GMU Application Essay (Zees eez sheet!)
I am a stadtmensch, or at least I think I am. I am typically attracted to urban areas, whether ten million or ten thousand people live there. I enjoy the excitement, the people pulsating through the streets much like blood flows through the veins of a person. A stadtmensch often enjoys being in the company of his or her best friends, and while I may sometimes prefer just being alone, I can also be very gregarious and social. I like the fact that there is never a lack of things to do in a city. The city is a place of oppurtunity, and whether it is applying for a job or merely leisurely killing time between errands, there seems to be no end to the possibilities of what can happen in the city.
But is it really fair to classify oneself so definitely, so rigidly? Just because I like being surrounded by beautiful buildings, people I don’t even know, and the hectic yet thrilling traffic that plagues every city, does not mean I have an aversion to nature. I think to classify any aspect of one’s personality in such a way is deception, both to others and to the classifier himself. Some people say I am cynical, and I tend to agree, but does this mean I am totally incompassionate? This is why I hesitate to haphazardly associate people with labels. Though they may make life easier for some people, labels decieve. They are too rigid, creating an easy explanation while not allowing for unique differences or individuality. How can one truly know a person, or even himself, when all that one does is apply easy-to-understand labels to everything?
So, am I really a stadtmensch? I would say no. But that is not to say that I would abandon city life forever in favor of a hardy life out in the wilderness. As a person who likes things in moderation, I would strive for an equilibrium between the two. In nearly every situation I try to get the best of as many choices as I can. So, that really makes me neither a city slicker nor a country bumpkin. Though this may be a rather long-winded answer to a fairly simple question, I believe my position is well justified. I am neither, because my intuition tells me to avoid labels.
But is it really fair to classify oneself so definitely, so rigidly? Just because I like being surrounded by beautiful buildings, people I don’t even know, and the hectic yet thrilling traffic that plagues every city, does not mean I have an aversion to nature. I think to classify any aspect of one’s personality in such a way is deception, both to others and to the classifier himself. Some people say I am cynical, and I tend to agree, but does this mean I am totally incompassionate? This is why I hesitate to haphazardly associate people with labels. Though they may make life easier for some people, labels decieve. They are too rigid, creating an easy explanation while not allowing for unique differences or individuality. How can one truly know a person, or even himself, when all that one does is apply easy-to-understand labels to everything?
So, am I really a stadtmensch? I would say no. But that is not to say that I would abandon city life forever in favor of a hardy life out in the wilderness. As a person who likes things in moderation, I would strive for an equilibrium between the two. In nearly every situation I try to get the best of as many choices as I can. So, that really makes me neither a city slicker nor a country bumpkin. Though this may be a rather long-winded answer to a fairly simple question, I believe my position is well justified. I am neither, because my intuition tells me to avoid labels.