Well, I sent in the applications last Monday. Two down, two to go! I'm working on the third - in fact, I'm nearly done with it (just have to finish the second essay that is required). Perhaps I shall share the "about me" essay, in case you are curious. It's in my conversational style, since that seemed to fit the topic and the "plot" (organization) best. My other essay will be more... scholarly, shall we say?
The essays for the other applications were easy. So easy, in fact, that I had to use an extra page for each application just to hold all that I wanted to say.
And now, for the "about me" essay.... it contains exactly five huntdred words, but it started out with well over 600. (It may have been close to 700, but I cut out quite a bit before I even typed it all up.)
If you want to learn about me, you must look at my bedroom door.
Now, this is no ordinary door. I have two maps stuck to the outer side: one of where I live and one of my home state, Ohio. There is also a small map, showing only the state’s counties; on the large one, I cannot find the counties among all the other information, despite (or perhaps because of) my visual mind.
On the other side of my door I’ve hung a bulletin board; its background picture of schoolbooks is entirely obscured by the papers I pin on it. My calendar is the most prominent. (I’m a nut for recording events.) Beside the calendar, a pushpin is poked through a schedule of church youth group events, which I attend faithfully. Below that, there hangs a page of notes from a particularly good lesson in youth group. It reminds me to keep myself free from the love of the world.
I recently posted some ideas for a school paper beside a list of writing contests and scholarship deadlines. Those two scraps of paper evince my fondness for writing. Another note about a college phone call confirms my aptitude for schoolwork. Pinned crookedly above the deadline list is an old volunteering schedule. I’ve forgotten to take it down – or perhaps I purposely left it up because the spot would look bare without it.
With all the schedules hanging up, you might have guessed that I have a melancholy temperament. You can also see that I take Christianity seriously; I want to become as Christlike as I can. And I’m sure you can tell that I love learning. Those are reasons I want to attend a smart, conservative college.
But to find what I want to do in life, you must look closely at my calendar. At the end of the month are written four capital letters, usually followed by a word like “business” or “community”. On the week before is a note: “7p 4-H”. These are the key.
I write monthly articles for a webzine called HSCX; each month, I am assigned one of the four article categories. I started writing for HSCX soon after I decided that I wanted to be a journalist. But I would never have discovered news reporting were it not for 4-H, where I have been my club’s news reporter several times. There, I found that I loved news writing. I want to learn excellent journalism skills in college, so that afterwards I will become a good news reporter. [This Michigan] College has a reputation for excellent academics and conservative values – just what I am looking for in a college. I think that [This Michigan College], by teaching me well, can prepare me to succeed in journalism. I’d like to write political or regional news, but my dream job is to be a full-time writer for WORLD Magazine. That dream, and the 4-H motto “to make the best better”, challenge me to keep trying harder and doing better.
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