Other people track their growth through trends of clothes or the progression of their artwork from macaroni mosaics to landscapes and portraits. I track mine through Shakespeare plays with Lori. I can’t remember the first play we saw together—maybe it was Love’s Labour’s Lost. I was in the 5th grade and as we sat in the comfortable theater seats, I understood not a word and I struggled to stay awake. At the time, I vaguely remembered...

It would have been easy to give in to my natural timidity and let the boys of the drum line continue to torment me. Primarily cocky and obnoxious males, the drummers picked on me, the tiny girl who was miraculously selected for the male upperclassmen dominated snare-drum line. However, they taught me a crucial lesson: to stand up for myself. This was a new idea for a shy girl, formerly content to slip under the radar. In a community that...

Though I first admired Jane Goodall because she played with monkeys for a living, she soon became my inspiration and role model. Her book, In the Shadow of Man, played a major role in sparking my interest in animal behavior and advocacy. I idolize Goodall for her passion, curiosity, and commitment to seeking answers in her field. Beyond the beliefs I know we share, such as vegetarianism, there are certain issues about which I am eager to learn her position,...

Playing percussion is not an easy job. Unlike a clarinetist or a flautist who can fade into their section or fake a difficult part, percussionists are constantly exposed. We have conspicuous parts, often solos, though they may be simply one crash of the cymbals or a triangle trill. Percussionists can’t get away with anything. We need to know our parts from the first rehearsal, lest the director point out mistakes in the “very important timpani part.” These blunders lead...

I found it very useful to reach out to professors in my areas of interest, either through email or in person, or in several cases, both. Not only did this...

When I was wait listed at a school, I happened to be in that city and arranged for an interview. Although...

It was the best balance of everything I wanted in a school. It is not too small and not too big; it is not in the middle of a big city,...

Do something that you're truly excited about. The summer after my freshman year, I did what I thought I was "supposed to do" in order to get into college, and I went to a pre-college program where I took a history class. It was an interesting class, but the program in general was fairly miserable for me. So the...