The orange flames danced with wild abandon in the pit of fire. They crackled, as if speaking the secrets of the world before they burned up, never heard again. People lament the destructive nature of fire, but these fires were always protective and warm, a product of a day’s labor. Those fires were so beautiful. Eventually, the firewood supply would be exhausted and the flames would die, leaving only a bed of embers. Those embers were my favorite part,...

The potential of scientific opportunity is tremendous at Columbia. I am sure that the numerous research opportunities at Columbia will give me the environment I need to foster my potential as a physicist. With Professor Lev Murokh at Queens College, I did my own scientific research concerning the process of photon upconversion and its applications in bionanotechnology. My research with Professor Murokh was entirely theoretical, so I have prior experience with computational physics. I wish to continue this line of...

What matters to you, and why? (100 to 250 words) “Happiness doesn’t merely arise from improving one’s own situation. Such a singular focus always results in disappointment and failure. Rather, it comes from learning to accept one’s circumstances and failures and making the best of one’s situation despite the immensity of life. Greed, discrimination, and wickedness make utopia impossible. Yet, life’s troubles are porous. Unhappiness is not inevitable. Live well, not better.” I wrote that on my...

My debate coach has a saying that he likes to often repeat: “Being born in America is like winning the lottery.” Mathematically speaking, of course that’s true. However, that statement is just as valid when talking about almost any other country, from the United Kingdom to The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. When Mr. Cruz was trying to imbue some sense of patriotism when he said that to all of us, he forgot one major detail: I was...

When I was writing my "Why Us" essay for all my schools, I followed a very basic template. For that reason, I did not include all of them here. I...