Lord of the Rings: My College Application Essay
Title: My College Application Essay
Fandom: The Lord of the Rings
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: G
Word Count: 543
Author’s Note: The other day I mentioned in one of my entries that I found my college application essay about Lord of the Rings and I have no idea how I got accepted to college. Some people expressed interest and I want to have it here just for general amusement, so here it is! (Orange you glad I didn't mention buttsecks?)
Once upon a time, a very small girl went to see a very big movie. The movie was “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, the year was 2001, and the little girl was me. I walked in, reluctant, dragged there by my mother. I was still reluctant at the end; reluctant to leave Tolkien’s world, unsure of how it would end. I was much younger then, of course, so I didn’t grasp everything I had just seen, but I knew it was something spectacular. As I grew, my understanding grew as well, and these novels (because, like any eager new fan, I of course left the theatre and read the novels as quickly as my eyes could take them in) became a major influence in shaping the person I have become.
Oh, sure, I know that sounds cliché and you’re wondering how a little man and his possessed jewelry could possibly change the person I am, but it’s true and I’m not ashamed to say so. What people never realize about The Lord of the Rings novels is that apart from its fantastic plot and array of perfectly conceived and developed characters there is more hiding behind those struggles than even one thousand pages of plot could suggest.
The Lord of the Rings novels have many great themes that apply to my life: the power of will even in someone small, facing what you have to do even when it seems impossible, but there is one theme apparent in every single moment of these stories that matters more to me than any of the others. The most astonishing thing about the characters in Tolkien’s stories is the amount of danger they all willingly face for their friends; the ability of love to make anything possible. Of all the great lessons I’ve learned throughout my life, this is the one lesson that has most shaped the person I have become. Friendship is the most important thing in the world in my opinion, loyalty and fearlessness to help those I love are the greatest assets I have. It is seen everywhere in Tolkien’s novels…without everybody working together and risking themselves over and over they never would have been able to triumph over an enemy whose only weakness was that he was so one-minded.
When I first read the novels, I was not as aware of the importance of creating truly meaningful relationships as I am now. I thought it was more important to have many friends who were less loyal to me than to have few who would risk anything for me. Shifting away from that point of view has helped make me more self-assured than I ever have been and, I believe, than I ever would have been if I had never had my eyes opened by these fantastic novels. I now make friends who accept me as an extremely unique person rather than friends for whom I have to change in order to please. I have experienced much in my life and I have seen or read many things that have changed me; however, I credit The Lord of the Rings alone with shaping the best thing about my personality-the fact that it is just that, entirely mine.
Fandom: The Lord of the Rings
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: G
Word Count: 543
Author’s Note: The other day I mentioned in one of my entries that I found my college application essay about Lord of the Rings and I have no idea how I got accepted to college. Some people expressed interest and I want to have it here just for general amusement, so here it is! (Orange you glad I didn't mention buttsecks?)
Once upon a time, a very small girl went to see a very big movie. The movie was “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, the year was 2001, and the little girl was me. I walked in, reluctant, dragged there by my mother. I was still reluctant at the end; reluctant to leave Tolkien’s world, unsure of how it would end. I was much younger then, of course, so I didn’t grasp everything I had just seen, but I knew it was something spectacular. As I grew, my understanding grew as well, and these novels (because, like any eager new fan, I of course left the theatre and read the novels as quickly as my eyes could take them in) became a major influence in shaping the person I have become.
Oh, sure, I know that sounds cliché and you’re wondering how a little man and his possessed jewelry could possibly change the person I am, but it’s true and I’m not ashamed to say so. What people never realize about The Lord of the Rings novels is that apart from its fantastic plot and array of perfectly conceived and developed characters there is more hiding behind those struggles than even one thousand pages of plot could suggest.
The Lord of the Rings novels have many great themes that apply to my life: the power of will even in someone small, facing what you have to do even when it seems impossible, but there is one theme apparent in every single moment of these stories that matters more to me than any of the others. The most astonishing thing about the characters in Tolkien’s stories is the amount of danger they all willingly face for their friends; the ability of love to make anything possible. Of all the great lessons I’ve learned throughout my life, this is the one lesson that has most shaped the person I have become. Friendship is the most important thing in the world in my opinion, loyalty and fearlessness to help those I love are the greatest assets I have. It is seen everywhere in Tolkien’s novels…without everybody working together and risking themselves over and over they never would have been able to triumph over an enemy whose only weakness was that he was so one-minded.
When I first read the novels, I was not as aware of the importance of creating truly meaningful relationships as I am now. I thought it was more important to have many friends who were less loyal to me than to have few who would risk anything for me. Shifting away from that point of view has helped make me more self-assured than I ever have been and, I believe, than I ever would have been if I had never had my eyes opened by these fantastic novels. I now make friends who accept me as an extremely unique person rather than friends for whom I have to change in order to please. I have experienced much in my life and I have seen or read many things that have changed me; however, I credit The Lord of the Rings alone with shaping the best thing about my personality-the fact that it is just that, entirely mine.