Be Kind To Your Prostitute
Three essays I wrote for my University of Michigan Application, just figured they were fun (downers) essays (paragraph) that were very uplifting (depressing) and well-written (by a kid with Down's)
At the University of Michigan, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, opinions and cultural backgrounds. What would you as an individual bring to our campus community?
As an individual, I view myself as an optimistic and upbeat person who strives to make everyone’s day a little brighter in some way or another. While I may be slightly partisan on this particular issue, I do find myself to be the person in a group who always wants to go do something fun, and I am always the first to joke about something at an opportune (or sometimes inopportune) moment. While I am very fond of my social life, I try not to let it get in the way of my development as a musician. As I have been playing violin for as long as I can remember, I have learned over the years to combine both a healthy social life and a musical one. I am currently involved in three youth symphonies as well as two quartets and other various chamber ensembles when the opportunity presents itself, and all of these activities are among the most enjoyable ones I have. In example, every Thursday, I go to school, where through the day I usually play about an hour and a half of violin in orchestra or personal practice. As soon as I get home, I teach a student for an hour, and then race to quartet rehearsal for two hours after which I have a youth symphony rehearsal for another three. I am incredibly blessed that I am able to participate in so much of something that I love and have devoted my life to, and this is a lifestyle that I look forward to leading over the next four years as I continue my music education through college.
Imagine you have been asked to present a statement to your local School Board in favor of retaining the high school's performing arts programs, all threatened by budget cuts. What would you tell them?
I have attended my current high school since freshman year, and have had the same orchestra teacher each year. Dave Anderson is a good conductor, teacher, and mentor, but also a good person. Each year when the time for the District solo contest would come around, Dave would pay out of his own pocket for each and every student he taught to be able to compete, no matter what their skill level was. Each year when the whole orchestra won the qualifying round of competitions and was able to compete on a state level, Dave would pay not only for the competition fee, but also for the expensive original scores needed for the judges. When individuals in the orchestra such as myself needed financial help with a trip to Disneyland or a trip to All-State or All-Northwest, Mr. Anderson would not hesitate to help make ends meet, once again purely out of his own pocket. You might ask, why is he so generous, does he just have money? The answer to this is a resounding no. He lives off of his inappropriately meager teacher’s salary, and yet still sacrifices his own finances in order to make his student’s lives a small bit easier. The reason he has to do this is because the school district has already cut countless dollars from the already poor budget. It is already atrocious enough that money is made readily available to sports activities so the team can purchase hundred dollar shoes, and yet it is so thriftily given to the arts programs, especially music. It is essential that music grow in importance in our schools, not diminish, and the decision to cut the budget further would be beyond doubt the wrong one.
Describe a setback or ethical dilemma that you have faced. How did you resolve it? How did the outcome affect you? If something similar happened in the future, how would you react?
Over the past five years, my family has been going through an intense and drawn out divorce and subsequent custody battle. Through this period of time, I have lived with both my mom and my dad together and separately. This has obviously not been the most stable environment possible, and as such, it has affected not only my life at home, but also my life in music and school. As a result of ongoing court proceedings, I am constantly at war with my mother and my father separately and together, as well as with myself. It is the kind of situation where absolutely no one involved in the process has any hope of coming out on top. Everyone has already lost, and at this point, we are fighting to see who loses the least. Throughout all of this, I have turned to friends and extended family in order to try to deal with the repercussions of the constant ordeal, but I have found that nothing is quite as helpful as just practicing violin for a while. I realize that this sounds like something out of an inspirational column in some music magazine, but it is what happens and it is what gets and has gotten me through. Even if something has gone horribly wrong or astray, I just tend to shut myself off from the rest of what is going on and pick up my violin and just play until I’m empty of emotion. When I perform, not practice, but perform, I pour every ounce of me into my playing, and while it drains me, it is the most fulfilling experience I could ever have. The past few years of my life have been a huge roller coaster ride, with all the extreme ups and downs and twists and turns imaginable. I find that the more a situation escalates, the more I find myself drawing away from it and into a realm that is unique to my music and myself. Once I am there, I have an impenetrable fortress that I can stay in until the storm has passed and I am once again safe to move on into the reality I create that does not involve the domestic issues I posses, but instead has the sole focus of a Bach sonata or a Paganini caprice. Recently, every day has contained some sort of setback to my growing and maturing person, and I have done the best I can to combat and overcome these, and the tool I use most deftly is music.
They're long as hell... just skim them and then ream me for my grammar errors and family problems. I do it to myself all the time.
