<p>Hello fellow CCers. I have long wondered if the things which I am about to discuss below are unique enough to me (or in general) that it would provide a sort of hook for my admissions, or, at the very least, help me out. For some background, I have completed a year of university as an Engineering major at a tier one college, receieved a 4.0 GPA, and am now taking a gap year.</p>
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<li><p>I view myself as quite multifaceted. I’m a guy who loves to knit, juggle, unicycle, do gymnastics, cook, program computers, sing, act, dance (especially ballroom), sew, craft, build things, hike, climb mountains, meditate, philosophize, write poetry, photograph the world, play piano, garden, write, and workout (CrossFit). I basically just love to learn new things, and, in my opinion, do most of these things without coming across as any particular stereotype (nerdy, tree-hugger, jock, etc.). I’m energetic and friendly and feel like I defy stereotypes of any category you want to place me in. And as much as this feels like a jack-of-all-trades quality (would that be bad?), there are 4-5 of these that I’m really passionate about and spend the majority of my time doing (free time and my extracurriculars).</p></li>
<li><p>I am open-minded and always looking for new challenges. As I mentioned above, I love learning new things. Because of this, I have become incredibly open-minded towards new ideas and other people. I’m never in any position to judge someone for what they do or think when I’m off being the antithetical male (something that I occasionally take heat for because of diverse interests). As far as challenges go, I’ve spent time trying to learn Pitman shorthand for fun, want to climb Everest, learn to play the cello, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Since I love learning, I’m incredibly driven in an academic environment. I know this isn’t unique to me, but I thought I’d include it anyway for completeness’ sake. My concern lies with genuine learning, and not so much what some schools have become today – rote memorization for the sole reason of the grade at the end. That both saddens and terrifies me that so many people view college that way. I want to go to college because I want to and love to learn.</p></li>
<li><p>I am fairly involved in a current business venture with a friend of mine, and we are working to bring this idea to market. We’ve formed an LLC; we’ve got dozens of pages of documentation and have filed a provisional patent application, and starting work on development between ourselves and some contacts we have made. We’re confident that our idea, if not brought to market by ourselves, will eventually exist ubiquitously in a specific industry. We have learned a lot so far, and if that’s all we gain, we’d be satisfied.</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, I am taking a gap year this year (am applying as transfer), and have had the goal of improving and gaining as many skills as time allows this year. I almost convinced myself to do what might only look “best” to college admissions officers, but I’ve never followed that route in life, and if that hurts me at a particular college, I’d rather not be there anyway. So far, I’ve volunteered for three weeks in central America, and am spending three months abroad doing an IT internship for a start-up company. I have done some substantial work for the company and enjoy work most days :-). This coming spring, I plan on taking a four-week photography course, an ice climbing course, both Avalanche Skills Training 1 & 2 courses, partaking in a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat, becoming a certified Wilderness First Responder (or Wilderness EMT), doing a month-long cooking school, volunteering through the WWOOF network for a month, completing a month-long mountain climbing course in June, and ultimately, plan on climbing to Mt. Rainier’s summit in August with my father.</p></li>
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<p>Sorry for the long read. I do truly appreciate any and all comments or criticisms.</p>
<p>Have a great day!</p>