Boston University

There are few places in this world as diverse as my high school cafeteria on a food sale day. A tell-tale spicy aroma draws students with jingling pockets to the back table where they are greeted by an array of cultural foods. They fight over the...

University of Virginia

On my first day of third grade, I wore tap shoes to school. The majority of my elementary school years was a blur, but I vividly remember this occurrence as it is the earliest memory I have of going decisively against the crowd. They were a creamy...

University of Richmond

Did you know that arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, is one of the most common fears in the world? It affects approximately 10% of men and 50% of women worldwide, myself included. This past July, a man residing in West Seattle attempted to kill a...

Ohio University

If someone inquired what the end of the world would be like, the responses in return would envision a million different disasters, and then some, from the realms of science, folklore, religion, and more. From the sun crashing into us, to the ice...

Tufts University

Ice cream machine to my left, plate of pasta perilously balanced in the palm of my hand, I glanced at Russell Jens ‘18, inquiring, “tell me Tufts has an unlimited meal plan,” to which he responded with a resounding “yes”. Over our meal Russell...

University of Wisconsin - Madison

I come from a place where the Sears Tower dominates the glitter of the skyline, the glorious silver Bean lives, and the notorious winters leave us all to witness weather that would even have Demeter herself question the decision of her revenge:...

Northwestern University

As my tongue swelled, I realized — hold on, this might be a peanut butter cookie. Immediately, I began to panic — “I’m too young to die! I haven’t even gone to college yet!” Then I reminded myself. “Stay calm. Getting worried won’t help.” Instead,...

University of Wisconsin - Madison

“Chance, if you pull my hair one more time you’re going to be in big trouble!” I threatened. The boy in front of me sat in his wheelchair, grinning wide with a devilish look on his face. “Chance, no one will want to be your friend if you hurt...

American University

I am not a religious person. I cringe at the sound of Christian rock, think Broadway's The Book of Mormon is shamelessly hilarious, and am often scolded by my elders for flippantly exclaiming "Oh my God!" I find the following of dogmatic religious...

Yale University

I stood in the Sainte-Chapelle, listening to the echoes of angelic choir voices, while a soft pink glow set over the whole room, filtering through the stained glass windows that cover the walls. Every crevice, every little detail can be seen...

Princeton University

I have been solving problems my whole life, from mathematical proofs to the dilemmas of the pendulum. These problems are the glowing embers inside my heart. The elegant approaches of masterminds, like Gauss, are the kindling to the flame. I fell...

Princeton University

“You know how in Chinese, the first character for swan…”

“No.”

Stop right there. I do not know anything about the characters for swan. Turning to my classmate, I repeat the phrase for the hundredth time in my life: “See… I don’t speak Chinese.”

...

Westmont College

It was an excellent idea in theory—the fishing wire would be released from some unknown mechanism, invisible to the audience, and the paint strip leaves would fall, revealed the bare, jagged-looking trees that were supposed to make up our creative...

American University

“Entonces, Max, ¿dime porque has venido a España?”

I stared blankly at my host Dad while trying to catch a glimpse of how large his moustache really was, as he glanced over his shoulder towards me, his car narrowly avoided the oncoming traffic....

Princeton University

A girl drops in her seventh Alka-Seltzer tablet, still perplexed that her cough medicine can transform her mundane plastic bottle into a colorful lava lamp.

“Again!”

Five boys laugh as their Coca-Cola rockets spiral through the air. The 300 kids...

Boston University

It’s 8:00 am. I open my shades and admire the view from my Warren Towers dorm: sailboats drifting along the Charles River. This was the sight I woke up to every morning during my six weeks at BU’s high school honors program last summer. When my...

Brown University

“So, you’re like a plant, right?”

Yep, exactly. My name is Katia, my favorite color is aubergine, and I’m secretly a plant because I don’t experience sexual attraction. How did you know?

I found out I was asexual the summer after sophomore year....

Fairfield University

While my own romantic ramblings have done little to either confirm or deny the existence of love at first sight, my affair with the passive voice began long before we even met. We did not have our first formal introduction until my freshman year...

Cornell University

Consumed by exhaustion, agony, and stress, my dad silently plods toward his old recliner and sinks into it. His delivery route had seen five extensions in the past year, and the USPS management was attempting to enforce a sixth. Severe gout and...

Cornell University

I want to change the cynical, bitter stigma attached to politics. Many only see corruption and greedy lobbying, but politics is my outlet to solve the growing problems of our modern world. Nothing else has the potential to affect the lives of...