It’s a seemingly ordinary Tuesday afternoon, in February 2011. I am shivering and not just from the cold. This is the most nervous I have been in my entire life because this is not just any Tuesday afternoon, it’s the day of my first Mock Trial competition. As a first year starting witness I have to speak for 15 minutes in front of a judge while opposing counsel, probably far more experienced than me, does their best to pick my...

Present: pres-ent 1. Something that is offered, presented, or given as a gift Let's stick with this definition. Unusual presents, accidental presents, metaphorical presents, re-gifted presents, etc. - pick any present you have ever received and invent a past for it.

I have found happiness nestled between the pages of The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and I am often hurled into fits of woeful lamentation when I remember that The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only novel that Oscar Wilde will ever write. Instead, I must content myself with reading and rereading every exquisite phrase until the pages are worn thin from over use. I am an insatiable reader, ripping through the volumes in libraries like a tornado. Even with...

The one thing that most adults have in common is work. From a Supreme Court Justice to a cashier at a fast food restaurant, they all have a workplace with unique challenges that must be addressed. Last year I had an opportunity to interact with various workplaces and I learned something valuable about the world of work. In May, select students from my school traveled to Washington D.C to meet with top-level government officials. The highlight the trip was...

Attached are 2 essays I wrote for the University of Chicago. UChicago is known for their "eccentric" essay questions and I know someone giving me even the vaugest idea of how to respond to some of these weird questions would have been helpful. Present: pres-ent 1. Something that is offered, presented, or given as a gift Let's stick with this definition. Unusual presents, accidental presents, metaphorical presents, re-gifted presents, etc. - pick any present you have ever received and invent a past...

I think that what set me apart from other applicants is the fact that I made a point of visiting the schools I cared most about and having a one-on-one conversation with an admissions officer. This was particularly helpful to me...