College Essay
Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Colleges I Am Considering:
Colleges I Am Considering:
- Quest University
- CU Boulder
- CSU
- UC Santa Cruz
- Franklin University Switzerland
My eyes are brushed open by the golden rays of the high mountain sun rising from behind gargantuan walls of the Arun River Valley. The whisper of a tea offering echoes throughout my tent as I struggle to find a “clean” outfit for the day. With the gate to the “real world” not in sight I reach for my tent zipper and tug until I see the faces of the kind, timid sherpas awaiting my first words of the day.
“Good morning Will,” rolls off the lips of a young man with his strong Nepali accent.
“Good morning,” I reply in my raspy soft attempt at speaking.
“Tea or coffee Will?” he repeats.
“Tea please,” I reply. I am handed a cup of scorching hot tea while I lay in my sleeping bag.
I exit my tent to where my boots sit awaiting my browned and callused feet. I will lead them to places where the chances of another American stepping there or ever are slim to none. To a place where there will never be a McDonalds, a place where there are no obese humans, a place that has not been affected by anything but mother nature and the animals that graze this dramatic landscape. The only evidence of human influence are the terraced farmlands, the stone and tin homes, the stupas, and the trails that have been traveled for longer than my country has existed. I have absolutely no clue what is around the next corner, over the next mountain, or what is across the bridge but I continue on the trail. I continue my life with no worries and a day pack.
As I walk I feel weight lifting off of my shoulders. My pack only contains my camera, water, and snacks. My homework, IPhone, ego, and endless self-doubt fell out miles ago, and it feels great.
No high school text book, no “white girl” problems, just the trail ahead and the next village. As I stumble along the rocky trail I overhear the whispers of liquid spilling throughout the valley, flowing and sloshing liquid life. My hiking boots strike a rock and drop me to the feet of an 80 year old man carrying his own weight in candy, beer, and noodles for his family’s store located five days from the nearest road. I am humbled by his sheer strength and will.
I pick myself up, glancing at my small pack. Being an American I could never carry his load, nor would I want to. I barely want to get off my couch at home to get a glass of clean drinking water from a faucet 20 feet away. I stop and admire the strength and determination of the Nepali people and America drops 10 points in my ongoing game of life.
The Arun River flows 1,000 feet below me, sweeping away my former priorities with its twists and turns. The river shifts along with my priorities taking my cares of status, money, and laziness downriver and through the rapids. Left behind, like boulders in the wake are new desires, and new meanings of success, happiness, and life. Caring more about the person next to me than my Instagram, wanting a peaceful shack in the mountains rather than a big house and impressive toys, and seeking to learn from the world around me not just in a classroom have become the current transforming my inner landscape.
My eyes drift towards the sky, the 20,000 foot mountains passing into my peripheral. I close my eyes and let the mountain breeze flow around my body while the rays of the sun are absorbed into my body and the ground around me. I look into my backpack and find nothing but my self confidence, new ambitions, and my camera that captured it all.
“Good morning Will,” rolls off the lips of a young man with his strong Nepali accent.
“Good morning,” I reply in my raspy soft attempt at speaking.
“Tea or coffee Will?” he repeats.
“Tea please,” I reply. I am handed a cup of scorching hot tea while I lay in my sleeping bag.
I exit my tent to where my boots sit awaiting my browned and callused feet. I will lead them to places where the chances of another American stepping there or ever are slim to none. To a place where there will never be a McDonalds, a place where there are no obese humans, a place that has not been affected by anything but mother nature and the animals that graze this dramatic landscape. The only evidence of human influence are the terraced farmlands, the stone and tin homes, the stupas, and the trails that have been traveled for longer than my country has existed. I have absolutely no clue what is around the next corner, over the next mountain, or what is across the bridge but I continue on the trail. I continue my life with no worries and a day pack.
As I walk I feel weight lifting off of my shoulders. My pack only contains my camera, water, and snacks. My homework, IPhone, ego, and endless self-doubt fell out miles ago, and it feels great.
No high school text book, no “white girl” problems, just the trail ahead and the next village. As I stumble along the rocky trail I overhear the whispers of liquid spilling throughout the valley, flowing and sloshing liquid life. My hiking boots strike a rock and drop me to the feet of an 80 year old man carrying his own weight in candy, beer, and noodles for his family’s store located five days from the nearest road. I am humbled by his sheer strength and will.
I pick myself up, glancing at my small pack. Being an American I could never carry his load, nor would I want to. I barely want to get off my couch at home to get a glass of clean drinking water from a faucet 20 feet away. I stop and admire the strength and determination of the Nepali people and America drops 10 points in my ongoing game of life.
The Arun River flows 1,000 feet below me, sweeping away my former priorities with its twists and turns. The river shifts along with my priorities taking my cares of status, money, and laziness downriver and through the rapids. Left behind, like boulders in the wake are new desires, and new meanings of success, happiness, and life. Caring more about the person next to me than my Instagram, wanting a peaceful shack in the mountains rather than a big house and impressive toys, and seeking to learn from the world around me not just in a classroom have become the current transforming my inner landscape.
My eyes drift towards the sky, the 20,000 foot mountains passing into my peripheral. I close my eyes and let the mountain breeze flow around my body while the rays of the sun are absorbed into my body and the ground around me. I look into my backpack and find nothing but my self confidence, new ambitions, and my camera that captured it all.