Post Your essay

<p>In addition, my other essays:
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
If my UChicago love story was a play, it would have three acts. The first would show my falling in love with the city of Chicago. The second would describe how I fell in love with UChicago’s philosophy. Finally, the third act would feature my falling in love with the UChicago campus.</p>

<p>I was enchanted by the city of Chicago ever since I first visited it my eighth grade year. I had visited large cities before, but Chicago had a striking personality that I was completely drawn to. The people were incredibly diverse and interesting, and the city had a charm that was unmatched in my mind.</p>

<p>Upon entering high school, I started to look further into my college plans and began examining different universities. One of the first colleges I looked into was the University of Chicago, and I fell in love within the first ten minutes I spent on the website. Reading through the university’s essay questions revealed to me that UChicago is not only committed to academic enrichment, but is also dedicated to searching for and augmenting creative talent. I believe that creativity is one of the most valuable things a person has, and I was My family does not have the money to travel much so I did not visit too many colleges, but one trip that I absolutely had to make was one to the UChicago campus. I had to see if the university held up to the lofty vision of it that I held in my head.</p>

<p>To say that I was blown away would be an understatement. The University of Chicago was everything I dreamed it would be. The University of Chicago had every attribute I was looking for in a college, including a large variety of clubs and extra-curricular activities, a devoted staff focused on academics, and a kind, welcoming student body. No other college I visited had the profound effect on me that UChicago did. I felt at home.</p>

<h2>My UChicago love story may not be as interesting as some others, but it is mine and I have enjoyed the journey. The only thing my play lacks is its resolution, the final thread to tie everything together. My only hope is that it is a happy one.</h2>

<p>Share with us a few of your favorite books, poems, authors, films, plays, pieces of music, musicians, performers, paintings, artists, blogs, magazines, or newspapers. Feel free to touch on one, some, or all of the categories listed, or add a category of your own.</p>

<p>My favorite author is by far Douglas Coupland. His books have an intriguing mixture of postmodern and existentialist themes and a level of creativity I have rarely seen matched. I enjoy all of his works, but my favorite is definitely Microserfs, a tale of Silicon Valley life in the early 1990s. When I first read it as an awkward middle school student, I identified greatly with the stereotypical inelegant computer programmers the novel depicts.</p>

<p>My favorite musician is the singer-songwriter Frank Turner. Turner’s music is a euphonious mixture of folk and punk themes. Turner has a raw, emotional sound: the combination of acoustic guitar and his powerful, impassioned voice creates music that is incredibly moving. One song that showcases this mixture well is “Balthazar, Impresario.” In this track, Turner sings from the point of view of a music hall owner during the decline of Vaudeville. The song’s lyrics are delivered with chilling affectiveness, but the line I found to be the most poignant was the simple verse that both opens and closes the song: “My name is Balthazar, Impresario, and tonight will be my last night on the stage.”</p>

<p>Another song that demonstrates Turner’s masterful songwriting is “Journey of the Magi.” Within, Turner reflects on three legendary travelers: Moses, Odysseus, and Balthazar. All three men traveled great lengths in harrowing conditions. At first glance, these journeys may seem to be completely undesirable, but Turner sees it differently. In his eyes, “the journeys brought joys that outweigh the pain.”</p>

<p>Just submitted this today! <strong>fingers crossed</strong> Feedback would be great. Its kind of an imagined narration of my life from the perspective of the universe or a greater power.
Prompt: Why are you here and not somewhere else?</p>

