My parents went through college knowing exactly what they wanted to do. Science was a passion for them and they knew all along that they wanted to be biotechnologists. Their decisions led them on a straightforward path through college. In fact, if it hadn’t been for their conviction to study advanced biology, they would have never met. When they were my age, they knew what they wanted to accomplish with their lives. I, on the other hand, am utterly clueless.

            Everyone says: “You have time to decide your major…”, “the average college student changes their major three times…”, “you can always change your major if you want to…” etc. I am aware that I have time. Time is not the issue here. My concern is that 4 years from now, I won’t be any surer than I am now. What is someone like me to do? I’m sure I’m not the only one without absolutely any idea of what they want to devote their life to. There is always the option of Liberal Arts, but without an idea of which direction I want to go, even liberal arts is too vague of an option.

            I have only recently developed an interest in the performing arts, but for every successful actor in Hollywood, there are ten wannabes waiting on tables in Los Angeles. I have a passion for music, but realistically the chances of making it as a musician are very small, and only a small percentage of musicians are able to make enough to get by comfortably. Then perhaps a minor will suffice. Ah decisions, decisions. Hopefully someone will come along and inspire me. Until then though, I’m doomed to the insecurity of indecision.

            I wonder how many teens have actually looked at the phrase “Trick or Treat” and actually tried to figure out what it means besides what is promised – lots and lots of candy. Wouldn’t it make sense to interpret the phrase literally? In other words, you would go up to someone’s door and ask them for either a trick or a treat. Today’s tradition is a drastically condensed version of the original. Trick or treating has gradually become completely about the treat and hardly about the trick. This basically turns Halloween into a candy-consuming extravaganza. The old tradition of Trick or Treating has been modified to suit today’s youth, for whom candy is the fuel for the engine of their young lives. Even with the promise of loads of candy, it is still difficult to decide whether it’s worth it to look like a fool for a night, when the nostalgia for candy has finally gone away after years of overdose.

            Now I am brought back to my original problem. How can one tell if they are too old to go trick or treating? On one hand, it can be very entertaining to go through neighborhoods in a funky costume and get lots of candy. It’s a fun night out and you end up with the greatest sugar rush ever. On the other hand, finding a costume can be tedious and frustrating. Sure, you could succumb and dress up like a werewolf/vampire/zombie like everyone else, but where’s the originality in that? As usual, my lack of creativity kicks me in shins. Between school, play rehearsal, and all the other stuff in any teenager’s life, it’s hard to find time to put in the effort to figure out a costume or get together with friends to decide on a location or possible themes for costumes. Besides all of these issues, do I want to actually dress up in a ridiculous costume and go around ringing people’s doorbells?

            As “anti-social” or “boring” as people may call me, I’ve decided – after a lot of contemplation – that I will not be trick or treating this year. My schedule is too full and I find myself unable to muster the enthusiasm or will to prepare. The post-trick-or-treat pile of candy somehow seems a lot less appealing the more I think about it. The energy has disappeared and, when you’re a teenager like me, lack of energy dictates everything.

Standards of political correctness vary all over the world. In the United States these standards are higher than anywhere else in the world. Growing up in India, I got a firsthand look at where India stood in terms of political correctness. Everyone in India used to make politically incorrect comments about each other. Even the most civilized and “higher class” gentleman made a snide comment about someone every now and then. It may seem ridiculous, but immaturity had nothing to do with it. It isn’t because Indians aren’t sensitive to other cultures or people; they simply don’t care as much as Americans do. IF you make a comment about someone, they make one back, and that’s that. This system seems archaic and childish, but it works. There aren’t any million-dollar lawsuits over someone making an inappropriate comment or publishing a racially explicit article. People in India have learned to simply accept that not everyone believes what they may believe; they have accepted humanity’s nature to disagree.

The United States seems to completely disregard human nature; so much so that it is almost as if we believe humans are impervious to fault. This is far from true and is unrealistic to assume. We, the people of America, are hypersensitive and react violently to the smallest stimuli when it comes to race, gender, religion, and social status. It makes sense that the American people are proud of their nation; one that (apparently) has always been at the forefront of equality and the freedom to believe and to be whatever you wish. It also stands to reason that Americans have become accustomed to liberty and the numerous rights granted to them. But my personal opinion is that people take things way too far. Consider the example of an ice cream truck. Say it just happened to run out of ice cream before a young African American girl decided she wanted an ice cream sandwich. As ludicrous as it may seem, the likely response would be accusations of racism, sexism or both.

