Prompt
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others
Essay
“You fell in love with a bedspread?”
Although I don’t make it common knowledge among my football teammates, my favorite childhood toy was a gift for my fifth birthday—a huge bedspread that featured a colossal map of the world. In retrospect, I must have been a nerdy kid: while my friends played with Lightning McQueen and Darth Vader, I sat on my bedspread and traced the lines defining countries. When my grandmother bought me a globe, I was fascinated to observe that distances seemingly changed. Alaska and Russia, a world apart on my bedspread, now became close neighbors.
The world that lay on my bed developed in another direction when I found a new haunt—the library. With feverish excitement, I consumed book after book about each of our fifty states until I could recite their histories, locations, capitals. But my career as a little professor came to a halt when school was in full swing; sports soon became my gateway to adventure. Who needs the library when Google is at your fingertips?
Fast forward to sophomore year, I juggled a formidable schedule of AP classes, endless football practice and a part-time job. Still, my childhood fascination with research simmered beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed. And then, an opportunity to participate in Notre Dame’s Summer Scholars arose …
Initially, I thought the subject, public policy-making, would center on familiar national issues; much to my surprise, our professor chose one that affected us personally—education. The climax of the seminar was a presentation with Cameron, my roommate from New Orleans. Our task: compare the educational policies of our home states. Off to the library, we dashed in search of our county’s educational budgets, school test results and public-private partnerships. The evidence we unearthed was overwhelming: glaring differences existed between the education systems of New Orleans and Somerset County, New Jersey. The money spent by each state revealed the standing of education there. As the evidence mounted, showing a vast inequity in education, I channeled the fervor of my younger self.
Just as the globe had broadened my perspective years ago, Cameron’s story gave a face to those statistics. His former public school was essentially a holding pen for kids. Neither the faculty nor the student body was interested in learning; test results plummeted annually as class size swelled and supplies dwindled. The only way Cameron could improve his lot was through a scholarship to a charter school which, while not excellent, was indeed an improvement. Becoming a Summer Scholar through another scholarship, he had to borrow clothes to attend our session.
When September rolled around, I felt fortunate, unlike Cameron, to begin junior year in a district that valued education. Moreover, my own perception of learning had changed. My Summer Scholars professor showed me to look at data in a new way, making connections and conclusions. My learning journey again took an upward turn when I took AP US Government. While my summer program taught me to examine numbers as proof of policies, my government teacher, a passionate crusader for truth, enlightened me about the powerful effect of language on covertly molding public opinion. Together, our class scrutinized words to reveal latent biases in newscasts, reports, speeches. Separating fact from fiction is not easy in an age of internet misinformation, but she guided us to become aware of the way words affect our judgments.
A map, a globe, a library, numbers, words— all five played pivotal roles in my learning journey. Fortunately, two teachers were there to spur me on to examine what I read with a different angle of vision. At times, my journey has been meandering, taking detours. Yet, my fascination always managed to be rekindled. Easily two feet taller than the little boy who imagined he was sitting atop the world on his bedspread, I am happy to report I still share his wonder.
Tips for Writing
Applying to college is a long, daunting process—you will thank yourself later for starting early. Thus, begin the personal statement as soon as you can, as you can write about whatever you want, so you don’t have to wait for the prompts to be released. This is the most important piece of writing you will do, as every college will see it, so take time to write it. Don’t be afraid to rewrite it or even change the topic entirely if you think you could do better, but make sure that your writing always stays true to yourself. The essay is meant to convey who YOU are and what makes YOU special to a college. With this in mind, focus on setting up your essay so that whatever qualities you want the reader to learn about you shine through. This is your chance, so make the most of it and let your personality flair. Uniqueness is appreciated, as admissions officers comb through thousands of these essays. There aren’t many times in your life that you will have a chance to tell your story in this manner; so, embrace the experience.