<p>There you lie, undetectable to the naked eye, fresh and new on the cold clear glass of a microscope slide. You put on your best smile and sit up straight and erect for the In Vitro Fertilization technician as she examines you and takes your picture to show to your parents. Your parents, who are on the cusp of giving up all hope of ever starting a family. Who are in the next room, holding tight to each other and to their dreams, not saying a word though silently screaming a thousand. Who have struggled through four years of five failed treatments and the considerable financial and emotional expenses that came with them. Who have decidedly reached the agreement that this will be their last attempt at IVF. You are left in the lab next to three of your parent’s other zygotes to await the fate of your existence. Through the walls you hear the muffled voice of the doctor as she begins to address your mom and dad. Only fragments of their conversation are discernable to you. She begins, “Of the four successful—three unhealthy—discolored or cracked—technically viable but not recommended.” Paralyzed with anxiety, you pray with your few but still dividing cells that you are not one of the inept others. Then the doctor’s voice picks up again, stronger and auspiciously, “However—one embryo—beautiful—a gold star.” Contrary to prior medical advice, she advises your parents to consider implanting only the healthiest egg instead of all four, providing its best chance of survival. After a short period of time the doctor returns. Smiling she comes towards you and your siblings, and reaching out says, “Our gold star, it’s time!”
Fast-forward nine months and some change, and you are a whopping little thing of eight pounds, four ounces. But your poor lungs are not quite up to scuff. Classified as being in “fetal distress” the doctors rendered vaginal birth too risky and instead will deliver you by means of Cesarean. Big hands grasp you and pull you from the safety of your mother’s womb, and as the last physical tie between the two of you is snipped, you take in the first breath you ever will, and your world illuminates to harsh but dazzling white.
Now here you are! Allison Michelle Lehman: the extraordinary product of science and your parent’s love. Who will you become? What will you do? Why are you here? All of which I am sure you are wondering. Only time will tell, young one. Until then, hold fast, and dream, for you now have a world of possibility at your fingertips. All that you need know is that you are right where you should be. Your destiny is written in the stars. My spindled webs of the universe are intricate; yes. But all is connected. All has purpose. That I promise. In the words of the great Walt Whitman on the subject of time, and life, it is necessary to the world, “That you are here—that life exists and identity. That the powerful play goes on and you will contribute a verse.” And contribute you will.</p>

<hr>

<p>There you lie, coughing and writhing on the crisp white sheets of your deathbed. You know that it will only be a matter of minutes before your soul lets go of your exhausted body, and ascends to its well-deserved place in eternal rest. But for the time being, your chest still rises and falls, however slow and unsteady, and the neurons in your brain continue to fire. The scene is certainly bittersweet, with all of your loved ones, or at lease those that are still living, surrounding you, trying desperately to say all the things that cannot in good conscience be left unsaid, and make you comfortable despite the battle being lost within you. Tears begin to stream down your withered cheeks, not out of pain or sadness, but of the brilliant clarity death has given you. It all finally comes together in the last moments of life and the weight of my words finally begins to percolate. That everything was connected, even the small seemingly insignificant details of your existence. All is exactly as it should be, and you understand that your life could not have been lived any differently. Contribute you did. The inexplicable peace that is brought on with the grasp of your self-actualization only keeps for a moment before the last of your vital organs shut down and you release the final breath you ever will, and with the memory of your life in its entirety, your world fades to black. </p>

<p>@‌aml16204</p>

<p>It is well written enough, and it tells me a lot about you. However, it sort of seems like a Common App essay with UChicago language. I hope you are admitted! </p>

<p>@aml16204, I am a big fan of your essay! Really fascinating. It makes me nervous… I too did the “why are you here” prompt and I also did it in second person! I wonder how many others did the same, yikes. Anyway, I think that this sort of essay shows that you’re a good writer with an interesting story. </p>

<p>Ahh 2019 EA applicant from NY here. I also did the “why are you here?” prompt and i’m not sure how i feel about it. I thought it was creative and genuine but it was only 470 words! Although my Why Uchicago, and favorite things essays were also around 400, which hopefully makes up for it! This is it: </p>

