UPSB v3
Serious Discussion / Supplemental Essay (College of William & Mary)
Half serious
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Date: Thu, Dec 31 2009 12:57:24
So I have a cousin at William & Mary, and the fool has desperately begged me to apply. Therefore, I have written a half-serious supplement essay, which is quite ridiculous, really. Any suggestions?
Prompt: "Provide any additional information about yourself." 500 words or less~
Essay:
Let me tell you something about myself: I am torn. Torn between whether to choose vanilla or strawberry ice cream. Torn between whether to choose a major in music or science. Torn between the Republican and Democrat parties. Torn over whether I should call myself White or Middle Eastern. Torn. Torn. Torn.
Perhaps some will think me frivolous--a person overly concerned with which flavor of cold confection is best fitted for his palate. I shall call them lifeless. To me, life is about choices--and carefully considered choices at that.
When I see a magnificent cone adorned by scoop after scoop of gleaming frozen dessert, my heart stops. Of course not literately, however, it strains and jumps as I mull over the myriad of options available to me. This is war. A war of ideas within my own mind.
Now, do not jump to conclusions, I am perfectly sane (allow me this one fantasy). In speaking of my inability to decide on a college major, I simply mean I have too many interests. But perhaps that is my Achilles heel. On the one hand, music is natural to me. It has been my almost constant companion these short 18 years I've crawled the surface of planet Earth. True as this may be, science fascinates me. I was the sort of kid who got a new Lego set and ripped the instructions to sherds in favor of my own bizarre creations. I feel that science affords me this same opportunity. The opportunity to build and test outside the confines of someone's instruction manual.
Politically, I am a neophyte. However, this has not stopped my pigheaded opinions from rearing their sharp, and often unwelcome, head in many a socially-awkward situation. But I digress. I have flip-flopped a thousand times on which party I support. For a short while I was even interested in the Green party. Someday, I hope my political naïveté will be shed in light of a more informed position.
My mother was born in Beirut, Lebanon. My father was born in Marseille, France. I am a half-breed. This rather strange mix of races is the primary source of my ethnic confusion. I have frequently referred to myself as a "fake" caucasian or a "pseudo" Lebanese. Neither of these is quite accurate. Whatever my proper ethnic title might be, I feel the amalgam of my nationalities has acted as more of a blessing than a curse. I wake up in the morning and think to myself, "Who should I be today?"
If one were to write a descriptive phrase about me, it might well read, "The boy who could battle himself over a lump of sugar--and love it." Though I cannot agree with myself on many an issue, that internal conflict and careful consideration becomes the glue that holds my personality together. Accuse me of indecision and right you might be. I am far too busy fighting my own personal war over what words I should include in the final sentence of this essay to notice. -
Date: Thu, Dec 31 2009 16:51:34
i don't know if its a good idea to say you don't know what you want to do, but i guess if you're not applying at the graduate level it could be OK
btw go for music -
Date: Mon, Jan 4 2010 18:03:40
Surge
you sir, are brilliant.