Mondays get a bad rep. But every Monday between the hours of 4 and 6, I am perfectly content. Year round, I can be found at the local bowling alley at this time. However, I am not there to bowl. In fact, I have absolutely no bowling skills, whatsoever. Rather, this time every Monday is when I volunteer for STAR, inc. a nonprofit organization that serves individuals with developmental disabilities. For years I have helped out while the disabled adults bowl. Although...

I’ll never forget what 7-year-old Jules, with her purple nails and natty pony tail, proclaimed to me while flipping through Vogue magazine. “I wonder where all these girls’ food goes ‘cause their bellies are all so flat. I wish I had one too.” Seven and already yearning for different body, an impossible body… I experienced a rush of messy of emotions: there was empathy for poor Jules and her burgeoning self-esteem issues, anger at the magazine for instilling those...

For the AP English Literature and Composition assignment I had to read “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy. This book frustrated me. It enlightened me. And ultimately it helped me. The first frustrating aspect of this book was its structure. The book jumps back and forth between two different time periods. This was hard to follow and eventually required me to divide the book in to two “eras” if you will, “BSD” before Sophie’s death, and “ASD,”...

I am proud that my generation is seemingly more tolerant of diversity. In fact, I feel lucky to be growing up in a time when people are less discriminatory. I feel I have done my best to personally contribute to this newfound acceptance. As I mentioned in my personal essay, I have volunteered at STAR, inc. for many years. As a result I have spent my fair share of time around adults who have Autism, Down syndrome, mental retardation, etc....

Is it just me or does the idea of “working” have a negative stigma attached to it? “School is way better than work,” my Dad always assures me. 5-Hour Energy commercials depict offices as a snooze fest. Dolly Parton sings in her famous song “9 to 5,” “Workin’ 9 to 5, What a way to make a livin’, Barely getting by, Its all takin’, And no givin’.” What’s the deal? Why does it seem like work is no fun? If a person does...

Arguing against one’s values and beliefs is an uncomfortable practice that a student is occasionally challenged to do. I was faced with this challenge a few times throughout my high school career, usually in Socratic seminars or the occasional persuasive essay. A specific instance was in my US history course sophomore year. Our class was learning about the Civil War and in order to better understand both sides of the predicament, the class was divided in to Southern plantation...

Emory has a plethora of appealing programs both in and out of the classroom. Academically speaking, I would love to graduate Emory with the joint major of English and Creative Writing. Additionally, I would love to minor in Journalism. I am on my school's newspaper and take any challenging English classes Staples has to offer, thus I would love to pursue my interest in writing at Emory. I am excited that USA Today declares Emory the number one school for ...

According to the A.C. Nielson Co., the average American watches 28 hours of television a week. We are accompanied by television on treadmills at the gym, the radio when we drive, mini-computerlike phones in our pockets. The media is inescapable. The prevalence of media is today's society is not going to change so it is crucial that viewers have strong media literacy skills. "Media Literacy in the 21st Century" would be the name of my course. The National Association For...

I’m a perfectionist. In fact, I hope you’re not dog-earing this essay. My room is always clean. My closet always organized. The contents of my backpack are color-coded with each class a different color. However, despite my obsession with neatness, I suffer from CSD, chronic staining disorder. I cannot eat a meal, make that bring food towards my mouth, without getting a stain on my shirt. It’s true– brown from balsamic vinaigrette, red from tomato juice, and...

Of course I like the fact that Duke offers all the majors that my indecisive brain finds intriguing. Of course I like the gothic architecture I saw as I walked through campus. Of course I love the eight-to-one student faculty ratio, considering my love for extra help. But these are all obvious reasons behind Duke’s appeal. Duke is a great match for me because some of the students camp out for basketball tickets. I was excited to hear that...

At first I was reluctant to come to Vandy because my sister goes here too. However, I realized choosing...

Vanderbilt has the best of both worlds–a reasonably sized walkable campus but...

Think of how many thousands of essays these admissions officers read a day. Try and make yours unique...