Application Essay
Jake Link
Jake Link
I’m a weird kid. I’m the kind of kid that will either grow up to be insanely successful or just plain odd. (Given those two options, I lend myself heavily to the former). I shudder to even imagine myself living the typical suburban life. Though it may be the ideal choice for many others, including the majority of my family and friends, it is not something that I would even consider. For as long as I can remember, I have felt like I was meant to do big things (whatever that means). There is an urge, a force inside me that never lessens or relaxes, not even for a moment, pushing me to do things outside the realm of mediocrity. It challenges me to be outrageous, to bring attention to myself, to shock people, to impress people, to achieve. My mind is always on what’s coming, what’s next, never dwelling on the past. I am elated to have finally arrived at this point in my life where I begin to truly take control of my own path and begin to create the person I want to be. All my life has been spent in preparation, and now I feel my time has come to finally show the world what I can really do.
Up until about a year and a half ago, I believed that I didn’t care what people thought of me. The truth is that I care very much what they think of me. I want people to think I am weird. I want them to know I am different. That’s why I do things to bring attention to my weirdness, like becoming my school’s first male cheerleader (an activity that I soon found out wasn’t for me), or being the captain of the improvisational comedy team (an activity that I’m truly suited for, earning the MVP award two years in a row). I want to distinguish myself from the typical high school student, from the typical anything. I want to be considered nothing less than extraordinary.
I use the way I am viewed by society as an indicator of whether or not I am on my peculiar, unconventional path to success. In recent years, people have described me as socially fearless, determined, and, most commonly, weird. Nothing makes me happier than hearing myself described this way, especially if it is not to my face. I thrive in the spotlight; I love it when people talk about me. It means I am doing things worth talking about. At my core, I am fully confident that I am a notable being, but this is only proven in the actions of others, such as people putting videos of me (that I wasn’t even aware were being filmed) on Youtube. I exude confidence, but I am still cautious and well aware of what my limits are, though I plan to work towards further expanding those limits in college.
This is my fifth college application essay. The previous four were deleted shortly after they were written. It’s difficult for me to convey my passions and abilities in an essay because they are so eclectic. My first four essays were written by a kid who was trying to show an admissions officer how far he’d come and how grounded he was. Maybe one of those essays would have fared better than this mess of a personal description, but the truth is I’m not grounded. I’m not sure I ever will be. I believe that people should continue to change and develop themselves for their entire life.
I could list pages of quotes by George Bernard Shaw that would aid in understanding my self, but I will just reference my all-time favorite: “Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.” If there was ever anything that definitively changed my life, it was my discovery of that quote. I’ve always been “weird,” but the majority of my life was spent trying to figure out what I was suited to be by experimenting with different personas, by blending with a certain group, or by personifying a type. That quote emancipated me from worrying about how all of my quirks might assemble themselves into someone who could find their designated place in the world. Instead of trying to find that place, I want to spend the rest of my life creating a place for myself. I can’t wait to get to college so that I can explore and exercise every part of my mind. I want to continue learn to utilize my fundamental “weirdness” in the pursuit of a successful, unconventional life.
