Bucknell Supp -- Why did I chose my major and Three Important Characteristics

Hey! Could you please go over my supplement questions for Bucknell? If you want me to check your essay, please feel free to leave a link and I will gladly help you! :) Thanks!

Please explain why you are interested in this major/undecided status:

Despite my difficulty drawing anything that involves skills other than ruler-using, I find Art bewitching because of its ability to see the nonexistent and its limitless capacity. I have chosen engineering precisely because it satisfies my craving for logic and allows me access to artistic fulfillment. The engineer participates in all processes of creation - from the idea, to the plan, to the execution - and, like a blacksmith, forges Science and Art into a single tool setting off to change the world. I see the engineer as a multidimensional being who studies reason, but perceives the potential outside his box. Because of this versatility, they develop into leaders of areas ranging from industry all the way to government. What I hope is to one day be that ingenious.

What are the three most important things Bucknell's faculty and students should know about you? (up to 200 words each / 1400 characters)

I think that I need a lot of help with this one. Especially with grammar and punctuation. Thanks

I consider myself to be a 'Why-Guy'. Basically, if you've ever met one of those annoying kids who are never satisfied with an answer and repetitively ask you 'why this' and 'why that', you have met someone pretty similar to me. I am never ever pleased with an explanation even if it is a thorough as it can be. If I ask you, "why is the sky blue?" and you meticulously start explaining me all about the Rayleigh scattering and how the blue light is absorbed by the gas molecules and scattered because it has a short wavelength, I will understand what your clarification despite its complexity. However, there always seems to be something missing - at least, for me. "Why is there blue light?" And, of course, you will start talking about the visible spectrum and how the human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 380 to 750 nm which includes the color blue with a wavelength ranging from 450-495nm. But, it still does not elucidate me on "why can we only see colors with certain wavelengths?" And, as you have perceived, this will go on and on until it's time to go to bed. Unfortunately, the sun will rise once again and I'll either continue with my 'blue-sky-questions' or I'll just start off the day with a fresh inquiry: "Why am I so curious?" The worst part will be finding someone who can actually solve this enigma.

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I broke Coyote's record for the number of times an animal has chased the Road Runner. I was the one who convinced Al Gore that global warming was a pressing issue. I have single-handedly pulled three strings together from a rope bridge after it snapped and managed to save twelve Asian children from the town of Nanxun. I have solved the Rubik's Cube just by looking at it. I am internationally famous for cheering up the deaf with inspirational speeches. I am the one who led the Hebrew people out of Egypt and parted the Red Sea, even though Moses got all the credit. What I am trying to say is that if I was to define myself using a single, twelve-lettered, hyphenated adjective I would have say 'high-spirited' - not only because it's the only word I can think of that adheres to the requirements, but also because it suits me appropriately. I sometimes think that if science and engineering did not exist - how cruel would such a world be - I would have majored in clowning. My entertainment skills are extensive and, aside from hyperbolic statements, I am an expert at silly faces. I was hoping to attach photo of my tongue reaching into my nostrils, but I decided to play it safe this time.

Here is the third characteristic I was missing. I am probably switching the order. My first characteristic will remain the "Why-guy" followed by the "Community Service" and lastly the "high-spirited"

I despised community service. When my school launched the Service Club, I refused to be part of such a useless venture. Could nobody notice the innate hypocrisy in this activity? It was like giving a beggar a handful of change to alleviate our consciences and make him disappear again, far away from our idyllic privileged world. However, it was the words of Edmund Burke during one of my philosophy classes that convicted me of my own two-facedness: "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." I soon started entertaining the idea of social service and actively participated in the club, teaching Spanish to orphans in poor communities, going to rural areas to teach environmental awareness, and organizing mini-Olympics in one of poorest towns in the state. The flaw in my previous opinion was that I assumed community service brought only temporary change. However, my small effort was self-perpetuating and it not only changed those we were trying to help, but it brought peace of mind to me and my peers. A couple of months later, I founded the Peer-Based Tutoring Program. Today, high school students stay after school learning all sorts of subjects with other student tutors. I have a hard time admitting that Burke was right. You may only be able to do a little. But a little, and a little more, and a little extra might make a difference.

? En Vie means "In Life"...I guess I should have capitalized the "v" to avoid confusing people who think I "envy" people by criticizing their essays.

There's really no point in criticizing people's essays because you are jealous. That's some big (and incorrect) assumptions, right there.

