Sunday, September 21, 2014

College Essay FINAL

University of Virginia
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you are perfect content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

          Everyone has their place where you can be you and be genuinely happy. It can be at home in your room or in your imagination where you can roam freely. Being a ballet dancer, my favorite state of mind is when I'm dancing. The rush of adrenaline pumping, the hype of getting the movement right, and just the total feeling of it, makes me tingle inside. There would be no place for me to feel that rush, if it wasn't for my dance school, Queen Emma Ballet. It's the only place where I can be in that state of mind and fit in with everyone there. It has people I can relate to, people to look up to, and gives me the best feeling in the world. Even if it sounds very cliche, this place will always be my home away from home, the place where I was allowed to be who I wanted, and where I belonged.

        When people first see me, they rarely think that I'm a dancer and the thought of me being a ballet dancer is a one and a million chance. I really don't fit the image of a "prima ballerina" in training. I'm basically a girl who just liked to dance and my studio was the place where I got to embrace it. In grande allegro or big jumps,  I can fly across the room easily. In pirouettes or turns, if I set my mind to it, I'm able to do 3. Which in my studio is a lot. Dancing makes me feel free. Almost like I'm superhuman. I can do the impossible when I'm dancing. I'm in control and there's no one telling me what I have to do. In ballet class, I'm me in every single possible way. I can put my own little flair into each combination which makes ten times more fun. The studio itself is small and simple, but there's nothing I would change about it, except occasionally adding AC for those really hot days. The best thing about it is that I feel totally comfortable, like it's my home. It gives a welcoming vibe that is impossible to resist.

       The studio had it's own special charm, but the people that came with it made it all the more amazing. I can't go that much in detail about who they are, but I'll just leave it at awesome. They are some of the most awesome people in the world. They put up with me four days a week and they still haven't tried to get rid of me yet. The memories we make are never not incredible. We just have fun, do weird, stupid things, but we own it. We're a special type of breed of dancers that just perfectly fit together. Without them, it would be like having having no pho (a.k.a. my favorite food ever) in the world, which means that I would be the saddest person in the universe. They help me improve, dance-wise and personality-wise, and make bad days not that bad. I completely trust them which I can't say for a lot of people in my life. They're my family that loves me no matter how weird I can get.

        My friends and the studio would be nothing if we didn't have our teachers. Just like school, I have teachers that I love and teachers that I "tolerate". The teachers I love, I would never replace. One of my favorite teachers, Ms. Eve, who is like our dance mom. She gets mad at us a lot, just like any other mom would, but somehow manages to still love us. We even have little special talks about life and school, and it makes going to dance practice feel like it's not practice. The connection that I have with her is different than a regular student-teacher relationship, and like I have been saying this whole essay, we're a family. Having her in my corner has made me more courageous and outgoing because I knew could always count on her.  She and all the other teachers tie the whole essence of Queen Emma Ballet together.

         Queen Emma Ballet is and will always be my second home with the best second family a girl could ask for. Just the thought of the place brings a smile to my face. On some days, it beats going home. When I'm either at my lowest or highest, I can always count on this place to be there 24/7. I don't even have the words to tell you how special this place is but I will tell you how grateful I am to be a part of it. I don't think I would be half the person I am today without this place. I know that this place has made me more confident and courageous, which is something I'm still working on. We may be small in size and quantity, but we're a force to be reckoned with. I love this place because in any other place I would never feel like I belonged like the way I feel at Queen Emma Ballet A.K.A. the place where I'm perfectly content.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Word Choice Oymipics

1. Walking through the doors to see his children for the first time in 8 months, he couldn't help but to smile. His heart beat picked up as he saw his kids for the first time. He dropped to his knees as they ran to hug him. Once they were in reach, he pulled them in for a big hug. Smiles stretched from ear to ear. With tears in their eyes, they shouted with joy, "Daddy I can't believe your home!"

2. "I know you killed my husband." she thought when she sipped her tea. "I wanted you to come over so we could talk John". "I'm happy to be here, what did you have in mind?" he replied with no hesitation. "I wanted to show you something." she said, walking over to a picture of her and her late husband. His heart started beat faster as he took the picture in his hand. "I see it in your eyes, you murderer" she thought again as she pointed the gun to the back of his head. She hesitated as her hand began to shake. She felt her stomach drop as she pulled the trigger, killing the man she knew her whole life.

