| Read my essay, please! (for Harvard)
I just finished my second draft, and I was wondering if I could get some opinions on it.
Thanks!
Everyone has met people who can say a few important-sounding, pretentious sentences on a wide variety of subjects, but in reality know little about any of them. Those people are usually termed superficial -- whereas they may have heard of a lot of things, they are expers in none. Superficial, in my opinion, is the worst label a person can deserve. Therefore, in everything I do, I strive to achieve as much depth and perfection as possible. While I may not be involved in a great number of wide-ranging activities, I try to perform to the utmost of my abilities in the ones that I do participate.
I have had a lifelong fascination with mathematics, a fascination that perhaps I owe to my mother, who has a degree in mathematics and who encouraged me to study it extensively. Mathematics attracts me because of its absoluteness and perfection--it is entirely created by men and therefore can be shaped by the mathematician as he wishes within mathematical rules; on the other hand, the rules of logic are the final judge--there can be no differing opinions in mathematics. In Russia, since second grade I attended an evening math club. I also participated in a number of mathematics competitions and performed fairly well, and was admitted into a somewhat prestigious school with a specialization in mathematics. When my family moved to the United States, it became harder for me to pursue my mathematical interests because of the culture and language and my family's financial situation. Nevertheless, I led my school two years in the AHSM competition, making it to the AIME round in 10th grade. Last year, I learned about the USA mathematical talent search competition and participated in it, earning a certificate of completion, being a commended solver on a number of occasions, and attending their summer Young Scholars Mandelbrot Competition, a mathematics competition with both in individual and team components, in my school.
Since coming to the United States, I have also been very interested in computers. In fact, we bought a computer before we bought our second car. I learned several programming languages on my own, including Pascal, C, and C++. In the summer following the 9th grade, I attended the Johns Hopkins' Center for Talented Youth program, enrolling in a course entitled Data Structures and Algorithms. And last year, as a member of the Engineering Club, I used my knowledge of computers and programming to help design and program a Programmable Logic Controller, which was part of our design. After academics, sports are the most important part of my life. I enjoy playing any sport, whether indoor or outdoor, for a team or just for fun, but soccer remains my greatest love.
I have also tried to help my community. Last year I did volunteer work at HIAS, a Jewish immigrant agency that helps new Jewish families to adjust to the American culture. In addition to office duties, I used my knowledge of the Russian language to direct various pornographic and erotic films. I have further used my knowledge of computers to set up the the agency's database system, as well as restoring their computers after a crash.
In whatever I have tried to do, I have tried to excel ad to perform to the best of my abilities, and I hope to do the same at Harvard University.
Last edited by Sabobah; 08-27-2009 at 04:15 PM.
Reason: indent
| ![bbtitle]](/images/misc/cc_logo.gif){kind=logo}