<p>Asking myself why I am here—in every sense of the word—is like playing a good game of M.A.S.H. and trying to logically justify the outcomes. Nevertheless, I will provide the reasoning behind all of my “heres” as best as I can. Firstly, I am typing this essay on my bed as opposed to my desk, because my computer was dying and I was too lazy to move the charger from my bedside outlet to the desk one. I’m here in the smaller room with the smaller closet because my brother called “dibs” on the larger room when we moved, due to his older, thus “more deserving” status. I am in this apartment on Riverside Boulevard, because my father always said it was impossible not to be inspired when you entered your terrace and noticed the clouds above your head and the Hudson River at your feet. I am here in New York City, because while visiting my sister at her Columbia Pre-College program in 2006, my parents decided life was too short to spend the majority of it in perpetual boredom, encaged by Atlantan suburbia under the guise of acres of land and a white picket fence. I am here with this name Miranda, because my mother believed it was the closest name to “miracle”—although my dad was also a Shakespeare enthusiast so the jury is out on that one. I am here functioning as a healthy human being, because despite doctors diagnosing me with the possibility of Down’s syndrome and suggesting I be aborted, I came out perfectly fine. This miracle occurred because spiritually, my parents prayed every night before I was born, and statistically, because of a false positive prenatal screening. I am here, a living organism, because of some spontaneous (in the context of the geological scale) chemical evolution that gave rise to the formation and accumulation of proteins through dehydration synthesis. I, along with all living things, are here on this planet named, “Earth,” because…I really don’t know. My upbringing would tell me to reference a chapter in the Bible, while my knowledge would guide me towards a theory founded by Georges Lemaitre. Yet I am sitting here trying to find a way to somehow believe in both, so I can deal with my cognitive dissonance and keep my sanity. </p>

<p>In all of my seventeen years of existence, my “heres” have mostly been frustratingly and whimsically out of my control, making it hard to explain where else I’d be. Yet, just by observing science and nature, it has become clear to me that everything may not happen for a reason. Perhaps asking myself why I am here is not that important, but instead, asking, “How can I make my presence purposeful?” the real question.</p>

<p>I also used the “Why are you here?” prompt. I hope that won’t be a problem with too many students picking it!</p>

<p>Please critique mine, I hope the wackiness doesn’t detract from the message or my writing skill.</p>

<p>Dora the Explorer is nothing of the sort. How exploratory can one be while following cookie cutter directions? Granted, these may be new and novel locations, but the truth in real life is that there is no singing map and band of insects ready to play a 2 second jingle at a moment’s notice. </p>

<p>I have no grand quest for the Holy Grail (or any given whimsical object lost by Dora), but I wouldn’t have things any other way. Why am I here, in the wild suburbs of Chicagoland? Because I don’t have a map. Spontaneity and free will are the essence of the 'merican spirit (read: 'MURican, like a patriotic redneck). Dora’s a commie! The Red Scare of a life planned since birth and dictated by predestination is one I’ve shunned, and I pride myself in the knowledge that wherever “here” is at a point in time, I’m the reason for my location. All I need is the tools and skills to apply myself and make a change, be it the goal to attend college, or the improbable aspiration to buy that churro NOW! I don’t need a “backpack loaded up with things and knickknacks too,” I just need a will and a way to get from point A to point B.</p>

<p>If I don’t want to wade through the “Spooky Swamp”, I have all I need to go to “Sunny Meadows” instead: a bit of gumption and some motivation. I am Here, but the here is not what matters. Rather, all I need is to cherish the fact that my location is not dictated by the whim of Nickelodeon’s writers! Obviously, the next step in my journey is to venture to the University of Chicago, whose impenetrable walls of knowledge shall smite the immature plot and humor of any given episode involving a booted monkey, a kleptomaniacal fox, and a young girl who runs outrageously long errands. I consider my matriculation to be a needed commercial break.</p>

<p>(too many exclamation marks???)
(is kleptomaniacal actually a word???)</p>

<p>Like it. Kleptomaniacal is okay in this context, in my opinion. Good luck.</p>

<p>@arpeggios‌ I also did the “why are you here” prompt, but I don’t think it will be a problem that so many people did it because all of us took such different approaches. It was definitely the broadest prompt, which is why it is popular, I think. At least, I hope. And to my knowledge, kleptomaniacal is indeed a word! </p>

<p>So my post was deleted? All I did was simply ask why would anyone think it’s a good idea to post your essays on a public forum when others are still writing their essays? Dumb, dumb, dumb.</p>

<p>I applied class of 2019 EA. But I am probably not gonna get in anyway due to my results (2120/1510 sat, 3.5 gpa :() But I spent a lot of time craving this essay of mine and well…what do you think??? :slight_smile: I got a lot of inspirations from homer virgil and john milton!</p>

<hr>

<p>How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to Chicago. </p>

<p>“Besides, what particular body I now occupy is trivial. The important thing is what I am BECOMING.” </p>

