Snapshots: College Admission Essay Sample

“This weekend we’ll be travelling to Auburn. Please make sure you sign up on the spreadsheet if you wish to compete!”

Click.

“If the U.S. were to crack down on the grey market for software vulnerabilities, it would decrease IP theft of military technology.”

Click.

“Stephanie, party of three? Your table is ready!”

Click.

“What do we do first when we want to find the greatest common factor?”

Click.

Sometimes the days feel disjointed, as if I am channel surfing, clicking through and transforming into a new character before the start of each new day.

I am the club officer who seeks out every opportunity for members to learn and compete, as if they are each a younger version of myself.

I am one of few Chinese female debaters on the national circuit. It is difficult not to blend into the racism that often papers over the individuality of Asian-Americans, and even harder to assert myself in an environment where I am constantly talked over and cut off.

I am the youngest among the staff, the bright and eager waitress running around to meet every customer’s demand with a smile.

I have encountered the best and worst of people, seeing for myself the world beyond the classroom.I am the strict but hip math teacher: the one who starts early and ends late, but never fails to offer her opinion on the best coffee shops nearby. One moment playing hide-and-seek with six-year-olds; the next, laying out my curriculum to an expectant parent.

Click.

The commonality among every ‘version’ of me, is a desire to use my different experiences to make the community a better place. I flip through my channels once more, and imagine the next ‘character’ I will add amid new adventures waiting for me next year.