Peppermint 13, FOTD: I Am A Scientist
Title: I Am A Scientist
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings and Extras: FOTD (heuristic: Of, pertaining to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods), peppermint 13 (chair), My Treat (It sucks not being tall enough to reach the counter.), malt (Summer Challenge 32: You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right.), whipped cream (Ivy is either four and a half or seventeen), cherry (first person, essay format).
Word Count: 550
Rating: PG.
Summary: Ivy's college admissions essay, on what you want to study and why.
Notes: Why yes, she is a fan of the Dandy Warhols.
I have wanted to be a scientist for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is my mother showing me how fire needs air to survive by putting a clear glass bowl over a lit candle. I remember watching, fascinated, as it died, and ever since then I have been interested in science and experimentation. I think nothing illustrates this so clearly as an incident that occurred when I was four and a half years old.
My parents were in the process of getting married, so they spent a lot of time out of the house, and my brother and I spent a lot of time with a babysitter. The babysitter we had most often was fairly laissez-faire in her approach to children-- she did her homework and read the books she brought, and she let Aaron and me do whatever we wanted to as long as there was no screaming. It was an interesting education in fending for oneself.
One particular Saturday afternoon, my parents had a dress fitting and then an appointment, so they were gone past dinner. Since they usually spent Saturday with Aaron and me, my mother baked cookies by way of apology. She put them in the cookie jar on the counter and told me to ask Aaron or the babysitter if I wanted some. Unfortunately for me, the babysitter was not interested in getting me cookies, and Aaron was busy and not inclined to help out either. I remember very clearly standing under the counter, staring up at the spot where I knew the cookie jar sat, and wondering how I was going to get them.
There is an obvious solution for a child attempting to get illicit cookies, which is to say, dragging a chair over. However, circumstances were against me. I was always a short child, my mother's apartment had very high counters, and the cookie jar was shoved back against the wall. Even standing on my tiptoes on the seat of the chair, I could not reach the jar.
Being interested in science, I decided to experiment.
It was a very educational afternoon. I got books and stood on them-- unsuccessful, because I needed more than one to get high enough, and the books slid off each other and sent me thumping painfully back down against the chair. I got an umbrella and tried to hook the cookie jar with the end-- also unsuccessful, because the umbrella's handle was not wide enough to drag the jar over. I eventually hit on a successful method, using some string to lasso the jar's lid and drag it over.
Typical child, the reader remarks. Ah, but that is not the end of the story. I had thought of another method I wanted to try-- I believe it involved a shoebox-- so I put the cookie jar back. Without taking out any cookies. I wanted to see if I was right more than I wanted cookies. I think that this story illustrates my dedication to science for science's sake-- to the idea of experimentation for no more reward than learning if one's hypothesis is correct. If I am accepted into your university, I will bring this level of dedication and enthusiasm to my schoolwork.
Oh, and my mother laughed for ages.
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings and Extras: FOTD (heuristic: Of, pertaining to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods), peppermint 13 (chair), My Treat (It sucks not being tall enough to reach the counter.), malt (Summer Challenge 32: You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right.), whipped cream (Ivy is either four and a half or seventeen), cherry (first person, essay format).
Word Count: 550
Rating: PG.
Summary: Ivy's college admissions essay, on what you want to study and why.
Notes: Why yes, she is a fan of the Dandy Warhols.
I have wanted to be a scientist for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is my mother showing me how fire needs air to survive by putting a clear glass bowl over a lit candle. I remember watching, fascinated, as it died, and ever since then I have been interested in science and experimentation. I think nothing illustrates this so clearly as an incident that occurred when I was four and a half years old.
My parents were in the process of getting married, so they spent a lot of time out of the house, and my brother and I spent a lot of time with a babysitter. The babysitter we had most often was fairly laissez-faire in her approach to children-- she did her homework and read the books she brought, and she let Aaron and me do whatever we wanted to as long as there was no screaming. It was an interesting education in fending for oneself.
One particular Saturday afternoon, my parents had a dress fitting and then an appointment, so they were gone past dinner. Since they usually spent Saturday with Aaron and me, my mother baked cookies by way of apology. She put them in the cookie jar on the counter and told me to ask Aaron or the babysitter if I wanted some. Unfortunately for me, the babysitter was not interested in getting me cookies, and Aaron was busy and not inclined to help out either. I remember very clearly standing under the counter, staring up at the spot where I knew the cookie jar sat, and wondering how I was going to get them.
There is an obvious solution for a child attempting to get illicit cookies, which is to say, dragging a chair over. However, circumstances were against me. I was always a short child, my mother's apartment had very high counters, and the cookie jar was shoved back against the wall. Even standing on my tiptoes on the seat of the chair, I could not reach the jar.
Being interested in science, I decided to experiment.
It was a very educational afternoon. I got books and stood on them-- unsuccessful, because I needed more than one to get high enough, and the books slid off each other and sent me thumping painfully back down against the chair. I got an umbrella and tried to hook the cookie jar with the end-- also unsuccessful, because the umbrella's handle was not wide enough to drag the jar over. I eventually hit on a successful method, using some string to lasso the jar's lid and drag it over.
Typical child, the reader remarks. Ah, but that is not the end of the story. I had thought of another method I wanted to try-- I believe it involved a shoebox-- so I put the cookie jar back. Without taking out any cookies. I wanted to see if I was right more than I wanted cookies. I think that this story illustrates my dedication to science for science's sake-- to the idea of experimentation for no more reward than learning if one's hypothesis is correct. If I am accepted into your university, I will bring this level of dedication and enthusiasm to my schoolwork.
Oh, and my mother laughed for ages.