Hi Guys,
First off, let me say how blown away I am by the amazing feedback that you all provide. After taking into consideration the feedback you gave me on my last essay, I decided to give this one a more formal approach. Please let me know of any changes you think I should make.
Cheers
Prompt- The global hospitality industry includes hotel and foodservice management, real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, and law. Describe what has influenced your decision to make the business of hospitality your academic focus. What personal qualities make you a good fit for SHA? 500 words max.
Warmth
The entirety of everything hospitality encompasses can be described in one word: warmth. It is such a soothing word, a remembrance of the amber glow of the fire while it pours outside, the feeling of hot chocolate in the throat, and the love that the dearest people provide. It is a comforting word and it is a safe word. To me, that is exactly what hospitality should be. I chose hospitality as my academic focus because I wanted to provide that warmth to people.
I was not always so sentimental. High school is hell. It is filled with people who are constantly trying to put others down so they do not feel so terrible about themselves. I did not just learn trigonometry, I learned how to raise walls of indifference, and how to launch stones full of malice. I would always try to knock someone down a peg. I would always have something smart to say. I did not care about whose feelings got hurt, as long as I got a good laugh.
Then I met this man named Leon through work. Leon was in his fifties and as we were discussing college, he gave me some advice. Leon had just been like me. He was always ready to insult someone, to break them down. He was the big man on campus. Everyone knew him, and he thought that he had a lot of friends. But then he got Leukemia and while he was recovering, not one person visited him in the hospital. He told me, "Do not take your relationships for granted. A laugh lasts a few seconds. Your actions last a lifetime".
Hearing his story made me want to pursuit a career in hospitality. After working at a restaurant, I experienced first hand how draining this job can be. It is filled with customers who think they are always right, and servers who think of nothing else but clocking out. But no matter what day it was, Leon always came in with a skip in his step and a whistle in his voice. And I soon found myself feeling better. It was as if his positivity had rubbed off on those around him. His attitude made me think. All my life, I had brought people down, and for what? It is my senior year, and I do not want to be remembered as the kid who was a jerk, but happened to be funny. I'm the captain of the varsity soccer team. I'm supposed to be a leader, someone people look up to. Yet how could people respect me if they felt ridiculed?
I realized in that moment that hospitality is not just about the industry; it's a state of mind. It's the simple action of giving a warm smile when a customer walks through the door. It's giving a little kid an extra crayon even though his parents said no. It's asking someone how their day was. It's encouraging someone to talk when they feel like nobody's listening. It's being kind, and kindness is contagious.
First off, let me say how blown away I am by the amazing feedback that you all provide. After taking into consideration the feedback you gave me on my last essay, I decided to give this one a more formal approach. Please let me know of any changes you think I should make.
Cheers
Prompt- The global hospitality industry includes hotel and foodservice management, real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, and law. Describe what has influenced your decision to make the business of hospitality your academic focus. What personal qualities make you a good fit for SHA? 500 words max.
Warmth
The entirety of everything hospitality encompasses can be described in one word: warmth. It is such a soothing word, a remembrance of the amber glow of the fire while it pours outside, the feeling of hot chocolate in the throat, and the love that the dearest people provide. It is a comforting word and it is a safe word. To me, that is exactly what hospitality should be. I chose hospitality as my academic focus because I wanted to provide that warmth to people.
I was not always so sentimental. High school is hell. It is filled with people who are constantly trying to put others down so they do not feel so terrible about themselves. I did not just learn trigonometry, I learned how to raise walls of indifference, and how to launch stones full of malice. I would always try to knock someone down a peg. I would always have something smart to say. I did not care about whose feelings got hurt, as long as I got a good laugh.
Then I met this man named Leon through work. Leon was in his fifties and as we were discussing college, he gave me some advice. Leon had just been like me. He was always ready to insult someone, to break them down. He was the big man on campus. Everyone knew him, and he thought that he had a lot of friends. But then he got Leukemia and while he was recovering, not one person visited him in the hospital. He told me, "Do not take your relationships for granted. A laugh lasts a few seconds. Your actions last a lifetime".
Hearing his story made me want to pursuit a career in hospitality. After working at a restaurant, I experienced first hand how draining this job can be. It is filled with customers who think they are always right, and servers who think of nothing else but clocking out. But no matter what day it was, Leon always came in with a skip in his step and a whistle in his voice. And I soon found myself feeling better. It was as if his positivity had rubbed off on those around him. His attitude made me think. All my life, I had brought people down, and for what? It is my senior year, and I do not want to be remembered as the kid who was a jerk, but happened to be funny. I'm the captain of the varsity soccer team. I'm supposed to be a leader, someone people look up to. Yet how could people respect me if they felt ridiculed?
I realized in that moment that hospitality is not just about the industry; it's a state of mind. It's the simple action of giving a warm smile when a customer walks through the door. It's giving a little kid an extra crayon even though his parents said no. It's asking someone how their day was. It's encouraging someone to talk when they feel like nobody's listening. It's being kind, and kindness is contagious.
