Loyola essay
I just finished the rough draft of my Loyola essay, so if anyone wants to read it and give me some comments, please do! I will shove it behind a cut to save
People always say they are well rounded, but I do not have a shape at all. I am an amorphous piece of clay, which makes me truly an asset. When people give themselves a defined shape - even round - they cut themselves off from new ideas and opportunities. They narrow the spectrum through which they see the world. I will be able to contribute absolute open-mindedness because I am willing to have my mind molded and stretched by the people and experiences I will encounter in a college environment.
My expansive mindset has allowed me to learn many important life lessons at an early age because I have opened my eyes to the tribulations others face and made every effort to extract something from any circumstance. For the same reasons we study history, I study other people’s lives. I feel that it is very important to learn from others because more progress can be made by grasping concepts from many angles rather than from purely personal experience. My ability to learn and observe will make me an asset to any community because I will be able to share a broad worldview with those around me.
Being able to learn from others has given me the ability to find many other positive qualities within myself. I have learned that the only way to look at the world is with optimism. Finding positive things in every situation and helping others to see these things as well clarifies necessities in life. It has allowed me to see that self-motivation and personal initiative lead to the most success. Possessing notable qualities is only half the battle. The rest comes from implementing these qualities and striving to impart wisdom onto others.
One medium in which I implement the positive qualities that I feel I possess and can contribute to a college community is through my extra curricular activities. Of these activities, I feel the strongest about theater. Drama encompasses all forms of art: poetry, song, and dance as well as all aspects of visual art. The cadence of the spoken lines in drama is very much like poetry and the use of pitch and dynamics reflects the basic theory of song. Theater is one of the most beautiful means of communication. With drama comes the power to make an impression on the lives of others using the tool of communication. It utilizes more than just verbal communication and demonstrates that communication is far more expansive than the words that come out of our mouths. The ability to communicate is something that I view with the highest regard, therefore theater is particularly important to me because of the contributions I can make towards the understanding of communication.
Because of my adoration for theater and the power of communication, I have set my goals towards becoming a speech pathologist. After receiving at least master’s degree, and becoming a licensed speech pathologist, I would like to work with the elderly who have suffered a serious physical catastrophe such as a stroke. I would also like to earn a business degree and establish a chain of rehabilitation hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of such senior citizens and their families. These hospitals would strive to accommodate the needs of families through counseling and support and also by endowing patients with the ability to have their spouse present at all times by providing family-size living arrangements. While these are no small goals, I firmly believe that an education from Loyola College would be the building blocks of a strong foundation towards achieving this goal.