Wouldn’t it be cool if humans could photosynthesize? The first time I had this idea, I excitedly told my friends and family so they could praise my stroke of genius and revel at its amazing potential. Instead, I repeatedly received reactions of raised eyebrows, laughs, and responses of “Kate… you are SO weird.” I get their point, because don’t get me wrong… I know that photosynthesizing is actually just a scientific combination of carbon dioxide, water, and energy...

PROMPT: Tell us about a time when you changed your mind about something that mattered to you. What led to that change? It is very hard to surprise me. I’ve caught my parents planning a surprise trip to Disney World, found a giant trampoline from Santa on Christmas Eve, and predicted countless numbers of presents. But on Easter Sunday when I was eight, I had one of the biggest surprises of my life. The news came when I excitedly...

I originally was determined to go to a small, private university so that I could participate in discussion based classes and do something different from the large number of people from my high school who attend UNC Chapel Hill. So, although I was accepted to UNC originally, I ended up going to Furman University where I received a scholarship. Although I had a...