ssjandu
11-29-2006, 11:33 PM
well, i've just finished writing a college essay. the subject is simply "tell me about yourself." i took it and put a twist on it and used the question "why are you lucky" to answer the question. the following is what i have so far. comments , suggestions, and critique are welcome (and wanted). don't be shy, tell me what you think.
“You don't know how lucky you are.” It is usually my dad who utters these words, typically as a warning (and more often than not, with his index finger pointed directly at my face). For the most part, I usually just cast the words aside with the casual “Yeah, yeah. Aren't we all.” But there is, however, the rare occasion on which I actually ponder these words and delve into a thought about what it would be like without all of the abilities and interests that I have.
At first, the chain of thoughts starts pessimistically. Who am I to be so special and lucky? Sure, I can talk and walk. I'm lucky for that, but there are billions of other people who can also. No, there must be something else to me. I begin to think of all of the things that define me: my actions, my interests, my culture, and my abilities.
I begin to realize something: maybe I am different after all. Not in a bad way, but I begin to realize how unique I am. I am a Sikh (a religion from India). I was, however, born in Baltimore. As a result, I realize that I have assimilated rather nicely. Not completely, mind you, but I have one foot in each culture. I hold onto my religion vigorously. In comparing myself to other Sikhs who I know, I realize that the level of assimilation that I have is rather rare. Most people are either totally assimilated or not assimilated at all. In my culture, we are to keep our hair and beards long. Most Sikhs who live in America don cut hair. They neglect to wear a turban (also customary of our culture). In doing all of these things and keeping true to my religion, I realize just how unique I am. In wearing a turban, I have faced much racial adversity and have become a much stronger person.
Still, rare as my cultural status may be, I'm still not completely satisfied with my conclusion. My focus then turns to my interest: biology. Sure, there are plenty of people who like biology, but my interest is such that it has become more than a mere interest. It has become a passion. From the time that I was a child, I can remember spending my waking hours in front of the television. At first glance, I looked like any other kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, but that wasn't so. Upon closer inspection, one would see that I was instead watching the Discovery channel or the National Geographic channel. I was always enthralled at learning new biological facts. I have always found biology most interesting because of its versatility Through biology, we have learned where we come from, but we have also been able do direct where we may go. Through biology, we have harbored medicine and through medicine, we have improved our overall health. People have been cured of diseases and ailments that, before biology and medicine were discovered, had been considered hopeless. Through my work at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, I have gained more exposure to the world of biology, as I research biological conservation and impart my knowledge onto children.
These thoughts bring me some consolation, but I am still unsatisfied. I may have an avid fascination with biology, but there are too many people like me, and to me, that does not make me any luckier than the next person. My thoughts then turn to other things that I enjoy doing. It is not only biology that I enjoy, but psychology and science in general. I am not, however, a completely academic individual. I have many interests outside of school and science, I realize. My thoughts turn to my guitar sitting idly in the corner. I am reminded of my deep love for music and music theory. I enjoy dissecting music into its components and also performing it. Anybody can play music, but few people recognize its components as I do. Because I am multilingual, I have developed an interest in language and its parts. I have gone as far as to attempt to teach myself several languages via the Internet. I also enjoy writing and have been involved in several amateur hobby writings.
My thoughts all converge as I am suddenly struck with a thought that should have been painfully obvious long ago: I am not lucky because of the things that I do nor because of my interests. I am lucky because of how unique I am. My culture and interests are only components of a bigger picture. The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts. It is because I think and act on my own rather than follow the norm that I am unique and in that, I count myself as one of the luckiest people on the planet.
end...
“You don't know how lucky you are.” It is usually my dad who utters these words, typically as a warning (and more often than not, with his index finger pointed directly at my face). For the most part, I usually just cast the words aside with the casual “Yeah, yeah. Aren't we all.” But there is, however, the rare occasion on which I actually ponder these words and delve into a thought about what it would be like without all of the abilities and interests that I have.
At first, the chain of thoughts starts pessimistically. Who am I to be so special and lucky? Sure, I can talk and walk. I'm lucky for that, but there are billions of other people who can also. No, there must be something else to me. I begin to think of all of the things that define me: my actions, my interests, my culture, and my abilities.
I begin to realize something: maybe I am different after all. Not in a bad way, but I begin to realize how unique I am. I am a Sikh (a religion from India). I was, however, born in Baltimore. As a result, I realize that I have assimilated rather nicely. Not completely, mind you, but I have one foot in each culture. I hold onto my religion vigorously. In comparing myself to other Sikhs who I know, I realize that the level of assimilation that I have is rather rare. Most people are either totally assimilated or not assimilated at all. In my culture, we are to keep our hair and beards long. Most Sikhs who live in America don cut hair. They neglect to wear a turban (also customary of our culture). In doing all of these things and keeping true to my religion, I realize just how unique I am. In wearing a turban, I have faced much racial adversity and have become a much stronger person.
Still, rare as my cultural status may be, I'm still not completely satisfied with my conclusion. My focus then turns to my interest: biology. Sure, there are plenty of people who like biology, but my interest is such that it has become more than a mere interest. It has become a passion. From the time that I was a child, I can remember spending my waking hours in front of the television. At first glance, I looked like any other kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, but that wasn't so. Upon closer inspection, one would see that I was instead watching the Discovery channel or the National Geographic channel. I was always enthralled at learning new biological facts. I have always found biology most interesting because of its versatility Through biology, we have learned where we come from, but we have also been able do direct where we may go. Through biology, we have harbored medicine and through medicine, we have improved our overall health. People have been cured of diseases and ailments that, before biology and medicine were discovered, had been considered hopeless. Through my work at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, I have gained more exposure to the world of biology, as I research biological conservation and impart my knowledge onto children.
These thoughts bring me some consolation, but I am still unsatisfied. I may have an avid fascination with biology, but there are too many people like me, and to me, that does not make me any luckier than the next person. My thoughts then turn to other things that I enjoy doing. It is not only biology that I enjoy, but psychology and science in general. I am not, however, a completely academic individual. I have many interests outside of school and science, I realize. My thoughts turn to my guitar sitting idly in the corner. I am reminded of my deep love for music and music theory. I enjoy dissecting music into its components and also performing it. Anybody can play music, but few people recognize its components as I do. Because I am multilingual, I have developed an interest in language and its parts. I have gone as far as to attempt to teach myself several languages via the Internet. I also enjoy writing and have been involved in several amateur hobby writings.
My thoughts all converge as I am suddenly struck with a thought that should have been painfully obvious long ago: I am not lucky because of the things that I do nor because of my interests. I am lucky because of how unique I am. My culture and interests are only components of a bigger picture. The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts. It is because I think and act on my own rather than follow the norm that I am unique and in that, I count myself as one of the luckiest people on the planet.
end...