Also, my flight for Cleveland leaves in 10 hours, 55 minutes. I'm going to shit myself at my audition Monday, call and wish me luck plz.
At the University of Michigan, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, opinions and cultural backgrounds. What would you as an individual bring to our campus community?
As an individual, I view myself as an optimistic and upbeat person who strives to make everyone’s day a little brighter in some way or another. While I may be slightly partisan on this particular issue, I do find myself to be the person in a group who always wants to go do something fun, and I am always the first to joke about something at an opportune (or sometimes inopportune) moment. While I am very fond of my social life, I try not to let it get in the way of my development as a musician. As I have been playing violin for as long as I can remember, I have learned over the years to combine both a healthy social life and a musical one. I am currently involved in three youth symphonies as well as two quartets and other various chamber ensembles when the opportunity presents itself, and all of these activities are among the most enjoyable ones I have. In example, every Thursday, I go to school, where through the day I usually play about an hour and a half of violin in orchestra or personal practice. As soon as I get home, I teach a student for an hour, and then race to quartet rehearsal for two hours after which I have a youth symphony rehearsal for another three. I am incredibly blessed that I am able to participate in so much of something that I love and have devoted my life to, and this is a lifestyle that I look forward to leading over the next four years as I continue my music education through college.
Imagine you have been asked to present a statement to your local School Board in favor of retaining the high school's performing arts programs, all threatened by budget cuts. What would you tell them?
I have attended my current high school since freshman year, and have had the same orchestra teacher each year. Dave Anderson is a good conductor, teacher, and mentor, but also a good person. Each year when the time for the District solo contest would come around, Dave would pay out of his own pocket for each and every student he taught to be able to compete, no matter what their skill level was. Each year when the whole orchestra won the qualifying round of competitions and was able to compete on a state level, Dave would pay not only for the competition fee, but also for the expensive original scores needed for the judges. When individuals in the orchestra such as myself needed financial help with a trip to Disneyland or a trip to All-State or All-Northwest, Mr. Anderson would not hesitate to help make ends meet, once again purely out of his own pocket. You might ask, why is he so generous, does he just have money? The answer to this is a resounding no. He lives off of his inappropriately meager teacher’s salary, and yet still sacrifices his own finances in order to make his student’s lives a small bit easier. The reason he has to do this is because the school district has already cut countless dollars from the already poor budget. It is already atrocious enough that money is made readily available to sports activities so the team can purchase hundred dollar shoes, and yet it is so thriftily given to the arts programs, especially music. It is essential that music grow in importance in our schools, not diminish, and the decision to cut the budget further would be beyond doubt the wrong one.
Describe a setback or ethical dilemma that you have faced. How did you resolve it? How did the outcome affect you? If something similar happened in the future, how would you react?
Over the past five years, my family has been going through an intense and drawn out divorce and subsequent custody battle. Through this period of time, I have lived with both my mom and my dad together and separately. This has obviously not been the most stable environment possible, and as such, it has affected not only my life at home, but also my life in music and school. As a result of ongoing court proceedings, I am constantly at war with my mother and my father separately and together, as well as with myself. It is the kind of situation where absolutely no one involved in the process has any hope of coming out on top. Everyone has already lost, and at this point, we are fighting to see who loses the least. Throughout all of this, I have turned to friends and extended family in order to try to deal with the repercussions of the constant ordeal, but I have found that nothing is quite as helpful as just practicing violin for a while. I realize that this sounds like something out of an inspirational column in some music magazine, but it is what happens and it is what gets and has gotten me through. Even if something has gone horribly wrong or astray, I just tend to shut myself off from the rest of what is going on and pick up my violin and just play until I’m empty of emotion. When I perform, not practice, but perform, I pour every ounce of me into my playing, and while it drains me, it is the most fulfilling experience I could ever have. The past few years of my life have been a huge roller coaster ride, with all the extreme ups and downs and twists and turns imaginable. I find that the more a situation escalates, the more I find myself drawing away from it and into a realm that is unique to my music and myself. Once I am there, I have an impenetrable fortress that I can stay in until the storm has passed and I am once again safe to move on into the reality I create that does not involve the domestic issues I posses, but instead has the sole focus of a Bach sonata or a Paganini caprice. Recently, every day has contained some sort of setback to my growing and maturing person, and I have done the best I can to combat and overcome these, and the tool I use most deftly is music.
They're long as hell... just skim them and then ream me for my grammar errors and family problems. I do it to myself all the time.
Also, my flight for Cleveland leaves in 10 hours, 55 minutes. I'm going to shit myself at my audition Monday, call and wish me luck plz.