University of California - Los Angeles Undergraduate College Application Essays

Thump Thump. No sound had ever sounded better to my ears, although through a balloon encased in a beaker, it resembled more closely to "woosh woosh". For the past five months, I had been working on the model of an artificial heart for my...

At my first karate class, unimaginably intimated, I picked up my big black burly uniform and my inflexible white belt and attempted unsuccessfully to put it on myself. An older girl graciously helped me. I stood in the very back of the class, and...

"That's art?" my seating neighbor exclaimed in the crisp air of our busy art classroom.

I had to admit, staring at Russian modernist Kazimir Malevich's Black Square painting, I didn't particularly see the esthetic appeal or even the intellectual...

When I first joined Boy Scouts in fifth grade, I was the only person of color in my troop. I didn’t have a mentor who looked like me. I became aware that many minorities like me don’t have a role model to look up to, so I decided to be that model....

When you listen to a podcast, it sounds smooth and fluid like the people are having a fun conversation in their living rooms. At least, if it is a semi-decent production. Basically, if things are done well, you don’t even think about what goes...

I was completely relaxed in the silence and darkness that surrounded me underwater. Holding my breath for minutes, I pushed past my limits, fighting the urge to emerge, knowing this was my only chance. When I eventually surfaced from the water, I...

I pushed with all my might, exhaling slowly as my arms trembled, but I still couldn’t complete the pushup. I was embarrassed; I felt weak—physically and mentally.

Searching for tips for building strength and getting into shape, I was surprised by...

When I look back at the videos of my so-called dance performances as a 5-year old, I feel my soul cringe. Little 5-year-old Tara had herself convinced that even Beyonce couldn’t hold a candle to her dance moves. Why did my mother allow me to make...

As I finished reading the last page of “We Need to Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver, my first thought was, “I can’t wait to review this on my blog.”

I started my blog in the summer before sophomore year, when I’d moved from India to Singapore....

“Pass me a new toothbrush please!” I heard my father shout. As I opened the bathroom drawer, I was taken aback- why does it look like my family owns a toiletry business? Our drawer was stacked with a range of toothbrushes, soaps in different...