Before I realized what had happened, I'm on my back, staring into the fat, sweating face of my opponent. He croons, "Come on sweetie, ain't'chya gonna get up? Or are ya just gonna lay there? I don't wanna hurt'chya, just lemme know when you give up." Welcome to jiu-jitsu for a slender, 5'3" teenage girl, an oddity in a sport dominated by bodybuilding men. I groan with disgust, not only for the perspiration dripping onto my face and because this 25...

I love languages. French has always been my favorite, but I am also studying Spanish and Latin. To me, each language has a personality that reflects its culture. French is alluring, charming, bewitching, naughty, and shameless, yet somehow it slips by as sophisticated, and is even admired. Spanish is fun and exhilarating, full of long, twisting words. It rolls off the tongue and carries with it spices, dancing, and energy. Latin is practical, full of wisdom and days long gone....

The International Baccalaureate diploma programme requires intensely hard work and little sleep. But while embracing this seemingly masochistic way of life, I have grown intellectually so much that the whole experience was worth it. The program changed the way I think and forced me to address my weaknesses while taking required courses. For example, I dreaded taking the required 20th Century World History, since I hated history. But I persevered, and, in the process, learned to how to think and...

The first time my dad dragged me to Brown 9 years ago, he bought me a purple XL "BROWN UNIVERSITY" shirt, knowing purple was my favorite color. He also got ma Brown teddy bear and pink zip-up hoodie, thinking all the paraphernalia would seduce me into loving Brown, his alma...