Contentment is difficult. Contentment must be predictable enough not to be overly stressful, engaging enough not to be boring, defined enough to be grasped, but still elusive enough to be in contention. Contentment is not found in passivity, but in engagement. Although I have found passing contentment in drinking tea, watching a storm, or reading a favorite book, the greatest contentment I have ever experienced was in an art gallery while viewing the works of Glen Ligon. Entitled Negro Sunshine,...

Mantis Shrimp are unfortunate enough to have to live underwater. This is an incredibly biased opinion, however, because if the shrimp were asked, they would undoubtedly believe that we, as far fetched as it sounds, are the unfortunate ones, living with all of the air and dry land. If we were on speaking terms, this relatively huge divide between our cultures would be devastating. Doubtless, we would have engaged the mantis shrimp in many a war. Fortunately for all involved,...

My goals are to live in the desert and create spacecraft, preferably while fostering children as an old woman. Efficiency dictates that I perfect my skills in all necessary areas, notably: being crotchety, applied math and science, and engineering. The University of Chicago is the ideal place for me to start. Socially, the University appears to offer an open, accepting space, full of differing views. Learning new things from and about those around me has always appealed to me. I...

Topic for school specific essay: The mantis shrimp can perceive both polarized light and multispectral images; they have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. Human eyes have color receptors for three colors (red, green, and blue); the mantis shrimp has receptors for sixteen types of color, enabling them to see a spectrum far beyond the capacity of the human brain. Seriously, how cool is the mantis shrimp: mantisshrimp.uchicago.edu What might they be able to see that...

My recommendation letters were written by my school principle, who'd taught me in class...

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Research work can really help you in your college application process. If...