College Prompt Essay (FINAL DRAFT)

Stanford University

What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What's the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

     Care to hear a joke? My math scores! Why didn't the doctor visit the teacher? Her students gave her an apple every day! What do you get when you combine a teen's nightmares? Acne-demics! Okay those were terrible. But that's what I do sometimes, so get ready for more.

     Adolescence is hard to get through if it includes being aware of your social surroundings, status, to-do lists and becoming independent to take on the world. You think you can do things which in reality you can or cannot do. Homework piles on and procrastinating requires more resistance. Fun and games seem to stop, and you're faced with confusion and seriousness, because the path to life in the real world has opened.  Keep your head in the clouds, and you're upset from being wet. Or rather, keep delaying work in favor of fun, and you're upset because you're busy. However, everyone says the hardest part about things is starting them, and that's exactly what being a teenager is now: the hardest part is the beginning. You don't know what's happening to you and everyone around you, your mindset becomes more complicated with how you look and how people see you, and it's like everything is against you.
     School used to be my favorite time of day, because of how fun working was and talking to friends. Growing up from middle school to now however, homework took longer and got harder, not to mention the expectations were higher for a better grade. Finding friends and a social identity for people to notice was becoming more difficult upon learning my social status, and became an importance for the sake of attention. When I became invested into my own hobbies and took up extracurricular activities, I realized I put myself into a busier schedule as time passed. Every day felt like I was spinning plates holding parts of my agenda for the day, and if I dropped one I had to pick up the pieces, reconstruct it to fit into my schedule, and do it again the next day until it's finished. Even now, I'm still spinning those plates until I finish everything I need to do, then prepare for the next set of things to do. So many choices to avoid the stress of keeping myself intact were considered when my patience frayed like a rope, but I knew that any choice I picked wouldn't work if I left my responsibilities lingering around.

     Now the best part of being a teenager? Adults say being a teenager is one of the best times of your life, and there's no wrong in that. They're the final years of youth - when times are still carefree and joking around is still possible while still young. When those years pass and are left without fun, you lose that chance of freedom and are forced to become responsible in order to take on the world. The years of adolescence turn out empty, and nothing is worth remembering from that time of life. Simply live it, and all those years will be recalled as the most fun one has ever had. I still deal with my problems as a student and as a kid, but regardless I try to have fun: being with my friends, listening to music, and making a joke or two that someone might find funny. It lifts that solid stone piece of stress in my heart so I end up feeling like I wasn't stressed in the first place.
     So the advice I would give? Smile, work through it, and find humor where you can. Light hearted emotions give that feeling of determination and hope, and make it seem like life isn't as hard as it really is. Working through tasks and responsibilities is a lot brighter when you're feeling fine, like picking oranges to prepare a rewarding glass of orange juice. When you finish the task, there's something fun to look forward to. Humor is a sort of relief from stress, since people say that laughter is the best medicine. It really helps look on the bright side of things and see an easier task of life ahead. Jokes would be my sort of comedy relief, even if some of them turn out terrible or aren't as funny as I thought they would be. What do mathematicians call the sun? A ray of sunshine. What happened to the scissors who didn't get a role? He couldn't make the cut. Whatever makes you smile, it helps feel a lot better about situations and makes progressing less stressful than it normally is. Whenever I'm not doing so well dealing with my working agenda, I take a breather and humor myself by chatting with friends or thinking of jokes. With a balance of looking and eventually feeling like I can take on my challenges as a teen, I can still go through the annoying responsibilities of homework and making sure my life is still in control.

College Choices and Reasons

1. California Institute of Arts (CalArts)
     The school offers a range of majors that encourage forms of art. Majors include creative writing, animation, graphics, and drawing. They also offer programs for music and voice acting. Many of the alumni have their own hit shows or are directors of well-known films, people such as Alex Hirsch of Gravity Falls and Daron Nefcy of Star vs the Forces of Evil.

2. University of Hawaii in Manoa
     The school is close to home but far enough to stay away from it. It offers a majors list of performing arts, branches of science, and studies in humanity. Language classes are available for studying to become bilingual/multilingual, and business classes are there for entrepreneurs. It may be interesting to study finance while close to home to experiment money handling before going out into the world.

3. Harvard University
     The school is well-known, so it's obvious where the first reason goes. The school has a "joint concentration," or integration of two areas of study. That may become helpful for taking two classes I plan to major on. The school is strong in discipline, which I would take a challenge on to see how far I will go on it.

4. Stanford University
     Graduates of the school were noted to look into jobs surrounding politics, environment, and urban life, so the majors might be good to look into. The school is also strong in discipline, as they take their work seriously and make sure students take it seriously as well. Programs are heavily centered around science, history/language, and the arts. Considering the outcome of students and the variety of majors, it's conclusive that the programs teach very well for students with huge ambitions.

5. Phoenix University
     The school goes by the motto of people who rise and work for what they want. Based on this, the students are hard-working to achieve, therefore placing a productive and supportive atmosphere around the school. They have online courses, which is very helpful in case I may not be able to attend classes in person. They also have flexible class times for people, which can help if I have trouble keeping up with work.

Prompts of Colleges

1. Stanford University

• Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
• Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.
• Has there been a time when you've had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
• What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What's the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

• Some students have a background, identity, interest or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you have experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
• Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
• Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

2. Harvard University
     Unlike the rest of your application, which primarily consists of filling in boxes, the personal essay gives you the freedom to essentially write about whatever you want. No rules! Show who you are! Which sounds pretty cool, until you’re sitting there looking at a blank...

Creative Writing Partner Work

Partner: Javon Monico

     I don't know how much longer this battle against a foreign army is yet to last. My people is trying their hardest, guns blazing night and day and explosions ringing our ears. Our skies have penetrated by jets whizzing by like bullets at the speed of sound, the deafening roar hurting my brain. War has hurt us, and here I stand as someone who might risk their life displaying our strength to the opponents. I voluntarily walk out in plain sight, nothing but a fire burning next to me, smoke rising high enough a plane could see it from far away. I hold out the flag of my country, a bright blue and white beacon that begs for peace. No more do I wish to see death and sadness. Never more should there be a battle we must avoid to survive. I want peace. That is all I need. Hoping those who see this flag will understand, and that wish will come true.


     It is done, we have finally won. We won against the Ravens and earned our victory for the Super Bowl. Our fans cheer ecstatically, screaming chorused together until it's a single roar of congratulations. Purple and yellow dot every corner of the stadium, and I feel so victorious and happy, like a child who managed to get their mother to buy them a game they've waited months to get. Pumped with newfound adrenaline after a hard play, I look up at the sky with both arms out, trophy in had. This day was glorious, and I could feel tears almost streaming down my tired face.