The clear blue sky usually apparent in the morning was gone, replaced with angry red clouds that were slowly rolling towards us. A faint barbeque smell permeated the entire area. At breakfast the staff was called out for a meeting. Confused, I slowly walked out and saw the camp directors standing there with a furrowed brow. They announced, “A large wildfire started a few miles south last night. We are under optional evacuation orders.” Almost everyone raised their hand with...

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.--Living in Texas is unlike living anywhere else. Texas has a reputation for being very southern and very conservative. When I tell people that I’m from Twza, I get many responses, ranging from “Do you ride your horse to school?” to “Do you have a gun?”, despite the fact that the only time I...

Growing up, I have been exposed to people from all over the world, people with different beliefs, different opinions, and different ideas. The sheer number of differences in my childhood and in the childhood of one of my Israeli friends astounded me. They grew up with air raid drills and the constant threat of bombings, knowing that when they turn 18, they will be going into the army instead of attending college or traveling. Their patriotism and dedication led me to...

The music pumped out of the speakers as as my dance team walked into the first formation of our dance, but I didn’t notice any of them as I took my spot a couple of feet away from where the football team was sitting. As our song started and I went into the first movements of the dance, I couldn’t help but notice how objectifying this set up really was. We were performing to the entirely male football...

George Washington embodies everything that I would like in my college. Just one year ago, college seemed so far away. I had no idea where I wanted to go or who I wanted to be. I was quickly thrust into the world of college essays, standardized testing, and scholarships, forced to decide what I wanted in my college. Big or small school? Big city or small town? Lively social scene or quiet scholastic atmosphere? I had to decide what I...

I am a stealth tweeter. I have probably only tweeted about thirty times total. Yet I find myself on the website day after day. I spend countless hours dragging my finger up and down my iPhone screen, mindlessly staring at the florescent screen that is just inches away from my face. Every morning, almost instinctively, I turn on my phone and tap the little blue box before I can even open my eyes. Barely awake, I scroll through my feed...

We are a community with quirks, both in language (we’ll welcome you to Grounds, not campus) and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are.--The moment I step into an airport is always a distinctive one. The automatic doors slide shut behind me as I step onto the cool marble floor, and I enter a world that is unlike any other. Since I was little, going to the airport has...

Tulane University embodies everything that I would like in my college. Just one year ago, college seemed so far away. I had no idea where I wanted to go or who I wanted to be. I was quickly thrust into the world of college essays, standardized testing, and scholarships, forced to decide what I wanted in my college. After reading though numerous college books and attending almost every college fair that my school offered, I had come up with a...

What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way? I walked into my last period english class, expecting to analyze Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia, as we had in previous classes. I sat down at my desk and saw, not a worksheet on the gender stereotypes found in Elsinore, but a thin paperback book with a picture of a woman on the cover and the word W;t. As my...

Something that would elaborate on...