My first day teaching seventh grade band class was nightmarish. I had been playing several instruments since I myself was in seventh grade, but teaching was a different ballgame entirely. Once the door swung open, absolute pandemonium ensued. Keeping the kids in their places and the room in one piece was like plugging a bursting dam. As soon as one student was situated, another was halfway through wreaking havoc elsewhere. Once the semblance of control was established, I thought about...

At the time of my application, Stanford University required many short supplements to the Common App. In general Stanford wanted to scope out intellectual vitality, the most important aspect of their application. But Stanford really wants to see how you would contribute to the intellectual vitality of its community in new and creative ways. So I took a different spin on Stanford's classic "write a letter to your future roommate" question. I pretended my roommate was sick and asked if...