Question on SFS essay

drgtig5
Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:32:04 +0000

I got in to the FLL, class of 2014. This is the essay I used:

I am an artist with a surplus of ideas that sneak out of my mind and, cloaked in ink or paint, nestle themselves onto the nearest surface available. I am infatuated with the idea of learning every language possible, and living in every foreign city just long enough to become known as one of the “locals.” I constantly contemplate which language I should learn next, and inevitably end those thoughts with a self-directed argument over whether I should learn Tibetan next, because of its elegant, flowing, written embodiment, or Portuguese instead, because of its intimacy with my existent fluency in Spanish. I am a pianist who indulges in Chopin’s gloomy nocturnes, but still can’t get enough of playing cheery, upbeat Christmas jingles. I love the crisp sound of “indie” music, and honestly prefer the aged rock you would hear from an obsolete jukebox, but sometimes succumb to the electronically delicious sound of mainstream modern techno, and bass-heavy raps. I am an animal lover and cherish every moment I spend holding my friend Victor (a turkey vulture) at the Wildlife Center where I volunteer. Sometimes I spend hours awake past midnight flipping vigorously through the pages of my encyclopedia of animals on a quest; I search for knowledge of simply one or two animals I have never heard of before. I have willingly surrendered the ability to answer a question plainly. An International Baccalaureate education has granted my mind the gift to answer any seemingly objective question with a suitably subjective answer. Everyday I sit with my friends and stumble upon philosophical discussions in which we try and expound obscurities such as the kinesis of pill bugs, and the location of the ever so elusive Waldo. I laugh out loud at my friend’s jokes while restraining my mind—linked to technology—from persuading my lips to let loose an automated “LOL.” But most of all, I sigh in relief that the ever changing definition of the word “me” decided to manifest itself as rhythmically as it did today.