So, basically your characteristic, "high-spirited," is being a "clown" (majoring in clowning)? Then, I don't really see how the beginning comes in. The beginning sentences certainly draws the audience in but some of the sentences like "cheering up the deaf" can be a bit offensive. The connection is hard to see simply because I don't see the humor. Over-kill.

En Vie

This is the last Bucknell question I was missing. Can you guys take a look at this one in addition to the others? If you don't feel like reading this one plus the previous ones, I would prefer some feedback on this last piece of writing. Thank-you very much! :)

At Bucknell, students are free to take creative and thoughtful risks. In fact, we encourage them to do so, and we support them along the way. As students realize their own potential through risk, so, too, do they better understand how valuable risk can be in understanding - and making a difference in - this interconnected world.

We're interested in the kind of positive risk-taking energy you would bring to our University. Please describe a time when you found the courage to step outside of your comfort zone to do something unexpected and completely unlike you. Why did you take this risk? What have you learned from the experience? (up to 500 words)

I settled on the stool and stared at the crowd. Other than the ones being occupied by the candidates, there were no chairs in the new multi-purpose room and so the students were all seated on the cold floor. For some reason, though, they had found the vinyl tiles to be quite comfy for many of them were already falling asleep. One boy actually had the audacity to snore in the middle of a speech. It definitely did not look like the Student Council elections were being held in that room.

We had already listened to a dozen of speeches and all of them possessed the same structure: a dull greeting, followed by a short list of the candidate's achievements ornamented with philosophical comments, finally concluded with empty promises concerning unfeasible projects. I skimmed over my paper and somehow it had managed to follow the same, exact formula. I would definitely not win the school's vice-presidency with such a vapid lecture. If I wanted to beat my popular and charismatic challengers, I would have to step it up a notch. The only problem was that I had a couple of minutes before it was my turn to speak.

Truth be told, I had noticed how our Student Council was a joke to most of my peers. For years, the elected officials were part of a social circle that had done literally nothing for our school. Having lost their hope in STUCO, our students cared little about this event. I knew that I could not reestablish their faith with just my words; however, I could take advantage of their disinterest by turning the elections into a stand-up comedy show.

I stepped up to the podium and gazed at the audience for the third time. I smiled, ripped my speech in half, and then smiled again. Suddenly, the vinyl tiles were no longer cozy for all the sleepyheads were fast awake, perking up their heads like alert chickens. "I looked at my paper and realized that it was extremely tedious. Frankly, I think we've had enough boring words for one day." After that introduction, I started my spectacle and went from mocking STUCO all the way to quoting Dr Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham". Although I could not come up with one of those movie type inspirational speeches in such a short amount of time, I perceived that my comedian skills would come in handy, setting me apart from the rest from my opponents. By recognizing my peers' craving for anything exciting, I was able to win their sympathy, their votes and my unanimous victory.

It is true that my triumph was not a result of the most standard election. The votes I received were not based on the typical qualities people should look for in their leaders. Some of my self-righteous adversaries went as far as labeling my success as deceitful. In my perspective, however, it matters little that my methods were unconventional. I had used my wittiness and logic to analyze the circumstances, only to come up with an original solution. I was proud of my capacity to identify the voters' need and of my courage to risk it all on a wild maneuver. It all comes down to giving the people what they want.

Ha ha, I saw that other thread you are talking about. You wrote an rewrote your response trying to be polite, but then you got frustrated and resorted to bluntness. That happens to me all the time! ha ha... so.. it is cool that Raph stuck up for that person a little. And it is cool that you gave honest feedback, which I thought was quite good.

I find Art bewitching because of its ability to see the nonexistent and its limitless capacity.--- I think you can come up with something better to say about art. Anything you say about it reduces it... you need to reduce it to something that can be conveyed. The very purpose of art is to take a stab at expressing something that cannot be conveyed. Poetry and painting attempt to express what ordinary talking cannot express. So as you try to express what art is, you should take an abstract approach that does not reduce it.

Also... "ability to see that which does not yet but soon will exist and its limitless capacity for _______.

For the second one, I love the why guy explanation of yourself. However, for this type of essay i think i is good to succinctly answer their question right away. In the topic sentence for each para, you should state the reason; on't make them wait and follow you through all kinds of stuff. Use the topic sentence to, in a clear and clever way, express the reason.

It definitely did not look like the Student Council elections were being held in that room.----- In order to really improve your composition, put a solid thesis sentence at the end of the first paragraph. if I say you should ALWAYS do that, I would be doing that art-reducing thing... but for this kind of important essay, show your skill be giving a bold thesis statement at the end of the first para.