a stanford application essay

8. Of the activities, interests and experiences listed previously, which is the most meaningful to you, and why? (1500 character limit)



I was an enthusiastic child, to be sure, and wanted to try everything; I did tae-kwon do, arts and crafts, and suffered from the horse-craziness every little girl knows. As is inevitable with the hated phrase "growing up," I have become too busy to do it all. Out of all my "activities," as you aptly call them, one has far outlasted the others: music. One of the first home videos I ever starred in shows little Lael, eighteen months old, standing next to the stereo, dancing and singing to Tracy Chapman's "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution." I took guitar lessons at the age of eight, and since then have studied voice, piano, accordion, txistu, clarinet, and music theory. Music has provided me with some of the most wonderful experiences: I have participated in school musicals, varsity audition choirs, invitational choir festivals, talent shows, and best of all, the occasional stellar jam session that you walk away from feeling like Buddha leaving the bodhi tree. Music, especially singing, lets me express myself in ways that nothing else can. It comes more naturally to me than anything else; not only can I feel it in my body, but its wavelengths permeate the depths of my soul.