My application essay was written as a reflection on the day I learned of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. I was behind the wheel during a driver's ed session when the news was broadcasted over the radio. I felt a sharp contrast between the marks of adulthood in learning to drive and recognizing the gravity of a harrowing tragedy, and so I verbalized how I felt this was a turning point in my adolescence.

I was in seventh grade the first time my mind betrayed me. Up until that time, I felt stable if a bit insecure, with my Aeropostale clothes and Phiten necklace. I was the typical shy middle schooler; I despised adolescence despite barely having tasted it yet. My group of friends, if the word "friends" can even apply here, began dropping subtle hints that I was wearing out my welcome early in the school year. Their apathy towards me led me...