My lunch encompasses many colors. Hot Cheetos, cherry Jello, strawberry Gushers (all thanks to red #40). Orange Goldfish crackers, baby carrots, and a tangerine. Yellow, dairy-like cheese sticks and vanilla pudding. A sour Granny Smith apple with peanut butter, and juicy purple grapes from the backyard.      My mom helped me pack my first lunch as a kindergartner but expected me to follow the family tradition of packing my own lunch after that. I think my parents followed this advice from the...

Growing up on an apricot farm, I was immersed in the diverse agricultural lifestyle of California’s Central Valley. Despite this background, I recall feeling nervous at my first FFA (Future Farmers of America) conference because hundreds of strangers were dancing and cheering. That feeling quickly changed as I attended more conferences, meeting people from all over the nation. Even though I did not join FFA until my sophomore year of high school, 150 characters cannot entail the pivotal activities in...

“Oh, Mama, just look at me one minute as though you really saw me...Just for a moment now we're all together. Mama, just for a moment we're happy. Let's look at one another.” - Our Town, Thornton Wilder (Class of 1926)   “My daughter grows weed, ya’ know?” I was on a 7-hour flight back to California, seated next to a very verbose woman — let’s call her Linda — who did not refrain from telling me every single detail of her...

For most of my life, family dinners involved seven place settings, one plastic table cloth, and a “five dollar meal!” prepared by my mother (which always managed to yield at least three days worth of leftovers.) Family was everything, and over the years, my family has grown to 16 people with marriages and nieces and nephews. I am drawn to studying biological engineering because of the love for biology that my family and teachers instilled in me. When I visited Cornell...

“UGHHHH-AHHHHH.” My 6th grade class roared in unanimous opposition to our teacher’s request. She wanted us to write a poem of self — something that we could look at “10 years from now and remember who we were”. Looking back, my English teacher did more than prompt me to write a poem of self. She prompted my love for creative writing that has yielded many awards, and, most importantly, one of my most cherished creations. I even returned to the “I...

I value relationships, so I love the idea of an inclusive university that would connect me to students, professors, and traditions. Bands like Low Strung show how creative and variegated the Yale student body is. Another appealing aspect of Yale is its ongoing commitment to undergraduates. It’s extraordinary that every tenured professor teaches undergraduate courses and I cannot believe I would get to learn from these experts. Lastly, traditions like Class Day, resources like the Jackson Institute, and of...

If you want to understand what my home looks like, simply imagine a half painted easel, a stack of 20 classical books, and something on fire. My older brother studied biochemistry in college, while my older sister studied English. My oldest sister is an incredible artist, while my younger brother is entranced by history. In short, my family has variegated interests, but we share a love for learning that I see very clearly in LSA. I hope to attend the University...