<ul>
<li>Francis Dolarhyde </li>
</ul>

<p>While not as dramatic (or insane) as the sentiments expressed by Dolarhyde, I have always wanted to become a phoenix—an eternal bird. I want to metamorphosize, but I need my chrysalis. Like the August Rooster in the Chinese Zodiac that has represented me from birth, I stand upon the seemingly insurmountable Aonian mount, gazing upward, wings extended, awaiting the catalytic muses for transformation. </p>

<p>Enthralled by its eternal nature, I have sought knowledge by reading great classics such as Paradise Lost by John Milton. After all, withstanding the harsh test of time must represent some form of eternalness. However, although phenomenal, the classics did not feel like the nirvana that I was seeking—it felt external and arbitrary. There must be something more fundamental, more a priori, so to speak. It was only after reading Meditations by Rene Descartes that I realized that the eternalness that I seek is in processes and inquiry. UChicago understands this better than any other. Nowhere else can one find an institution with a core curriculum as expansive and rigorous; or essays as thought-provoking and unusual as “What’s so odd about odd numbers?”; or a library with a 50-foot robotic crane. The process and experience of inquiry is evident, and thus, so are the muses. </p>

<p>The muses are my catalyst, while the chrysalis is what surrounds me in my metamorphosis. As with the metamorphosis between caterpillar and butterfly, the quality of the chrysalis plays a key role in determining my success. </p>

<p>Never have I seen a community of such diverse talents, imaginative capabilities, and intellectual capacity. It is not surprising though. If you have an essay prompt such as “What’s so odd about odd numbers?,” you attract a very specific kind of person. It is a place where romantic dates can turn into discussions about Gödel’s incompleteness theorem; a place where one can find pre-med students with a passion for archaeology and astronomy; and a place of truly curious cats or squirrels, whichever you prefer. The quality of the chrysalis is unmistakably robust, and I desire it for my metamorphosis. </p>

<p>With the muses as my catalyst and UChicago as the chrysalis, I am certain that I will take flight as the phoenix.</p>

<p>lovely essay.</p>

<p>@zzzmmm thanks! appreciate it. </p>

<p>In my extended essay, I chose my own topic (Which historical figure’s life most closely mirrors your own?) and compared myself to Winston Churchill, talking a lot about our shared love of history and politics, etc., and a willingness to reject the status quo. I ended by talking about how, like Churchill, I have many varied interests and thus UChicago would be perfect for me with the Core, etc. I also attached a photograph of me and a photograph of Churchill as a teenager that looked a lot like me to underscore the comparison.
I really forget what I wrote about in my “Why UChicago” essay, but I know I mentioned the Institute of Politics and the house system. It wasn’t a really offbeat or “gimmicky” essay, but it was heartfelt and serious.
For the optional essay on favorite books, music, plays, art, etc., I wrote two pages about how I loved Sir Noel Coward, a British playwright, actor, director, singer, author, and cabaret artist.<br>
Perhaps I’ll post them in their entirety later.</p>

<p>@DavidTaleb‌ Fellow applicant here, so don’t take my word with too much weight. I think its well written, but doesn’t have much substance answering the question of what about the curriculum you like and what future you want out of it. </p>

<p>@Localdreamer15 I was going for the subtle approach rather than the direct approach. This is after all an essay inspired by Homer, Virgil & Milton. </p>

<p>I alluded to the learning culture in UChicago by referencing the Phoenix eternal nature and my wanting to achieve that. I then connect the idea of the Phoenix directly to the process of inquiry and subtly to The Life of the Mind and thus my earnest for UChicago learning culture, the inquisitive culture. Noticed how I alluded to the muses, the 9 goddesses of inspiration? Calliope, epic. Clio, history. Euterpe, song. Erato, poetry. Melepomene, tragedy. Polyhymia, hymns. Terpsichore, dance. Thalia, comedy. Urania, astronomy. Collectively, they are the inspiration for literature, science and arts. I was hoping that admissions people will notice this allusion of mine, my love for the UChi Core. I know…a little warped…but i figured…hey…UChi admissions people have gone through the core, they should understand…</p>

