Prompt: Stanford Supplement
Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate — and us — know you better. (100 to 250 words)
Essay Drafts
While I was perusing the internet for ideas on how to write essays (as one does), I stumbled upon this article: https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/on-writing/, “essay, as told through revision history”. That being said, I am shamelessly “borrowing” the idea. Here is my Stanford roommate essay as told through revision history.
8/5 10:00 PM:
Letter about how volunteer work, specifically with underprivileged communities, has opened my eyes to the lack of opportunities those communities have and encouraging the roommate to try their hand at it as well
8/5 10:03 PM:
Covid made a positive impact on me. Hanging out with my friends online in voice calls made me realize how much I missed being in person, but also how much I enjoyed being around others. Ever since, I was never the sort of person to do this before, but I would invite my friends to shoot hoops or go to an amusement park.
8/6 9:15 PM:
Dear Future Roommate,
Every group of friends has their own assortment of silly inside jokes. What are some of yours?
A lot of the ones my friends and I have revolve around sports. My favorite is a bit between a friend, who I will call Paul, and I. I have a habit of pretending to be a professional athlete. Every 15 minutes on the dot, you will be able to find me swinging at an imaginary tennis ball, skipping down the hall, or hitting my trusty jump shot on an imaginary hoop. Every time I do that last one and Sam is around, he will immediately run over and jump in front of me to block my shot.
For example, if you watch F1, you will know that Max Verstappen is arguably one of the fastest drivers ever. So, we have an inside joke running where we randomly start speed walking down the hallway and shout back “I’m Max Verstappen”. Then when the rest of us catch up, we break down laughing.
8/13 8:25 PM:
Dear Future Roommate,
Every group of friends has their own assortment of silly inside jokes. What are some of yours?
A lot of the ones my friends and I have revolve around sports. My favorite is a bit between a friend, who I will call Paul, and I. I have a habit of pretending to be a professional athlete. Every 15 minutes on the dot, you will be able to find me swinging at an imaginary tennis ball, skipping down the hallway waving to the imaginary crowd at the other end of the tunnel, or hitting my trusty jump shot on an imaginary hoop. Every time I do that last one and Sam is around, he will immediately run over and jump in front of me to block my shot.
Another inside joke involves Max Verstappen, arguably one of the fastest F1 drivers ever. My friends and I will randomly start speed walking down the hallway and shout back “I’m Max Verstappen”. Then when the rest of us catch up, we break down laughing.
I wonder what our inside joke will be? Maybe an old western stand-off? Anyways, in case you could not tell, I love sports. Even after a long day of classes, I am always ready to start a game of basketball, a match of pickleball, or go for a hike (though I cannot imagine completing that after class unless we go at Max Verstappen speeds).
Sincerely,
Wesley Chen
8/15 11:53 PM:
Dear Future Roommate,
There are a lot of classic conversation starters. For example, how is the weather where you are from?
I personally believe the best way is through the clothing we wear. One of my shirts is a chess board with a position known as the “French Defense.” Just above that is the comment “Excuse my French.” I have had many chats start out about chess even with people who have never played before.
Smoothly transitioning, do you have any irrational fears?
I am scared of flying on planes. So, my superpower would be flying, to avoid going planes. But, I have been able to subside my fears a bit by learning how all the flaps and engines need to move in order to turn, takeoff or land. Then during the flight, I focus on those mechanisms instead of my fear.
On a lighter note, every group of friends has their own assortment of silly inside jokes. What are some of yours?
My favorite is a bit between a friend, Paul, and I. I have a habit of pretending to be a professional athlete. Every 15 minutes on the dot, you will be able to find me swinging at an imaginary tennis ball, or hitting my trusty jump shot on an imaginary hoop. Every time I do that last one and Paul is around, he will immediately run over and jump in front of me to “block” my shot.
I wonder what our inside joke will be? Maybe an old western stand-off?
Sincerely,
Wesley Chen
8/22 10:03 AM:
Dear Future Roommate,
There are many classic conversation starters. For example, how is the weather where you are from?
I personally believe the best ice breaker is our clothing. One of my shirts is a chess board with a position known as the “French Defense.” Just above that is the comment “Excuse my French.” I have had many chats start out about chess even with people who have never played before.
