a personal quirk is a part of who you are; supplemental essay

Hi, everyone. This draft has already been revised several times. And the deadline is November 1st. But my word count exceeds the word limit :(
I really appreciate for your help!!!!!

We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are.(word limit:250)

I love to look at myself. In the mirror, on the street, in front of the building, anywhere possible to show my blurred reflection would be the place for me to stop and to gaze at myself. Strangers may regard me as a girl who pays particular attention to my appearance. However, I take this personal quirk as a way of daily examining myself through an outsider's eyes.

It started from my roommate's snores. I had once tried to shake her up and harshly criticize her. As I approached her, I saw my reflection in a big mirror in the room. I was shocked at my impatient and outraged facial expression reflecting in the mirror: that was me, an immature and irritable girl, whose inner self was as explosive as a volcano. I gazed at myself and started to recall our valuable friendship. My anger was gradually decreased unexpectedly; my facial expression was smoothed in the mirror. Instead of reproving my roommate, I modulated my own breathing pace to accord with her snores. That night, the usually thunderous sounded not that annoying.

That's how I find out the unnoticed function of mirror. It awares me of my immaturity and prompt me to adjust my inappropriate behavior.

The quirk of gazing at myself promotes self-introspection for me to think twice before taking action irrationally. The process of carefully perceiving my reflection is like an exploration. It makes me internalized a sense of empathy for others, and apply it in dealing with uncomfortable moments like bothered by my roommate's snores. What's more, it helps me better understand what others are going through, feel as others feel, think as others think, and create true harmony.

I love looking at myself; I love self-discovery; I love the subsequent contemplation. Moreover, I love the journey to learn, and to progress.

This is an excellent start. I have gone through your essay, and I think you may be closer to the required word count. In the edits, green is something I have changed, while red is something I have taken out. Take these edits with a grain of salt- you should ask someone close to you to edit this as well, so they can tell you if it sounds like your voice. Good luck!

Nicole, I am going to revise the whole essay for you but still keep within the theme and word count. Please feel free to use or not use this version of the essay. It is for you to use as a template if you wish :-) This comes in at exactly 250.

We look into the mirror and see a physical representation our selves. So we fix our hair, retouch our make up, or straighten our clothes.That is what I normally did with the mirror until I discovered that it could be used for something greater, a quirky characteristic of mine that helps me to learn more about myself and the world around me.

It all started when I had a roommatewho snored every night She once snored so badly that I decided to get out of bed, march up to her and shake her awake. That was the plan, but I passed by the mirror in our room, saw my facial expression and held back. I had never seen my look of anger until then.

That was when I realized that the mirror is truly the hand that reflects how other people view us. Looking into the mirror has become a guilty habit of mine since then. I learned that the mirror can be effectively used for self-ontrospection and thus, allows me to think twice before taking any action. Looking at myself in the mirror helps me to create harmony in my life because I can see how other people will judge my facial expression, which is the first thing people judge before my actual action.

That is the quirk that the mirror helps me enhance, I look at myself in the mirror as often as I can because it is a part of my self analysis, realization, contemplation, and acceptance.

We can work on improving this essay if you'd like. There is room to play with the content if you choose to do so :-)

Nicole, the terms that you do not understand are actually creative English writing techniques that are quite commonly used in advanced essay writing. There is nothing wrong in the way that it was written. It is just that it is a far more advanced method of English writing and expression that you have not yet achieved at your English writing level but will certainly make a highly positive impression upon the admissions officer because it shows an advanced grasp of the English language. Let me explain it to you as best as I can.


- Can you see yourself without a mirror? You can't right? That is why when you look into the mirror, you see the physical representation of yourself. You see the whole of your embodiment that you do not normally see.


- The use of the hand is to deflect negative things or show us things that we don't normally see. The mirror represents that in this case. It can also be said in this manner "The mirror truly reflects the way that people see us."


- A guilty habit is another way of saying "quirk". It is something that not everyone knows about you and you have no intention of letting them really know about it. Hence if they caught you, you would feel guilty because this is a side of yourself that is so personal, you try to hide it from others.


- In this case, your quirk is not a negative thing hence it enhances certain aspects of your personality.

The additions that you made are creative and are acceptable in this case. It helps to lighten the mood of the essay :-)

Hi, Vangiespen! After you explained those terms, I find it easier for me to understand it!
And the red portion is where I make some revision. I think in the first sentence, "our selves' should get rid of a space. Is that right?

And, do those creative writing technique common in high school students' essay?
Could I use this draft as my final draft? Is there any part that I could revise it to make it a better essay?
The word limit for it is 250, and my word count for it is 265.

Hi Nicole, yes, make our selves one word. I did not notice that I wrote it as two words :-) I have your essay down to 250 words now. You can use this as the final version. There is no such thing as a final draft.

Hi, Vangiespen. I really appeciate for your constant help. I am now working on other supplements for Rice University!