<p>As for the future, I did not talk specifically about it (professors or investment banker or space hunter) because I was afraid it would disrupt the flow and tone of my essay. Rather, I spoke very broadly about a personal future by referencing myself as being reborn a phoenix after UChi, which is one that is enlightened. Here I am referencing the Italian renaissances, but I agree, a weak one. </p>

<p>I have 5 page worth of text so that I could keep track of my allusion, thoughts and whatnot…but I agree with you, a quick glance wont cut it.</p>

<p>@DavidTaleb‌ Same. My brainstorms and ideas were pages long, hopefully it pays off for the both of us!</p>

<p>@localdreamer15 Haha. I hated my supplement essays though. I made my own prompt…I guess I am not creative enough. </p>

<p>My essay prompt is: What important truth do very few people agree with you on?</p>

<p>Here I got inspiration from the Copernican Revolution and the book The Black Swan. But perhaps, I am not too educated enough in the area of epistemology to tackle my own question…</p>

<p>I challenged the UChi economic school of thought…I actually wrote that I vowed to destroy it and the best way to do so is from the inside. WHYYYY. Hahaha</p>

<p>How about you?</p>

<p>@DavidTaleb‌ I also did my own prompt:</p>

<p>Inspired my the words of my mother, who always seems to be running late: “Where did the time go?” Give us your own “Brief History of Time.”</p>

<p>I personified time and basically said he’s living on the island of papua new guinea and gave the history him and why he’s now there. By far the best thing I’ve ever written, but even then I still probably don’t stand a chance</p>

<p>@Localdreamer15‌ whoa that sounds awesome! You ever gonna post it on the thread? </p>

<p>I did the “why are you here” prompt. I’m looking forward to tomorrow in a “throw up and stare at a wall” kind of way. Anyway, here’s the thing: </p>

<p>Origins: A Minimalist Play in Three Acts
by Hunter Silvestri</p>

<p>ACT 1 </p>

<p>A NARRATOR stands on an empty stage as the lights come up. </p>

<p>NARRATOR: I have a particular atom of carbon in my left arm. For the sake of this particle’s privacy, I won’t offer you its name; instead, we shall call it Raúl.
Raúl was born in fire, and in death. Billions of years ago, a star ended, and its last act was to bring Raúl into creation and to send him shooting across this universe so small. He was there as our sun spluttered into inferno, and as our planet began to turn. And finally, there was life. There is life. I am life, and by extension, so is he. I may have a trillion Raúls in my left hand alone, but that doesn’t make him any smaller. I owe Raúl, for he lets me exist. He is just a domino in a cosmic chain reaction, and I am no more… but we both have our stories, and for that reason we are big, not small. </p>

<p>Fade to black. </p>

<p>ACT 2</p>

<p>The lights come up again. The NARRATOR is still alone on stage. </p>

<p>NARRATOR: Imagine now that we are fifty thousand years in the past. A band of nomads is passing through this area, following the migratory patterns of some great essential herd. And here, in this spot, they find a cave, and this cave becomes their temporary home. First, it is just a shelter from the wind, and light from the fire bounces on the stony walls. But then these walls become a canvas, and animals are etched inside the earth.
I descend from one of these ancient painters. Or perhaps I don’t. But if I don’t share their bloodline, I share something much more fundamental. Even as these people struggled daily for survival, they felt the need to make art. It was part of them, and it was necessary on some strange, undefined level. And now it is part of me. The medium has changed, but the feeling hasn’t. </p>

<p>Fade to black. </p>

<p>ACT 3</p>

<p>The lights come up on our NARRATOR one last time. </p>

<p>NARRATOR: It’s easy to imagine the journey of matter, or the chronology of genealogy. The evolution of thoughts isn’t so easy. I could tell you that I received my love of learning from my grandfather, my love of humor from my father, my love of nature from my mother, my love of words from my grandmother. But would you understand me better? People defy simple explanation. I am one person made of a thousand others, some real and some imagined. To some, I am imagined: no more than a character on a stage. My story may be solitary, but it is blessed with infinite prequels. They make it mine. </p>

<p>Fade to black. The curtain closes, but the story does not end. This has been the NARRATOR’s story, and your story. It has been a story about Us, and it goes on. </p>