10. Jot a note to your future college roommate relating a personal experience that reveals something about you. (1400 character limit)
Dear roomie: I've been moving in all day and making a mess, but I think I have it picked up pretty well- I'm accustomed to "leaving no trace." As a 16-year-old I went on a rafting trip down the Salmon River, and was exposed to a completely new idea of camping called "Leave No Trace." Everything our party brought with us- food, gear, soap, toilet paper- we had to take with us when we left a campsite. Even our ahem, bodily excrements came away with us in a locking box called a "groover."
I tried to put myself in this frame of mind as I packed for the trip, but there are certain bits of experience that are impossible to stuff inside a drybag. I wasn't prepared for setting up my tent every night, many times in the rain. No one told me there would be stretches of river so ravaged by forest fire we had to wear bandannas around our faces so we wouldn't burn our throats with the smoke and hot air. I certainly wasn't ready for having to load up my own boat every single morning, knowing that if I didn't do it, it wouldn't be done. It is impossible to prepare for everything, but being open-minded, flexible, able to make decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions can go a long way when you have to learn as you go, like I did. If you're as outdoorsy as I am, roomie, we can get a group together and raft down the Salmon again. Don't worry- I'll help you set up your tent.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
a quantum thought - (another essay)
9. Sharing intellectual interests is an important aspect of university life. Describe an experience or idea that you find intellectually exciting, and explain why. (1500 character limit)
My mother has always told me that thoughts, in and of themselves, have physical power. I of course, being then stubborn, indignant child I was, didn't believe her and instead concluded Mom had been reading too much Deepak Chopra. Then, a few weeks ago, I went to the movies and saw "What the Bleep Do We Know?" At the risk of being accused of being paid to endorse the movie, I will say this: It is one of the most thought-provoking pieces of media I have ever experienced. It details the study of quantum physics, and how they relate to a person's spirituality and reality in general. The prevailing theme of the movie is that reality is totally dependent on the observer; that is, everyone creates his or her own reality, and it is up to us to actively and consciously create the world around us. As profound and bold a statement as this was, it sounded familiar. I thought about it for a minute and realized (with a groan that everyone releases when they discover their parents were right) that Mom has always told me this. The idea, explained in interviews with numerous scholars and doctors, is precisely what my very own quantum physicist, Mom, has been trying to drill into my thick head since I was born.
Reality is what we make of it? I am still fascinated by the concept. I now awake every morning and create my day. I have been scientifically convinced that with positive thinking, I can truly do anything I will to happen. Look out world, here I come!
My mother has always told me that thoughts, in and of themselves, have physical power. I of course, being then stubborn, indignant child I was, didn't believe her and instead concluded Mom had been reading too much Deepak Chopra. Then, a few weeks ago, I went to the movies and saw "What the Bleep Do We Know?" At the risk of being accused of being paid to endorse the movie, I will say this: It is one of the most thought-provoking pieces of media I have ever experienced. It details the study of quantum physics, and how they relate to a person's spirituality and reality in general. The prevailing theme of the movie is that reality is totally dependent on the observer; that is, everyone creates his or her own reality, and it is up to us to actively and consciously create the world around us. As profound and bold a statement as this was, it sounded familiar. I thought about it for a minute and realized (with a groan that everyone releases when they discover their parents were right) that Mom has always told me this. The idea, explained in interviews with numerous scholars and doctors, is precisely what my very own quantum physicist, Mom, has been trying to drill into my thick head since I was born.
Reality is what we make of it? I am still fascinated by the concept. I now awake every morning and create my day. I have been scientifically convinced that with positive thinking, I can truly do anything I will to happen. Look out world, here I come!
Monday, November 15, 2004
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Mortalis Idem
[author's note: I wrote this a really long time ago, before blogs even existed, I think. It's interesting to see how my 16-year-old brain organized things.]
To live life well and be happy with your Self, three factors must be taken into consideration: the body, mind, and spirit of yourself. These three elements of a human are of equal importance, although it may not seem so at first glance. The Self cannot survive if they are missing any of the three elements.
The body is non-metaphorical in this circumstance, representing the physical anatomy. The human cannot survive without the body, because the body is a vehicle, instrument, shell, and manifestation of and for your thoughts and spirit. You would not be able to think, love, or live without your body. Your brain is part of your body and should be taken care of physically, but it encompasses the other two categories as well, since the brain is the centre of the mental and spiritual aspects of yourself.
The mind can be defined as the centre of learning, judgement, memory, logic, experience and emotions as well as giving instructions to the body. It houses both the conscious and subconscious Self.
The spirit is perhaps the most complicated of the three elements of the Self. The spirit is not located in any specific part of the Self, although we contact it using the mind. The spirit is the life-force and soul of the Self, but it is not tangible or physical in any way. It has been described as energy or light, even the will of a person. Religion is the most common effort to realize or strengthen the bond with the spiritual Self. People have manifested their knowledge of the Spirit into God, and have put him in heaven with angels. People believe there is one God who created us and watches over us all, when in actuality, our Spirit is inside each of us.
God- your spiritual self
Heaven- harmony with the three elements of your Self (essentially, you)
Angels- your conscience
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