@lookingforward Fair. But I don’t claim to be a perfect applicant. In fact, I am quite atypical because I’ve never done anything “to get into college”. I act on my dreams, my passions and what I think will be best for the world. And that’s OK, I hope. I’m not going to change myself for an adcom. If they don’t have the skills by now to discern the rare genuine achiever from the standard high-pressure, formulaic (or by-the-book, I should say) achiever, then that’s too bad. Ironically, my application may inadvertently be strengthened if they do realize I fall into the former category.
You’re right, though. Jerking around in class and not being a perfect student doesn’t represent some enlightened act of genius. Taken by itself, it is not a behavior that magically elevates me to another level of applicancy. It is simply a side effect of who I am. At some level, I’m just having fun and making my classes more of a cerebral challenge as opposed to a rote one. It’s fun stuff!