Sometimes those conversations happen on the bus, but when all my friends are at clubs or sports, I tend not to use my phone. Although I could play video games, I would rather be caught up in my own thoughts. I find it is a great way to organize what I have to do once I am home and come up with ideas for projects, English essays or anything else.
Smoothly transitioning, every group of friends has their own assortment of silly inside jokes. What are some of yours?
My favorite is a bit between a friend, Paul, and I. I have a habit of pretending to be a professional athlete. Every 15 minutes on the dot, you will be able to find me swinging at an imaginary tennis ball, or hitting my trusty jump shot on an imaginary hoop. Every time I do that last one and Paul is around, he will immediately run over and jump in front of me to “block” my shot.
I wonder what our inside joke will be? Maybe an old western stand-off?
Sincerely,
Wesley Chen
9/8 9:03 PM:
Dear Future Roommate,
Every group of friends has their own assortment of silly inside jokes. What are some of yours?
My favorite is a bit between me and my friend Paul where we pretend to be professional athletes. Every 15 minutes on the dot, you can find me swinging at an imaginary tennis ball, or hitting my trusty jump shot on an imaginary hoop. Whenever I go for that jump shot and Paul is around, he’ll immediately rush over to block it.
I realize that I haven’t introduced myself yet. If we were face-to-face, I might ask you about the weather where you’re from. But, I’ve found that the best icebreaker is often clothing. One of my shirts is a chess board with a position known as the “French Defense” accompanied by the phrase “Excuse my French.” This shirt has sparked many conversations about chess, even with people who have never played.
When we arrive at Stanford, I can better introduce myself through the three stuffed animals on my desk, each signifying a part of my identity. A pig representing my Chinese zodiac–my grandparents gave it to me since I was born in the Lunar Year of the Pig. Snorlax, a Pokemon known for sleeping, represents my relaxed personality. And, a dog because, just like a puppy, I always have a smile on my face.
I wonder what our inside joke will be?
Looking forward to meeting you!
Sincerely,
Wesley Chen
Final Draft
Breath in. Breath out. I can see the hoop on the wall. “Crossover! Between the legs! He steps back and takes the shot! It’s a buzzer beater!” I announce as my friend Paul rushes over, hurdling all the chairs to block my shot. “Nope. You definitely missed that one.” My friend Allen tells me, bringing me back to reality. “Oh.” I respond, then we roll over laughing at our inside joke.
That’s an everyday scene in my school’s orchestra room–a scene I hope to bring to our dorm room. When we finally meet in person, you might see me wearing my favorite shirt depicting a chess board with a position known as the “French Defense”, it’s accompanied by cursive writing: “Excuse my French”. On Move-In Day, I’ll probably be wearing my “Yes, I’m Always Right” shirt which is partnered with a graphic of a right angle. My shirts help me express my passions.
I’ll also be cradling 3 stuffed animals to plop onto my desk. A pig, representing my Chinese zodiac that my grandparents gave me. Snorlax, a Pokemon known for sleeping, represents my relaxed personality. And, a dog because, just like a puppy, I always have a smile on my face. Now that you’ve gotten to know me a little better, I hope to get to know you in Frosh 101 too! Who knows what our inside jokes will be?
Looking forward to meeting you!
Tips for writing
These were just the major, major edits throughout the writing process (as evidenced by the sporadic timestamps). For this prompt, just write about something unique to you. For me, that ended up being the inside joke, my T-shirts and my stuffed animals.
If you struggle with coming up with something unique, there’s only one thing I can say to you: you are unique. I struggled on this too initially. Take the 8/22 edit for example. I started talking about not using my phone on the bus. Boy, who wrote that? That guy is so cringe. So just look around, observe your life, what’s something that not a lot of other people do?
Another recommendation I have is to let your writing voice shine through on this one. If you go to Stanford’s website, they say “This, at its essence, is a creative writing exercise”. If you need inspiration for how to start creative writing I can recommend watching the intro to a movie, or reading the first few lines of a book. The intro “Breath in. Breath out.” comes from the cars movie 😛