College Applicant

This is an actual essay written by a college applicant to NYU in response to this question:

IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abrstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400.

My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations with the CIA. I sleep once a week: when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin.

I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

(The author was accepted to NYU.)

woooo whoooo!!!
yay!!!
summmmmmmmerrrrrrr!!!
oh yeah.!

Haha! Awesome swing dancing video!! :)
http://www.falarious.com/file/1222-swing-dance-contest.html

Hey there's a couple new Christian bands I've discovered recently ~ One is called "Rush of Fools" and the other one, "Byword" came and played at my church last Sunday.
There's some samples of their music on these links! Also, on www.rhapsody.com you can listen to full length songs for free. :)

Rush of Fools

Byword

What's Nice About Being Home:

1) No shower shoes........................
2) Mountains and lots of pretty pine trees!
3) Playing with cats and dogs
3) Little kids and old people and babies!! (aka: Jonathan)
4) Being walking-distance to civilization (yes, it is civilization)
5) Seeing cooler cars ~ aka: non-American cars....
6) REAL Mexican food...
7) Good food in general.
8) Sleeping in :)
9) More sophisticated looking people!
10) And of course...friends and family ;)

If You Were Born in 2893...

Your Name Would Be: Ala Ayn And You Would Be: Telepathic

If You Were Born in 2893

Well, only 15 more days of school left I believe!! It still feels like summer is far away. Megan told me yesterday that A Book For All Seasons is hiring!! I'd LOVE to work there :) especially since it's right next door to Starbucks where she is working and we could visit each other all the time :) And..I could probably just read books all day when there is free time ;) Also, I applied at the Leavenworth Echo to do copy editing or something, and they seemed interested because the person they have right now is ill and might be wanting to quit soon...but, it's not that promising right now. Anyway, I'm excited for summer!...and doing everything we have on our excellent list of funness!! (Rachel: I am still patiently awaiting the final copy...!)
Okay, what else. We bought carpet yesterday for our new room for next year. Still trying to sell our lofts. I've been having a grand time procrastinating things lately! And it really has been good. I really think procrastination is healthy sometimes :) I think this is a pretty good article for serious justification: http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html
In other news...I've been wondering a lot about the meaning of weakness. Sometimes, I just feel so incredibly weak, in all different ways and I just have been thinking a lot lately about what that means, and all it's good and bad connotations. Usually, when I'm in the midst of feeling weak, I don't like it at all...but then, I know that to be weak is also supposed to be a somewhat good quality I think in the Bible. I looked up verses that have the word "weak" in it and this is what I got:
Romans 5:6 ~ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one whill scarely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Cor. 1:27 ~ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
1 Cor. 8:9 ~ But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
1 Cor. 9:22 ~ To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak, I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
2 Cor. 12:10 ~ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Hebrews 12:12 ~ Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
1 Cor. 12:22 ~ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable
2 Cor. 12:5 ~ On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.

Okay the first time I did this, I came out an ENFP...and I've never come out an extravert before, so then I changed one question and I came out an INFP!

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends.You are also unconventional, irreverant, and unimpressed by authority and rules.Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives.You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're qutie the storyteller! You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist.

What's" Your Personality Type?

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.

What's Your Personality Type?

Please PRAY. A girl on my wing's Dad just died. He was in a car accident, they think he had a heart attack, but they're not sure.
Please pray for her. and I mean really pray for her...just stop right now before you forget (I know that's what happens to me).

Flashmobs: watch and laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcdvyRw06So

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj0Ma2CsHME

One of my friends said something today while we were watching Titanic (we were a week late for its anniversery, haha)...and I'm sure many people have said it before, but--it's so true..
She said, "Watching movies like this gives you unrealistic expectations for a relationship." It's just so true...and I cannot get that statement out of my head. So true, and yet so incredibly annoying.
I think...I need to fast from romantic movies...or something. Not that I even watch them very often. But they really do affect me!!--no matter how much I want to deny it. Lame? yes. I mean...I didn't even think I liked Titanic! I thought it was such a cheezy movie...etc..which it most certainly is in a way. But somewhere in there, I just thought..."what if that had actually happened to me?" What if I was in love with a man..and I was faced with the situation of him possibly dying? And..what if I had to watch him die right in front of me and I had to go on living?
I don't know how people who have actually gone through this have ever been able to manage the agony...

okay question!!

