INSIGHTS!
INSIGHTS DAMNIT!
INSIGHT!!!!
Okay, before you can say: "Eh, Nazran dah lupa kawan...dia nak jadi 'scholar' bagai"
Let me clarify that what I'm going to write about is for the good of the whole man-kind; not some isolated group of teenagers with hopes and dreams to fly into Harvard but got literally crushed when they see the SAT scores and CGPA of those who got in and the single-digit admission rate and the fact that no Malaysian had went to Harvard for four frickin' years, therefore, proceed to give up on Harvard and even banishing that 'H' word to ever be spoken in the walls of the ADP classroom which more or less look and feel like a dungeon only with the coldness that rivals Narnia
*Takes breath*
Congratulations! You've just read the longest sentence ever published in nazranvision!
*cue confetti*
Well, randomness aside, my classmates and I are basically stumped. We have TOEFL exams this weekends, SAT in October, ADP classes to attend, friends to make, clothes to wash, pets to feed and food to eat which is a MOUTHFUL. And to top it all, WE HAVE THESE COLLEGE APPLICATIONS GOING ON!
And when you thought that the application will be simply and easy like applying to a university in Malaysia, you're obviously wrong and greatly underestimated the power of US college apps.
To brief you briefly about this (Word FTW!) Here's the to-do-list in a typical application.
1. Fill in Personal Info
2. Fill in academic transcript (SAT n TOEFL included...that's another topic)
3. Fill in extra activities
4. Submit personal statement and/or essays
5. Teacher's recommendation
6. Recheck
7. Press the submit button.
Sound easy? Only seven steps? Well, put your attention to NUMBER 4
OKayyyyyyy puns asides
Personal statement and/or essays. The officers wanted to know more about you in a form of an essay
You might go like: "Meh, I'll just copy paste my resume. That will work."
Well, I'll now ask Boromir to say something to you
Well, I'll now ask Boromir to say something to you
Well unfortunately, we're talking about Americans; the world's biggest hipsters. They try to be different in EVERY FREAKING SINGLE THING! (Not sure if this is the correct grammar...well screw this) I mean, look at their measuring system. The side of the driver seat. The education philosophy. The music. The EVERYTHING.
*ehem*
With that being said, they want something...(you guessed it) DIFFERENT from personal statement. Rather than wanting this:
"I'm Nazran. I like eating. I have an IQ of a whale but a genius whale. I play music because I didn't play sports. My favourite hobby is to play with my excessive fat that hangs above my jeans."
They want something like this:
"My hand wanders down my chest and onto my waist. The feeling of softness crept through me as my hands caressed the excessive lipids that had accumulated above my waist line. I lament my lack of involvements in active sweat-making; possible during sports. However, I can blow my saxophone to create melodies that enchants hearts and souls while enriching my mind. Speaking of my mind, I suddenly remembered the documentary I had watched yesterday about a whale that thinks like Einstein and may finally discover a particle that can achieve tachyon. That whale reflected my intellectual capability.
I'm Nazran"
Now, ignore those weird metaphors but you can see that the second essays is farrrrr DIFFERENT. Different as in PERSONAL
And that's how we should write our personal statement...
BUT HOW???
INSIGHT!
INSIGHT!
INSIGHT!
Okay, what the heck is insight?
Insight is looking into something different. To word it differently, find the deeper meaning of an otherwise uninteresting topic.
In finding insights, the 'WHY' is important.
For example,
Statement: I'm fat
WHY?
I didn't exercise
WHY you didn't exercise?
Because I hate exercise
WHY?
Because I'm an indoor person
WHY?
Because my parents raised me to be one
WHY?
Because both of my parents didn't play sports
WHY?
Because both my parents came from a poor family, so they didn't really play serious sports.
And it goes on...until you finally explained yourself in detail.
Another way is to question the statement in detail...
Statement: Eating affect my life.
WHY does it affect you like that rather than the other way?
...
...
Now, you're lost and speechless
The huge problem is, what can be my insight?
That my friend, is for you to reflect.
I believe that insights can come from anywhere. The strength of it depends on how you see it and also the significant of that said events or traits affected you. You may think that your life is boring and uneventful and there's nothing you can talk about to let someone know more about you and get interested in you.
But think again, what shaped you?
No matter how big or small, all of these instances affect us.
Once you found it, questioned it...
And you may find something deeper.
Okay, this was not meant to help my fellow US-bound friends (Sorry guys)
What I'm trying to say is...find insights in your life!
You will find your life is far more interesting!
For example, you can read my past post...
Believe it or not, all of it came from seemingly insignificant stuffs but it actually shows a bigger and detailed picture about you that maybe even yourself didn't knew!
There are something interesting about anyone and everyone!
Go and discover insights!
Find out more about yourself!
And hopefully, become better and better!
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