Lewis and Clark College Application Essays

There I sat on the piano bench, leather sticky where shorts ended and legs began, and all I could think was, “No, please don’t make me learn that.” The piece was Burgmüller’s Ballade, the time somewhere around my twelfth birthday. The song was beautiful, showcased…

My legs are dotted with faded scars left behind by mosquito bites. Sitting in a stuffy classroom in early September, I look down at them nostalgically. In June, my feelings towards mosquito bites were less cordial. I had just begun a 45-day backpacking trip in…

I believe in hiking boots. Stiff, clunky and unapologetically dorky, preferably made of waterproof leather. Neat rows of hiking boots line the back wall of REI. An employee who calls himself a “shoe expert” lists the pros and cons of each pair. “I would say…

Two days after leaving home this past June, I stood alone amidst thousands of people, not knowing a single one. I heard no English, saw no familiar sights, and was caught up in a dusty, polluted, hectic metropolitan whirlwind. I was in Kathmandu, Nepal, and…