If there were a pair of girl twins and a pair of guy twins and they married each other...would their kids turn out looking identical too? what if each girl twin gave birth to twins again, would they be identical to her sister's pair of twins?? what would happen if the cycle just kept going on and on and on???

A little Spring Break ~

~ April Fools Day in History :P ~

Instant Color TV

In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Stensson then proceeded to demonstrate the process. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, out of the population of seven million, were taken in. Actual color tv transmission only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

Nixon for President

In 1992 National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

The Taco Liberty Bell

In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell from the federal government and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called up the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell is housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed that it was all a practical joke a few hours later. The best line inspired by the affair came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale, and he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold, though to a different corporation, and would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

“One dog barks because it sees something; a hundred dogs bark because they heard the first dog bark.”
- China

You Are a Blue Flower

A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance.At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower.And at other times, you are wise like an iris.And more than you wish, you're a little cold, like a blue hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

Yesterday I signed up to volunteer at an Aquire the Fire event that is happening next weekend at Ball State--a nearby University. I'm really excited and have been thinking about it a lot. Here is the website explaining what it is about. It is basically like Creation Fest, with speakers and Christian bands...I think its just a whole bunch of youth groups joining together. Here are the bands that will be there. Me and two other friends decided to sign up to volunteer as "Ushers"--I think we will be helping to pass stuff out, and crowd control, etc...I think we will be praying with the kids too. I'm really excited, but kinda nervous too to have responsibilities at such a huge event. If you guys could pray for me and the whole event, that would be wonderful!!

I wrote this paper for an extra-credit assignment, but its just an interesting topic.

“Biblical Equality: The Role of Women in the Church” Speaking

This discussion was very mental stimulating and it gave me a lot to think about and consider in how the church is run today. Many things were helpful to hear about such as, how the word “helpmate” in Genesis referring to Eve is the word “etser” (not sure if that’s the right spelling)—which is the same word used for God in how He is a helpmate to us. It is not a demeaning position to be given, but an honorable one. He also mentioned how the words “to obey” have been added to the women’s vows and not to men’s vows. It wasn’t always like that.

After the discussion, I was able to talk with him one-on-one about a question I had concerning the passage of 1 Cor. 14:33-35. 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 states, "...As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." I asked him what his interpretation of this passage was, and he was saying that in the context before that passage Paul is talking about prophesying, and clearly women are allowed to prophesy in church—so in that way they aren’t supposed to be silent. Eventually, we got into a discussion about the difference (if there is one) between teaching and prophesying. They are different words in the original language, and when listing the spiritual gifts, they are listed separately, but the speaker used them as interchangeably when referring to women. He said that there are very little differences between them in the Bible. He also encouraged me to look at his commentary of this passage, which I will do. I am not convinced yet that it is biblical to have a woman pastor. The speaker gave me the example of Priscilla as a godly woman who taught, the reference in Acts 18:26—“and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” I don’t think the word “explained” here is the same as teaching. Teaching has to do with doctrine. In this verse, it seems more likely that they were evangelizing, not interpreting scripture to develop a doctrine to teach. Also, in this instance it was Priscilla along with her husband Aquila doing this together, it wasn’t Priscilla doing this apart from her husband. I don’t understand why the Bible would speak so bluntly about these rules for woman, and then at the same time really mean something else through a different passage, while being more subtle. For example, this passage in 1 Timothy 2:12 "For a woman I permit not to teach or have authority over a man, but to be in stillness."

The entire night was very interesting, and I hope to learn more about this subject in the future. When I heard about it, it was called “Biblical Equality.” I wish the speaker would have at least opened his bible once during the night. I was expecting to hear more biblical references, but it was a short night and there wasn’t a lot of time. I’m still not sure about what my beliefs are on this subject, but I am very willing to discuss it and learn more. Maybe in time, I will know enough to define my own opinion and be convinced of it enough to defend it well.

it has been sooo sunny the past couple of days ~ absolutely pulchritudinous!

photography class stuff... here are some pictures i think are cool that i just found, and then some i took for class :)

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and here is my pitiful guitar :(