Dear Ms. ----------, Thank you for the raspberry tootsie pop I snuck out of your drawer the other day and forgot to tell you about. The bag of candy I owe you is coming. I am writing to apologize. Sophomore year, you had me for honors chemistry. I was a serious brat, and I said some pretty awful things. First of all, you should know why I said them. I think you’ve figured this out by now (probably before...

Brown Supplements “By the time I was two, I was asking for tickets to the symphony for my birthday. At age four, I started kindergarten and reading. A year later, I was reading at the third-grade level. My family oohed and ahhed, and told me I would go to an Ivy. Words like genius and brainiac stuck to me like tape to glasses. I proudly accepted the label. Everyone wants to be smart. Everyone wants that power; it’s human...

We, as students, as children, as humans, are asked to define ourselves. We are asked to select a category and conform. It is simpler to make decisions when your path, personality, and purpose all fit nicely in a bundle. But I can’t define myself in the way I’ve been asked to, which is why I think Macalester would be a good fit for me. I have a variety of interests, and not all of them coincide. For example,...

There is a path we were told about, A narrow route to success: Ahead to college and beyond. Dreams are spun round a wonderland of lexis and thesis, A place of infinite conjecture Made of brick and thought. I follow the path, And suddenly it’s a labyrinth. Choose direction and I’m free. Concepts are shattered in the search for Neverland By places of infinite lecture. Everything is made of cinderblock efficiency: People pressed into buildings, Classrooms made of...

To make music is to express part of your soul. To make music with others is to share yourself, your expression. I love the community that lives inside a harmony, the instinctual feeling that you have made something beautiful with others. I’ve been singing forever; there’s no time that I remember starting. When I came to Guilford High, it was my first year in the public school system and I had some trouble meeting new people. I was...

I have an insatiable intellectual curiosity. I love to learn, and I think attending college will open doors for learning for the rest of my life. I have a passion for theatre, but I would also like to explore other fields of study, from history to biology. Whatever I choose to pursue, college will foster a greater appreciation for education and a better base of knowledge. I would like to continue to serve my community. So far, I have participated...

I led my school’s theatre arts program in fundraising $34,000 for a new sound system. We needed body microphones for our actors, and there wasn’t enough money in our budget to buy them. In previous years, our theatre department spent thousands of dollars on renting equipment, and did not get our money’s worth. The students banded together, and we raised enough money to buy 16 new high-quality body microphones. I was chosen by the head of the theatre department...

I stood and read the page in front of me, trying not to fall asleep in front of the new inductees and the multitude of parents. “One important feature of the National Honor Society is citizenship,” I read. The sentences that followed were full of lame buzz words like betterment and leadership skills, but none of it meant anything. This paper, written years ago and read at every NHS induction, didn’t talk about citizenship. I wanted to tear it...

“What are we having for dinner tonight?” This question is asked every night by at least one member of the family before 5:30. Usually it’s followed by a debate regarding nutritional value, schedules, acceptable vegetables, and my sister’s staunch aversion to meat. But not tonight. Tonight, regardless of rehearsal, volleyball practice, conference calls, green beans, and vegetarianism, we are having pelmeni. My mom boils the little frozen dumplings on the stove and my dad takes out the condiments. My...

As soon as Eliza heard I was free, she made her suggestion without hesitation: “Let’s go ninja Julia.” “What?” “Be ready at seven, dressed like a ninja. I’ll pick you up.” I looked at the clock. 6:45. I dashed around the house, grabbing leggings and anything black. Somehow a plastic samurai sword was in my hand. I ran downstairs, trying to explain my way out of the house and into Eliza’s car. “I’m going to go ninja...

I spent every summer in high school improving myself in some kind of academic capacity, through a...