For as long as I can remember, I have loved learning. My entire childhood included some form of independent, in-depth study completely unrelated to school. While most of my classmates dreaded research papers, I embraced them. I would research relentlessly until my curiosity was satiated. I often remained devoted to one subject for months or even years at a time. My love of knowledge and the pursuit of it began before I was even in pre-school. The idea of flight...

For most of my life, change has made me uneasy. No matter how frequently it proves to be positive, I resist it. I regularly remind myself to welcome change because it’s an essential ingredient in moving forward, but haven’t often taken my own advice. Last year, I faced perhaps the greatest change I have dealt with so far, stepping away from what had been the most important part of my life, not knowing the outcome of that decision....

By far the extracurricular experience that has played the greatest role in shaping who I am is my participation in regional, national, and international yoga championships. For the last seven years, training for these competitions has been the most important non-academic focus in my life. What started out as a casual interest became a central part of my identity. I was first introduced to yoga competitions when my mother, a yoga instructor herself, took me to watch the International Yoga...

For a long time, the prospect of choosing a college seemed daunting to me. I had no idea what to look for or even what I wanted in a school. At this point I wasn’t even aware of what options existed outside the typical, cookie-cutter state universities and intimidating Ivy Leagues, neither of which particularly appealed to me. Then I discovered Colleges That Change Lives, an invaluable little book that opened my eyes to the world of private liberal...