Stepping off the plane to Ecuador, I was surrounded by barriers. As the other passengers and I walked down the ramp leading to the terminal, we faced an obstacle course of fences, construction tape, and “No Entre” (“Do Not Enter”) signs that we had to carefully dodge to reach the baggage claim. Finally past the maze of obstructions, I found myself wishing for a clearer path to my destination. I never imagined that something so trivial would become my desire;...

Reading From Left To Right A roar of voices pierces the misty spring morning air. My fingers clutch one end of the cardboard sign that reads “No Blood for Oil” in thick red paint still damp from this morning’s hasty construction. Though it is only nine o’clock in the morning, the normally sleepy streets of downtown Santa Cruz are already alive with the hundreds of protesters resolutely making their way toward Pacific Avenue. As the crowd partakes in...

When I made the varsity basketball team in high school, I couldn’t have been more excited. Basketball was something that I had always enjoyed—and moreover, something I had always done. After nine years of playing on recreational, competitive, and school teams, it was a routine part of my life, and something I never imagined giving up. I loved the fast pace of the game, the short rush of pride after making an unexpected shot, and the shared victory...

At the time that I applied, Georgetown required three essays from each student: the longest was a personal statement that was unique to the specific school that the applicant was applying to (I applied to the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics within the Georgetown College). The other two, shorter essays were about "Where You Come From," and another essay topic of your choice. For my personal statement, I wrote about my homestay in Ecuador and my desire to solve cross-cultural...