Georgetown University

“You’re not the boss of me!” my younger brother taunts as I attempt to make him return a toy that he took from our youngest sibling. Meanwhile, another brother sits on the couch, laughing at all of the commotion going on. As the instigator of this...

University of California - Santa Barbara

It was a sizzling September day. I was behind a table at the Club Fair handing out shiny, glazed donuts. My peers meandered by with their giant plates of stromboli as I attempted to convince them to sign up for Jewish Club.

My biggest leadership...

Cornell University

On our wall at home, there hangs a poster that reads "Mathematics knows no races or geographic boundaries, for mathematics, the cultural world is one country". This paraphernalia comes courtesy of my father - a math professor who would never let...

University of Southern California

Lodhi Garden, New Delhi’s most scenic historic park, is visited by a diverse group of people every day: politicians, businessmen, doctors, and also the occasional celebrity. And of course, me!

In the midst of hectic examinations or on quiet breezy...

Virginia Commonwealth University

After completing an hour of training with the overworked nurses of Johnston-Willis Hospital, I acquainted myself with Holly, a frail ninety year old woman who, along with fighting terminal cancer, was recovering from a stroke that also impaired...

Yale University

The guitar has a voice like no other in one’s soul. Its voice is soft and intimate when its player feels likewise yet also fiery and vehement given the slightest bit of oomph. When I play, I feel as if the guitar is really the one with emotion and...

Brigham Young University

We moved to a different house again. For the eighteenth time.

It had been a Saturday when my father made his grand announcement that we were moving again. I had been eating at the dinner table with my six siblings, and I almost choked. Grinning,...

University of Pennsylvania

6, 7, and 7500: Behold the three numbers that will define my academics at the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences! I explore what I love to learn no only through the classes on path to a major, but also through the innumerable...

St. John's University

Wake up, shots fired.

Go out, be kidnapped.

Buy food… there’s none.

A rich country that evolved into a third world country in the blink of an eye. Venezuela, that’s where I lost my childhood innocence. Forced to grow up, forced to take actions....

University of Pennsylvania

Bang! I am deafened by the sound of a gunshot, and suddenly I see hundreds of fourth-graders sprinting towards me. I am temporarily mesmerized by the massive blob of energy consisting of tiny legs moving in unison and tight fists swinging with...

Florida Southern College

"My-my-my name is Te-Teddy."

My presentation about France to my fifth-grade class turned sour from the beginning. I knew what words I wanted to say, and my mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. As the students grew impatient and...

SUNY Stony Brook

Tossed into the wild, alone I was to fend for myself against the ravenous beasts. A rustling, no the clanking of Jenga bricks upon the floor, startled me. His imposing 4-foot figure stood before me as a sudden shadow flickered before my eyes. A...

University of California - Santa Barbara

“I used to work for Johnny Adams,But he has abused the States!Taken away all their rights,Oh, he did abuse the States!He was a real nasty guy,That can only mean one thing…He wants to declare war on FranceA Quasi-War don’t make no sense!”

Picture...

Princeton University

“There is no point in arguing if you are not susceptible to reason. Embrace your cynicism. Hug it.” - Christopher Buckley, The Relic Master

I have never played a game of chess in which I anticipate every move my opponents make. Typically when I...

Yale University

It felt like performing dental work on an apprehensive clam without any gloves; the ridges of the Dragon’s bony mouth scraped combatively against my knuckles as it swallowed its treasure. “I cannot imagine the faces of the horrified crowd behind...

University of California - Santa Barbara

The barbed wire fence was still wet from the morning dew. I peered across the broad fields and felt the pang of sadness, thinking about the countless souls buried before me. I stood within the haunting gas chambers and touched the scratch marks...

Washington University in St. Louis

Fascinating! I had no idea, as I took my seat near the front of the hall, how much one lecture could change my thinking. Our media focuses on crime, conflict, and injustice - what demands attention. But Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker...

University of Texas - Austin

I winced in aversion when the document loaded. Displayed before me was a dauntingly long list of bizarre names, obscure titles, and dates hundreds of years in the past. As I scrolled through the PDF, my disorientation only grew.

Earlier that day,...

New York University

For most high schoolers, a best friend is someone who lends you the physics notes when you miss class. Someone who says you look like a marshmallow in your parka but silences anyone who does the same. Someone who sponsors midnight Stop & Shop...

University of Connecticut

It’s a normal school day; I am sitting at my desk, hair in braids, doing my classwork when I hear giggling behind me. “She bald-headed,” a voice says, giggling. “I know, that's why she wears weave all the time,” the other replies. I sit at my...

University of Southern California

Like any toddler, I despised my car seat; I’d arch my back and defiantly kick my feet as Mom strapped me in. Finally accepting my fate, I’d sulk throughout the drive to ensure Mom understood my frustration. One day, however, this scene played out...