College Application Essays accepted by University of Massachusetts - Amherst

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

“I think we’re lost,” I said to my parents as I stood on the corner of 114th Street and Broadway carrying a large bag of luggage. I stopped confused as to where I was going. I knew I was close; I could tell by the number of people wearing Columbia...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

We have a saying here in The Valley: The world will take us where we want to be. In essence, this little bit of wisdom accurately embodies the world I come from, what it has taught me, and the many ways in which it has shaped my dreams,...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

It’s 107 degrees and the sun’s hot rays are beating down on a family trekking through the busy streets of Dhaka. People, rickshaws, and goats alike are all rushing off to reach their respective destinations. As the parents of the family encourage...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

A good majority of the time, a camera body and lens are strapped around my neck, waiting to capture the world’s beauty. It seems like a cliche for a teenage girl to buy a camera and assume that she is a photographer. However, I see it differently....

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

As the Chinese saying goes, “he who stays near vermilion gets stained red; he who stays near ink gets stained black.” If one were to take that literally, I would practically be a rainbow. It is widely held that the environment that one grows up in...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Even at 6:30 in the morning, with blurry eyes, wet hair and a to-go mug of tea, I always find that my breath is taken away by the sight of my bus stop. It faces the Chesapeake Bay, looking over a stretch of grass that slopes down to the water. On...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

To many, it may seem farfetched to associate the feeling of being perfectly content with a sport as salty as fishing, but not to me. The way the cork grip of a fishing rod gingerly held between my fingers instills the feeling of being so...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

When I think of heroes in my life, there are so many options to consider: who I am most like, who I have tried to emulate, who I aspire to be. Many could and would answer their parents, an older family member, or even a standout teacher. I...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

In checkers, players must strategize and plan in order to make their moves and win the game. This is what my dad taught me when we played, almost every day after school. After I learned the basics, it was up to me to figure out how to beat him. He...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

As I shoulder my bedroom door open, the cardboard box once secure in my hands flops to the ground. The resulting thud echoes off the walls, but my attention has already shifted. I start a calculated walk around the room, taking it in from multiple...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Each pounding step sends shockwaves up my body. My breathing is labored, but controlled. Inhale for two steps, exhale for two steps. Repeat. Midway through my run, my body has begun to complain. Amidst a sea of thoughts fighting for my attention,...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

“So, like, if I pinch you, will the other two feel it?”

“Are you all identical, even the boy?”

”How many minutes are you oldest by?”

Being a triplet comes with daily quirky questions. I do not remember the exact moment when I realized my...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

His skin detached from its threadlike bindings to unveil a unique color palette. Excess blood flooded the area, only to be extracted by a contraption of assorted tubes. Muscle tissue, each fiber visible, danced around bones and ligaments to the...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Salmon Point beach and campground in Bridgton, Maine on that early summer morning was idyllic, with maroon picnic tables staggered along the lake’s edge and sand bridging the distance. A simplistic playground with a swing set and some monkey bars...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

There’s a beach at the end of my street, squished between two houses with boulders for seats and dirty sand that gets stuck in between your toes. I find myself drawn here often; there is something different about the space and how the days unspool...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

I push through the mountain of people ahead of me to glimpse at the check in line at the traikin station. I frantically push myself through the multitude of people to avoid being trampled to death in the busiest city in the world: Beijing.

I...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

From Ohio to Kentucky to Massachusetts, some may call me crazy for having three different trees as my best friends, but I assure you that I am perfectly sane. For my first birthday, my grandparents flew to Ohio and gave me my first birthday...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Live musicians yell into their mics while the crowd jumps and sings along to their music. I’m out of breath, my chest hurts, and I know my voice will be gone, but I’ve accepted it. An older man stands up on one of the picnic tables, dancing and...

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

“Miss? Why are you here?” I look down to see a little child tugging on my pant leg. The children at the Educational Theatre Company (ETC) think I am older than I am, so I often get questions like these from students who think I am wiser than my...