common app essay need help please, Benjamin Franklin quote

THis is what i have so far
the question is Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence


"It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright." Coined by Benjamin Franklin, this little quote is one of the many ingenious proverbs published in the Poor Richard's Almanac. From this clever saying, we realize that in order for one to stand upright, or be successful, one cannot be void of accomplishment.

But what exactly is accomplishment? Going to sleep content that you have made the most of your day? Breaking previous athletic records? Completing graduate school and pursuing the practice of your dreams? In this narrow sense, yes, this is some form of accomplishment.

Imagine for a second a brown paper lunch bag that is erect and think of its possible contents. A sandwich, a snack, a drink, etc. Just as the contents of a lunch bag would usually differ, so do the traits of the true successful person. Achievement of a stand-out is not measured in one dimension, but rather by a whole variety of qualities and contributions one's mind puts to use. Such variety found place in one of my most influential inspirations- Benjamin Franklin.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest minds we have been blessed with, Benjamin Franklin accomplished in a lifetime what 10 men cannot.

you need to start talking about how he influenced you
thats the whole point of this essay question

"It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright." Coined by Benjamin Franklin, this little quote is one of the many ingenious proverbs published in the Poor Richard's Almanac. From this clever saying, we realize that in order for one to stand upright, or be successful, one cannot be void of accomplishment.

But what exactly is accomplishment? Going to sleep content that you have made the most of your day? Breaking previous athletic records? Completing graduate school and pursuing the practice of your dreams? In this narrow sense, yes, this is some form of accomplishment.

Imagine for a second a brown paper lunch bag that is erect and think of its possible contents. A sandwich, a snack, a drink, etc. Just as the contents of a lunch bag would usually differ, so do the traits of the true successful person. Achievement of a stand-out is not measured in one dimension, but rather by a whole variety of qualities and contributions one's mind puts to use. Such variety found place in one of my most influential inspirations- Benjamin Franklin.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest minds we have been blessed with, Benjamin Franklin accomplished in a lifetime what arguably ten men cannot. Today, we typically pursue one profession and perfect it for the rest of our working years, but Franklin was nothing short of a polymath; his knowledge never restricted to one subject area. Besides being one of the Founding Fathers who laid the political foundations of our country, Franklin was an avid author, printer, scientist, musician and much more. He was a central figure in the Age of Enlightenment and modern physics for his discoveries regarding electricity. An advocate of education, he formed the first public library and played a role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania.

Franklin was also a shrewd businessman and inventor, but becoming wealthy did not cause Franklin to cease amazing the world. It was a mission of his to keep his life in order, devoting no time to waste. He never patented any of his inventions, writing in his autobiography, "As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously." He formed a voluntary fire department, became ambassador to France and Sweden, and founded the American Philosophical Society.

It is in Benjamin Franklin I find the inspiration to be
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????

pick a historical figure and describe the influence they have on u....

"It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright." Coined by Benjamin Franklin, this little quote is one of the many ingenious proverbs published in the Poor Richard's Almanac. From this clever saying, we realize that in order for one to stand upright, or be successful, one cannot be void of accomplishment.

But what exactly is accomplishment? Going to sleep content that you have made the most of your day? Breaking previous athletic records? Completing graduate school and pursuing the practice of your dreams? In this narrow sense, yes, this is some form of accomplishment.

Imagine for a second a brown paper lunch bag that is erect and think of its possible contents. A sandwich, a snack, a drink, etc. Just as the contents of a lunch bag would usually differ, so do the traits of the true successful person. Achievement of a stand-out is not measured in one dimension, but rather by a whole variety of qualities and contributions one's mind puts to use. Such variety found place in one of my most influential inspirations- Benjamin Franklin.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest minds we have been blessed with, Benjamin Franklin accomplished in a lifetime what arguably ten men cannot. Today, we typically pursue one profession and perfect it for the rest of our working years, but Franklin was nothing short of a polymath; his knowledge never restricted to one subject area. Besides being one of the Founding Fathers who laid the political foundations of our country, Franklin was an avid author, printer, scientist, musician and much more. He was a central figure in the Age of Enlightenment and modern physics for his discoveries regarding electricity. An advocate of education, he formed the first public library and played a role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania.

Franklin was also a shrewd businessman and inventor, but becoming wealthy did not cause Franklin to cease amazing the world. It was a mission of his to keep his life in order, devoting no time to waste. He never patented any of his inventions, writing in his autobiography, "As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously." He formed a voluntary fire department, became ambassador to France and Sweden, and founded the American Philosophical Society.


I am not done please offer any advice on how to finish

Well the common app essay is a tool for you to tell the colleges something important about yourself.
In all honesty I get nothing about you except the fact that you think B. Franklin was a great man.
I like what you have so far, but the last words should be a connection between why you think Franklin is great and what hehas done that you wish to do or how they push you.
just MHO.

exactly.

i know its supposed to tie them together and i want to say how i hope to become a well rounded person to change the world also...maybe something about pursuing medicine then going into politics or something like that...i just been workin on this the last two days and i cant word it right.........ANY IDEAS???

I'd write something about how his knowledge and his selfishlessness has driven you to become interested in medicine and politics. Two professions that require both traits in order to succeed, as well as help the betterment of mankind.

Is that a start?

well you must remember that this is not your ordinary high school essay on benjamin franklin. I'd spend a paragraph maybe describing what he did and stuff because most of the admissions officers will know who this guy is (well i hope they do)

but you must base most of your essays on yourself. You don't want to waste an opportunity of finally expressing yourself and giving life to those sat results and stuff by describing someone else not you.

rather describe an aspect of his life/philosophy and describe how this impacted you. make the focus you not mr franklin. It is not enough to just say he was my inspiration. How? Why? What did this inspiration lead you to?

your writing style is good and you grammer is solid so I don't think you need to worry abou that.

YES!! Good advice from zowzow. Hey, zowzow, do you want to check out the contributor page? See the link at the bottom of the screen. If you become a contributor, that is another cool thing to put on applications!

"It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright." Coined by Benjamin Franklin, this little quote is one of the many ingenious proverbs published in the Poor Richard's Almanac. From this clever saying, we realize that in order for one to stand upright, or be successful, one cannot be void of accomplishment.

But what exactly is accomplishment? Going to sleep content that you have made the most of your day? Breaking previous athletic records? Completing graduate school and pursuing the practice of your dreams? In this narrow sense, yes, this is some form of accomplishment.

Imagine for a second a brown paper lunch bag that is erect and think of its possible contents. A sandwich, a snack, a drink, and so forth. ...

Undoubtedly one of the greatest minds with which the world has been blessed, Benjamin Franklin accomplished in a lifetime what arguably ten men cannot.

An advocate for the importance of education, he formed the first public library and played a role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania.

So, like zowzow said, you need to transition from Ben Franklin to YOU and the school!!

:) Good luck.