Hi everyone. I'm in a bit of a situation as I'm applying for a Master's in Journalism in the US, having being educated in the UK my whole life. As a result my style of writing and generally everything about the way I write seems very different from the US college essay application. Could I please get your feedback on the following? I'd really appreciate it and promise to offer my feedback where required! Take care! :)
Essay A: Autobiographical Essay. In a short autobiographical essay, tell us about yourself. You can write about your family, your education, your talents, or your passions; about significant places or events in your life; about books you have read, people you have met, or work you've done that has shaped the person you have become. Our only requirements are that the essay be informative, well written, and reflective of your own voice; our only cautions are that you avoid poetry, purple prose, or writing about yourself in the third person.I learnt to dance before I learnt to walk. At least that's how my parents sum up my twenty one year obsession with dance. In this time, I have tried and in the process fallen in love with, every type of dance form imaginable. Afro-Cuban Salsa? Yep! Meringue? Check. Bharat Natyam? Been there, done that. I am always adaptable to different situations and my foray into various styles of dance is testament to this.
I would be lying if I said I was good at every style I have tried, but the sheer beauty of dance in its various forms, takes my breath away every time. The best thing about dance is that there is no right or wrong. When I am caught up in the rhythm, what people think becomes a distant worry. As a result, I find that the best way to tell people about myself, is through dance, a medium which I believe bears little judgment. As much as it is a passion, it constantly challenges me to think of new ways to tell a story; recycled moves will never do when the music changes, in the same way to better myself, I have to constantly re-invent myself. When I moved to London, participating in a university dance charity show in my first month was my solace away from home for the very first time. Apart from meeting like-minded people and relieving work stress, it made me a lot more open to the types of dance that other people had learnt in their various cultures.
But the story hasn't always been so simple. When I was eight, I was invited to perform a dance with a group of girls at a birthday party. When we started rehearsing, it became painfully obvious that my love for dance did not automatically translate into a talent for it.Even worse, the choreographer sniggered to the others about me: "She can't dance." As an eight year old, this was the last straw for me and quitting the performance seemed to be the right thing to do at the time.However I quickly came to the realisation that I shouldn't let other people stop me from doing what I love. That year I enrolled myself in modern jazz classes.
Since then throughout my numerous performances, dancing has become as addictive to me as nicotine is to a smoker. My most defining characteristic is my determination to succeed especially when I am told I cannot. Throughout school and university, I constantly pushed the limits; balancing a strong academic record with performing at every given opportunity. I participated in every dance show my school and university put on; most recently, I choreographed for the London School of Economics' annual dance show.
The feeling of being on top of the world has never gotten old – in fact it gets stronger every time that I have to co-ordinate music with movement, facial expressions with the technicalities of stage lighting, positioning and of course, costumes. As I get older, deadlines get shorter and my list of things to do gets longer, but my passion for dance makes me disciplined to work at all I want to achieve. No matter what time I have to be up, I always set my alarm five minutes earlier so I can complete my dance stretches. When I was younger, this was a chore. As time moves on, I feel proud of my self-motivation. I bring this dedication to everything that I do, approaching challenges head-on.
Storytelling through dance has always been my favorite way to communicate. It has taught me to be creative in ways unparalleled, and to think outside of the box when I indulge in my other passion – writing.
Ruchika Tulshyan
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