'superstition and unawareness' - Stanford Intellectual vitality- Disease

Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging. (max. 1800 characters)

Taking Pestilence and Civilization in my junior year has changed the way I look at the impact of disease on society. The spread of disease has shaped the altered the expansion of Islam and affected the growth and colonization of the Western Hemisphere. As I began to realize that smallpox and measles wiped out over ninety percent of the entire population of the Western Hemisphere and that the 1918 flu killed more people than every war that was fought in history, I was stimulated to look at how the modern 21st century responds to these things. To my surprise, people have not changed much in their reactions to sudden outbreaks, even today. Humans have tried to stop disease by inventing paper cups, Kleenex, and modern flush toilets, but disease makes up the more number of deaths than anything else each year. People all over the world started panicking when they first heard of the "swine flu" epidemic. One of the biggest questions that came to my mind after learning about this was, "What can we do about this?" Our society forgets many outbreaks that have occurred in history, so superstition and unawareness have been the major reasons why infectious diseases have spread through populations. Through taking this class, I have been able to gain an appreciation for what diseases have done in history and what they are doing now, which has, in turn, sparked my interest in biology. I am eager to explore these topics in greater detail by studying biology at Stanford.

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I need help with this essay! Any suggestions on how to make it better?

Okay, so your essay shows that you can convey complex ideas that you learned. However, this essay isn't personal enough: anyone could've written it. You need to add more about yourself/how it impacted you PERSONALLY.

...was fought in history, I felt compelled was stimulated to look at how the modern 21st century responds to these things.

I don't know if appreciation is the right word here:
Through taking this class, I have been able to gain an appreciation for what diseases have done in history and what they are doing now, which has, in turn, sparked my interest in biology.

Ha ha, appreciate what scientists have done throughout history, but diseases do not need appreciation, haha. I know what you meant, though. How about:
Through taking this class, I have been able to gain an appreciation for what perspective and understanding about wha t diseases have done in history and what they are doing now, which has, in turn, sparked my interest in biology.