3. Winding down to last few seconds of the match, United States were able to get that last point they needed. The score was 26-26 with 35 seconds on the clock. The ball was now in play. 15 seconds on the clock, the ball was set for the spike of the year. 10 seconds, she waited for the perfect moment, she spiked the ball as hard as she could. With 5.6 seconds left, the match was over. With the blow of the whistle, the referee announced the winner, "United States with 27-26 takes the gold medal." Every bone in their body tingles with excitement. They stood on that platform, pledging to the United States of America, proud to be a part of it.

4. Looking down into darkness, your stomach twists. "Come on, jump off!" your friends yell at you. You don't want to look like a wimp, so you close your eyes and take a deep breath. You can here the waves crashing into the rock as you bend your knees. Your mind goes into overdrive on the worst case scenarios. The beat of your heart picks up as you make your decision to jump. You scream at the top of your lungs until your toes hit the water. Completely submerged in the water, you spring back up for air. Gasping for air, you realize you actually jumped. Relieved and calm, you smile waiting for your friends to follow your lead.


5. "Ring ring!" You wake up to an irritating buzzer. You shut your annoying alarm off and groan. Your bed feels undeniably comfortable but you have a busy day of school ahead of you. "I'll just sleep for five more minutes" you say, and doze off. Jolting up in bed, you realize those five minutes turned into thirty. Throwing the blanket off you bounce out of bed trying not to be late. Brush your teeth, wash your face, change your clothes and your all set. Looking at your bed, all you want to do is jump back in and fall back into a soothing sleep. 




Coming Age Poster Final


Sunday, September 7, 2014

College Essay Rough Draft

University of Virginia
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you are perfect content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

          Everyone has their place where you are you and just happy, whether its at home in your room or in your imagination where you can roam freely. Being a dancer, my favorite place to be is dancing. The rush of adrenaline pumping, the hype of getting the movement right, and just the total feeling of it, makes me tingle inside. There would be no place for me to feel that rush, if it wasn't for my dance school, Queen Emma Ballet. Even if it sounds very cliche, this place will always be my home away from home, the place where I was allowed to be who I wanted, and where I belonged.

        When people first see me, they rarely think that I'm a dancer and the thought of me being a ballet dancer is one and a million. I really don't fit the image of a "prima ballerina" in training. I'm basically a girl who just liked to dance and my studio was the place where I got to embrace it. In grande allegro,  I can fly. In adagio, I release my emotions. In ballet, I'm me in every single possible way.
The studio itself is small and simple, but there's nothing I would change about it, except occasionally adding AC for those really hot days. The best thing about it is that I feel totally comfortable, like it's my home. It gives a welcoming vibe that is impossible to resist.

       The studio had it's own special charm, but the people that came with it made it all the more amazing. I can't go that much in detail about who they are, but I'll just leave it at awesome. They are some of the most awesomest people in the world. They put up with me four days a week and they still haven't tried to get rid of me yet. The memories we make are never not incredible. We just have fun, do weird, stupid things, but we own it. We're a special type of breed of dancers that just perfectly fit together. Without them, it would be like having having no pho (a.k.a. my favorite food ever) in the world, which means that I would be the saddest person in the universe. They help me improve, dance-wise and personality-wise, and make bad days not that bad. They're my family that loves me no matter how weird I can get.

        My friends and the studio would be nothing if we didn't have our teachers. Just like school, I have teachers that I love and teachers that I "tolerate". The teachers I love, I would never replace. One of my favorite teachers, Ms. Eve, is almost like our dance mom. She gets mad at us a lot, just like any other mom would, but somehow manages to still love us. We even have little special talks about life and school, and it makes going to dance practice feel like it's not practice. The connection that I have with her is different than a regular student-teacher relationship, and like I have been saying this whole essay, we're family. She and all the other teachers tie the whole essence of Queen Emma Ballet together.

         Queen Emma Ballet is and will always be my second home with the best second family a girl could ask for. Just the feeling of the place brings a smile to my face. On some days, it beats going home. I don't even have the words to tell you how special this place is but I will tell you how grateful I am to be a part of it. I don't think I would be half the person I am today without this place. I know that this place has made me more confident and courageous, which is something I'm still working on. We may be small in size and quantity, but we're a force to be reckoned with. Queen Emma Ballet A.K.A. the place where I'm perfectly content.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

College Essay Prompts

1. University of California: Describe the world you came from - for example, your family, community or school - tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

2. New York University: Describe an experience that has impacted who you are as a person. What is special, unique, distinctive about you or your life story?


3. University of Chicago: A neon installation by the artist Jeppe Hein in UChicago's Charles M. Harper Center asks for us: "Why are you here and not somewhere else?" (There are many potential values of "here", but we already know you're "here" to apple yo the University of Chicago; pick any "here" besides that one).