Writing Samples
Common Application Essay
In an effort to distinguish myself from other applicants and provide context on why I am a valid candidate for your institution, what follows is an essay of my own design detailing the discovery and exploration of my academic passion. I love language, but not exclusively words. The dictionary is a desolate terrain; speech pollinates wilting words. Words are simply a medium for humanism, allowing us to connect with narratives and broaden perspectives. I studied foreign words, but I learned centuries of history and culture interwoven with the essence of words, and through this endeavor I discovered my language passion.
My love for language began modestly with “obsequious” and the electronic Dictionary application. I added the word to the favorites function, and it was later accompanied by hundreds more. I never used “chiaroscuro” in conversation, but I felt empowered simply by the knowledge. There is something inordinately fulfilling when I understand an obscure word, whether it be while reading a novel or watching the news. The phenomenon of acquiring words approaches liberating: I can feel my world expanding, one word at a time. Language is directly reflective of your capacity to think, thus the limit of your language is the limit of your mind.
My ballet coach was disappointed she was missing Chinese New Year in her homeland, so I browsed online for festive Mandarin phrases in a feeble attempt to comfort her. Her face illuminated when I stammered the expressions, despite my dreadful pronunciation. It was an epiphany: I realized what language means to a person. Words have inherent meanings, yet language holds a greater value. After seeing the joy Mandarin provided my teacher—and after realizing it demanded little effort on my part—I continued learning basic phrases and speaking them before ballet rehearsals. After two weeks, I had unintentionally acquired a rudimentary foundation for learning Mandarin, and I had neither touched a textbook nor endured hours of rigorous studying. I continued studying Mandarin with an approach devoid of textbooks, and later included Russian, Spanish, and Italian.
My teacher yelled ““тоска!” as I danced the weeping “Giselle” ballet role. I stared at her quizzically, and she immediately knew she tangled English and Russian into an inseparable web. “It’s like sad but more than sad,” she inadequately translated. Later, I researched and found that “тоска” has no English equivalent; it subsumes yearning, restlessness, and nostalgia as one sensation. In Russian, the word is considered an invaluable description of deep emotions. I returned to rehearsal the following day and explained I found the definition. She was unimpressed and stated, “you do not say тоска, you only know it.” There was a defined difference: I could speak a language, or I could know a language. I had spent innumerable hours examining the English dictionary without evaluating the intersection of cultural context because I knew the intertwined social implications, given that English is my first language and I have only lived in the United States. Words, despite their definitions, are meaningless unless we can understand and appreciate the historical and societal context.
Through a broad spectrum of endeavors, I learned that language is greater than words, and words are greater than meanings. Language holds value that cannot be related through language itself. Language is inseparably entwined with culture, and culture can be neither taught nor learned, only experienced. Language is a home, a home people never leave, and a home open to all. It was within language I learned about myself, a person who loves how letters are strung together to represent concepts. It was across language I learned about others, who colored the definitions of words with their narratives. It was through language I learned about the world, a world connected not by words, but rather universal experiences.
Princeton University Application Essay
“Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way.”
The woman who had the greatest influence on my life is a woman I do not know. I never spoke with her, I never learned her name, and I cannot describe her face. Yet, I owe this woman everything, for she drastically altered the course of my life, and without her actions I would be an entirely different person.
When I was three, my parents placed me in gymnastics class because they believed I was a chubby toddler in desperate need of exercise. I have no recollection of those classes, but I am sure I enjoyed rolling across the floor and carelessly flinging myself into a pit of foam. Parents were invited to observe class at the end of the season. My mother sat next to a woman who casually commented, “oh, your daughter has ballet feet.” She was referring to the naturally high arches in my feet, a prerequisite for ballerinas so they can successfully and safely support themselves in pointe shoes. Upon hearing this, my mother enrolled me in ballet classes at a local dance studio and transformed my life. I fell in love with ballet, and after fifteen years of training, I am the youngest ballerina in the Atlantic City Ballet company and have won multiple national championship titles in various age divisions.
I love how ballet is a unique fusion of sport and art, encompassing use of the skeletal and muscular systems to deliberately execute precise movements while portraying a narrative. Each individual ballet move demands specific alignment and form; each character represents a vast range of complex emotions. I studied various ballet steps for years, yet I learned so much more: the required perfectionism molded me into a person who is incredibly detail-oriented, the impassioned orchestrations fostered an affinity for classical music, ballet’s rich history gave me a deep appreciation for tradition, and each role gave me a different form of confidence.
The approaches I employed while striving towards perfect ballet execution became present in my work offstage. I scrutinize every word, sentence, and paragraph to accomplish grammatical accuracy, similarly to how I analyze individual movements in a piece of choreography. I employ a meticulous, methodical process while composing essays to ensure the work encompasses various elements of the topic in question to provide a thorough analysis, which is reflective of how I interpret the characters I portray. In mathematics and sciences, I isolate each variable to understand errors, the same way I assess each muscle to understand why my physical ballet execution is faulty, and subsequently theorize what measures are necessary for improvement. While studying history, I imagine the events as if I was a spectator by applying my understanding of directing and staging. My body will not always remember the steps I performed, but my mind will always apply the essential elements of ballet practice in my future endeavors.
One woman’s casual comment certainly altered the course of my life and the individual I became. She gave me the gift of ballet, a physical and emotional expression that embodies the principles of athleticism and the essence of artistry. Ballet gave me the gifts of employing self-evaluation, recognizing faults, and appreciating constructive criticism—perhaps the latter in greatest proportion. The underlying dogmas of ballet enabled me to employ proven strategies when studying a vast range of fields. While there is great utility in everything aforementioned, perhaps the greatest gift this woman gave me was the realization that my actions, no matter how small, can have drastic effects. I wish I could thank this woman for her incredible—yet unintentional—influence on my life.