The blare of the buzzer reverberates throughout my living quarters at 05:00 every morning. Today’s uniform: faded red sweater and my favorite pair of knock-off vans. “Time to head out,” but before I leave, I check to see if my guardian is awake to continue the morning procedure. At 06:01 exactly, I start my 2 hour and 14 minutes commute to school. Upon arrival, I avoid getting run over by the newly licensed students in their new Mercedes-Benz cars as I make my...

“Professional sports, or the military. Pick one buddy.” Time and time again, I've been asked to pick between the two. Why are these my only options? Does my racial background restrict me to limited careers? When most people think of peer pressure, they think of an active gesture, but sometimes no action is required. This makes peer pressure very powerful. My community is predominantly composed of low income African Americans. Many choose to pursue sports, not only because it is...

Trying to answer the “Why _____?” essay is like telling your significant other (SO) why you love them; in both cases, you need to give specific, unique reasons. Let’s get started! - - - - - - - - - - - How do I say it? Let’s say that you loved your SO because of his or her hair (for the sake of your relationship, I hope you have other reasons!). I’m going to pose four simple — lacking all detail that this type of essay requires — responses, and point out the thinking behind each statement: "Luscious red...