An avid collector - UVA Quirks Supplemental Essay

Prompt-

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.

Around 250 words, max of 300.

Essay-

I'm an avid collector. From collecting bottle caps, stickers, F.C. Bayern calendars, birthday cards, books, Magic The Gathering cards, and even cool-looking rocks, I have always had an affinity for collecting. Let me take you through some of my collections.

Each bottle cap I collect has a story. They all have one thing in common; they were all present during special moments in my life. They serve as time traveling machines that bring me back to a particular time and place every time I look at them. Among my favorites include my Tío Leonardo's Toña bottle cap from when I met my Nicaraguan extended family for the first time this past summer and my father's Stella Artois bottle cap from when Germany won the 2014 World Cup.

Thanks to my mother, books have always played a large role in my life, which is why I collect them. My collection spans from rarer books such as a first edition copy of A Journal from our Legation in Belgium by Hugh Gibson to the entirety of my favorite author-Roald Dahl's works.

Unlike my other collections, my collection of F.C. Bayern calendars is something I did not intend; it just happened. Every Christmas my Aunt Monika gifts me an F.C. Bayern calendar. My collection begins with a 2010 calendar and I hope to keep expanding my collection and even continue the tradition with a family of my own.

Building my collections provides an escape to my increasingly hectic life. My collections act as a continuity of self, each object providing a snapshot into my life.

I believe that you do not understand what a quirk is. What it means and how it applies to this essay. Let me explain it to you. A quirk, by definition is a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism. This is something that some people may find strange about you, but seems perfectly normal to you.

Having an assortment of collections cannot be considered a quirk because there is nothing strange about your activity. It is not questionable, a source of wonder, or an action that may lead to a strange movement on your part. Therefore, your response to the essay does not apply.

Having a collection in your case is normal. None of your collection would be seen as out of the ordinary. Some of these are even souveniers. No, you have not responded corrctly to the prompt at all. No aspect of this response may be used in the next version of this writing.