<p>Hi - I"m writing on the “place you feel most comfortable” prompt from common app. I was just wondering if anyone can give me input on whether or not they think the essay is fluid - I"m worried that the transitions don’t make sense. Also, can’t think of a good title - help?</p>
<pre><code> I Am An Anonymous Observer
The building is tucked into a side street. If you weren’t looking for it, there’s no way you’d be able to find it. An array of colorful city bikes lie parked in front, locks trying to find a place to fit on the short green fence surrounding a tree. The window shutters are made of old wood, dark blue paint peeling off of the edges. This is not a building well-known by many, but it is a building very passionately appreciated.
It is October of 2011 when I step in through the door and the familiar smell of ground coffee beans floods my senses. There are taupe flyers tacked up on various shelves, boasting about the place: “Massolit Books & Café; English-Language Books Used & New. Don’t forget to try our delicious American baked goods!” They’re always trying to bring in more business by overselling their merchandise - although their brownies are dang good. The waitress behind the bar gives me a slight nod, recognizing me from another day.
I’m in need of a book to distract myself; the amount of school work at my new International Baccalaureate school has exponentially increased as exams approach. Although they sell both new and used books, Massolit favors a the used. Running my hands over the cracked spines, my fingers dip into the scars people have left long ago. Inhaling the musty aroma of old books, I find a copy of Peter Pan - an old favorite. Tucking the book under my arm, I order a latté and make my way toward the back.
The café portion of Massolit is unsurprisingly empty, so I take my usual spot in a plush and worn armchair, next to a window that overlooks a neighborhood street. This is a safe place for me to watch over Krakow without becoming actively involved in the everyday activity - a task I am still wary of becoming a participant. For now, I am allowed to be an anonymous observer; to quietly drink my coffee and spend the next couple of hours engrossed in my book.
I am a girl composed of two personalities: one, the comfortably anonymous observer and the other of the willing participant. As I willing participant I want to fully experience life - I want to travel to every continent, I want to live in Europe and I want to join every club that a school has to offer. I want to make more friends than I can count and never stop talking about one subject or another. As the comfortably anonymous observer, I am content to stand on the sidelines - I want to sit with my parents, my brother, my very best friends and my animals just watching TV. I want to reread my favorite books and watch “The Iron Giant” for the 50th time.
Right now, at 18, I can say for sure which personality I hope will dominate my adult life: the willing participant. I think that that part of me is ultimately going to help me become the most successful version of myself. Which is why I have Massolit - a simple building tucked into a side-street of Krakow where I am wholeheartedly allowed to embrace the anonymous observer.
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