A pivotal characteristic that defines me is the fact that I am an African American. Many Americans, especially Black Americans living in inner cities, do not take that brave step and apply to a higher education institution because many have a “why bother?” attitude. After living in North Philadelphia with my grandmother for a few years, I have gained insight into the truth of the logic: with poor school systems and high crime rates, college is the least of people�...

As of today, I have a general idea of what I hope to become—what I hope to accomplish after college. Though this vision is a little hazy now, I can certainly see myself living in a comfortable apartment in a large city (away from my small, rural town), performing on stage—perhaps writing a few plays on the side—all while attending law school to study criminal law in hopes of becoming a District Attorney, happy, content, fulfilled. As...

I began the intensive year-long science project at the start of my ninth grade year. When my Biology teacher first introduced the class to the science project, he stressed the fact that we should be creative—that we should dare to step outside of the typical science volcano project. His encouragements were so vague that many students did not know where to begin. I, however, have always found plants and earthworms fascinating and knew that researching them would qualify as...