January College Essay 2

Who are the people who have done the most to influence your personal development and in what ways were they influential? (Carleton College)

The one person who, I think, influences everyone in some way, is a mother. She is someone who is with you since the day you were born. She teaches you your first words, she helps you walk your first steps, and she is the one who teaches you your first basic manners. To wish your elders, to say thank you, to apologise, to respect everyone, she teaches you what is wrong and what is right, and everything, from the way you eat to the way you talk, is influenced a little by her. And I can say that I am influenced a lot by my mother. I remember trying to copy everything she did when I was little. The way her hands moved when she spoke, the way she would cook, the way she would dress, put her make-up on, everything. But one thing she used to enforce a lot was speaking the truth. I would get a hard slap every time she caught a lie. And now my friends tell me I suck at lying. I’ve learnt a lot from her, but one thing I will always owe her is the strength she gives me. I look at her and her past and how she went through it and I always feel stronger.

Friends are very very important people in anyone’s life. You spend your days and sometimes even your nights with them. And as you start growing, they become more important than your parents, and your friend circle starts describing what kind of a person you are. Punks, emos, geeks, gossip girls, the bad boys, whichever group you belong to influences you a lot and it also shows when you become an adult and start working. As my Dad is in the Army, I kept changing schools and kept meeting new people and I think I can say I’ve been in all the kind of groups! And I have some wonderful friends from all over India and some of them encourage me to study hard, some emotionally support me, I’ve had some really amazing fun moments with some. So I am pretty balanced that way and its all because of my friends.

January College Essay 1

Do you believe that your academic record accurately reflects your abilities? Explain.

NO!! My Economics, Maths, Biology, English, Global issues grades do NOT reflect my abilities. I think I am more than just a couple of grades on the report card. Sports, music and other things like how I mingle with people, what I do for the environment and other small things cannot be graded. Even though sports and music are taken as a part of academics in some schools, I believe it is something which cannot be graded. When one is forced to play or sing pieces that he or she doesn’t like they will naturally not put their entire effort into it and therefore not play so well. But if they played something they like, they will automatically have interest in it and play it well. And the same goes for sports. Different people might look at what I just said differently, like they might say that one should be comfortable with playing anything and everything, but according to me, I think everything cannot and should not be graded.

All schools don’t have things like programs such as CARE in Woodstock which basically seeks to improve the environment. Such schools never know what the child is like when it comes to changing the environment for the betterment. Some children, like me, are into such stuff, which will never be recognised by some schools. Teachers don’t know what a child’s hidden talents are. Even if they do, it does not go on the report card. For example, a while back we had a talent show in our school and some children came up with amazing talents but none of that would go on their report. So I would say no, my academic record does not reflect my abilities accurately. 

December college essay 3

If you were to look back on your high school years, what advice would you give to someone beginning their high school career? (Simmons)

High School years, according to me, are the best years of anyone’s life. There is everything in it. You learn, you explore, you make mistakes, you love, you hate, you get jealous, make friends, make enemies, you get stressed, you have fun, you get naughty, you laugh, you cry, you make fun of others and sometimes the jokes on you. One should make the most of these years for they never return. This is the advice I would give to anyone beginning their high school career. Yes, I know many people say this, but I mean it because if I was given a chance to redo high school, I would try to enjoy it more.

A balance is required. One should try to balance the fun parts and the seriousness of the studies. One should have fun but not at the cost of their grades or attention in class. One should try to make good friends because without them, it will be impossible to have fun. But my mother always told me that one should also be clever while choosing them, because bad influence can actually change the way people look at you. She always gave me an example of herself. She went to a boarding school and once while she was in the market with her school friends, one of the girls stole a pair of earrings from the jewellery store. And when the shopkeeper complaint to the school, even my Mum got into trouble because she was in the group too. And speaking of troubles, everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance, but repeating a mistake is a habit and bad habits are just simply bad. When someone gets into trouble during their high school years for the first time, they will be excused (well, they generally are) and one should learn from it and not cry and think that there life is over. One should be careful from the next time and remember that such incidents make good stories when they grow up! And if someone has good friends, good grades, and a good social life, then he or she has the perfect high school life.