The price of two fudge cupcakes and three peanut butter brownies is $14.56, plus my self-esteem. This August I realized that I was too old to have no job experience and applied to a local bakery for a position as a cashier. Nervous about the possibility of wearing a hairnet and being surrounded by chocolate that I could not eat, I was half-hoping that my application would be rejected. But as fate would have it, I received a call a week...

I have never been interested in one type of something. I love listening to Ennio Morricone and Nas, and I enjoy watching Gone with the Wind just as much as 21 Jump Street. My widespread interests made me cringe upon discovering colleges that have strict core curriculums. At Brown, the lack of a strict core curriculum is an exciting opportunity for me to create an education that centers on my diverse interests and helps me create new ones. I want to...

I have known no America other than the post-9/11 America and no other world than the one engulfed by war and terrorism. Throughout my life, America’s relationship with the Middle East has engrossed me. Many of the adults in my life have told me that the relationship is hopeless, but I know there must be a way to mend it. I want to become educated in international affairs and the Middle East so that I can have a career...

I have lived on the same street in New Jersey for all of my life. All of the children who have grown up on it have been lifelong friends, and because I am younger than them, I have many big brothers that are like family. Some of them have turned to drugs, which fills me with an unbearable grief. Whenever we are all together again, they relentlessly tell me how proud they are of my academic achievements. I continue to...

I am part of in the calculus community at my school. The 22 of us brave students who embarked on a second year of calculus are spiritually connected, as we all share the same wonderful but tortuous experience with calculus. Although the math is sometimes impossible, I can solve a problem through the support of my classmates. My calculus community has changed the way I view insurmountable tasks. Because the students in my class constantly say, “We can solve this,” I...