The American people need to get it into their heads that not everything is meant to be a comment on their race, sex or religion. The media, US history and pride play a major role in our standards of political correctness. But regardless of why we’re so sensitive, we need to ease off. The world we are creating – with our hypersensitivity and over-zealous political correctness – would be a very dull world indeed.

Over the millenia, music has evolved into something more than just a means of entertainment. It is a highly specialized and classified topic; there are hundreds of genres of music, ranging from punk to classical to tribal. Entire populations of the young and old alike have been influenced by the various genres of music whether it’s Metallica or the Beatles.

Music’s influence in today’s society can be seen in an event that lasted over three days in New York in 1969. Although this gathering – known as The Woodstock Festival – may not have been the most sanitary or ethical gathering in history, it was one of the most notable. The fact that so many people can be drawn together by music is astounding and the sheer scale of Woodstock is beyond imagination. Over half of a million people gathered at a farm in the New York countryside and stayed for three days in the muddy fields, barely sleeping, just to see their favorite bands perform.

Music has had a major impact on our history. It has turned the wheels of war, and fueled the fires of revolutions all over the world. Not to mention it has inspired so many of the greatest people of all time. Rebellions like the French revolution, and the Scottish rebellion against the British are both prime examples of times when music has served as an inspiration for the common folk. When it seemed like the world was caving in around them, people sought music as a means of inspiration. When one listens to the music of these people, emotionally charged and yearning for freedom, one may truly realize the power it possesses.

Besides the obvious importance of music in our history, the gift of music is a highly underrated one. It can help someone express or suppress anger, mend a broken heart, and provide comfort for someone dealing with stress or depression. There is a genre of music for every aspect of life. Even people who do not listen to music are impacted by it. How many people would want to watch a commercial that has no background music or a movie without a score? The impact of music in our day to day lives is beyond mention. For every sight that you remember there is a sound as well, and for every situation in the life of a human being, there is a sound or a melody that comes to mind. It is a subliminal message that adds a whole new layer to our perception of the world, one that is hardly noticed as we live out our busy lives in the 21st century.

Why doesn’t everyone on the planet constantly rejoice for and celebrate music in today’s fast paced world, you may ask. The answer is human nature of course. Humanity’s ability to disregard is unlimited. As soon as we get accustomed to something, we take it for granted and eventually, it comes back to bite us. But that never stops us from doing it over and over again. What we need to realize is that music is the solution, the solution to every major issue and conflict on earth. Music brings people together regardless of their views or opinions; it is the one thing we can agree on. If only we could see past our differences and rejoice in the common gift of music, we would be a much more peaceful species.

Before I truly answer the question as straightforwardly and truthfully as possible, I just want to say that the question in itself is pointless. In theory it works, but I think you’ll find that a very small percentage of the thousands of applicants can actually look at themselves from the outside without being totally biased and candy mouthed. It is impossible to analyze yourself from the outside, but here goes.

Condescending, nerdy, eccentric, and – quite conversely – lazy, are just some of the many adjectives my friends have used to describe me over the years. Although I could go into excruciating detail about these and many more names, I will spare the audience of this paper. But then again I have been known to be a motor mouth, or rather, notoriously fast fingered.

Lets begin with the first. Growing up in rural India I consider myself to be a very culturally educated person, which my friends no doubt have recognized. Adding to this form of condescension, I had a very intense elementary and middle school education, leading to my doing quite well in American schools. So naturally I’m a bit condescending. But that’s not to say I don’t listen to other people. If you ask my friends I’m sure you’ll find I listen to them, or at least take their views into account, in most cases.

While I realize that I can be a bit condescending, I sometimes become extremely frustrated with other people. This frustration may arise from my not getting my point across, or other people just being unable to pick up on my supposedly ‘brilliant’ comments or statements. In these times I begin rambling incessantly and often incomprehensibly to them. But all that matters to me is to get my point across, and as a result I will argue with everybody indiscriminately, whether it be my parents, friends, teachers, or elders. Being condescending is fun, albeit a bit rude and I know its something I need to work on, but being my lazy self, its bound to take some time.

On the excruciating task of self-analysis, I believe that if I looked at myself from the outside, I wouldn’t see myself as overly condescending or any of the other adjectives used by my prosecutors. My friends may disagree with me on some points, but I see myself as a very sociable, and considerate person, a little cranky and obsessive at times, but only with things I truly care about. Once again, I know my friends have different opinions, but it’s not my place to discuss my friends’ personalities.

This is, after all, about me.