I was beaten down by a sport that used to bring me up. My new-to-swimming, nine-year-old dreams had sunk to the bottom of the pool. I had wanted nothing more than to be the next Natalie Coughlin or the rising star, Michael Phelps. Now, I simply went through the motions, planned to finish the season, and be done with swimming forever. Pain is only temporary. True, maybe, but how come I've had muscle fatigue for the past three weeks straight?...

Yale has always been Yale to me. Ever since I was a little girl, I always dreamed that someday down the road I'd be able to walk into the magical world of Yale University and call it home for the next four years. To be honest, I obsessively visit the campus and go to the book store, sit down, and read, all while pretending to be a Yale student. The academic prestige is just what I’m looking for in...

A little girl with bursting brown eyes stumbles into the living room of the small apartment she shares with her twin brother and mother. Emphasis on stumbles; she’s wearing a pair of high heels much too big for her miniature feet. When her mother glances toward the commotion, she stops in her tracks. She hears eight soft words, “I want to be just like you, Mommy.” My mother had this effect on me when I was six and still...

I'd like to address my SAT scores. I was only able to take the SAT Reasoning Test once, when I had originally planned to take it twice. Because the SAT fee waiver only allows two waived fees, I used one for a reasoning test and one for subject tests. While I am pretty content with the scores that I received on both, I know that they are not representative of my full potential. Taking the tests again and paying full...

I would definitely have applied to less schools. The entire application period is extremely stressful and you feel like you are spreading yourself out thin. I know personally, I wanted to apply to pretty much any good school because I figured if I did that, my chances of attending a good school was higher. I would not recommend...