just sleeping is not the ideal way I spend my summer, instead I usually dedicate my days to two of my biggest passions : debate and diplomacy. This is why, last year I decided to become part of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) , participating at the 2nd National Selection Conference where I was selected to represent Albania at international session in Frankfurt. And it was indeed in Frankfurt that I spent this August, building friendships with people from all around Europe, discussing current issues that undermine the bedrock of the European Union and debating my ideas in the cradle of Europian Democracy : the Paulskirche. It was so easy to feel that you belonged, in a city where one in three passports is a foreign one , in a city that incorporated everything that is global and modern in the old continent.
While this last summer, I had to divide my time between organizing the 4th National Selection Conference of EYP Albania, preparing for an upcoming Model United Nations and studying for my French and TOEFL exam. One day looking for sponsorship and building a strong programme for the EYP session and the other creating a resolution on Japan's foreign policy and trying to find potential allies, these activities made me feel connected with the outside world, learning more and more as the months passed by. While studying for all the exams, gave me a sense of purpose, since they were my first concrete step towards my academic future.
