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Question 1
I would learn. At the University of Chicago, I would live with some of
the best students-some of the best thinkers-and further my growth into an
adult, rich in knowledge and in life experience. Every day, especially when
I'm homesick for my mother's mashed potatoes or drained from finishing a twenty-
page paper, I would be able to look around me and think, "Everyone here is an
accomplished person with remarkable intelligence and raw talent; I'm lucky to
be here standing beside them." Like I have always wanted, I would be able to
concentrate in political science and public policy studies while taking classes
in Russian and in drama on the side. I would be regarded as a total person,
not just an ordinary student, with the opportunities not only to continue my
involvement in community service and in music but also to take up touch
football or to help manage the school radio station. Also, for the first time
ever, I would experience something rather frightful and intimidating: complete
independence. It may be extremely difficult at first, but I'll get by; I'll
figure it out. Any student given admission will learn at the University of
Chicago-and I want that privilege.
By: Lisa Reyes
Comments On Lisa Reyes' Question 1
Comments can be sent to uchicago2006@hotmail.com
Question 2
My favorite books of all time are Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles
and William Saroyan's The Human Comedy. What touches me most about those
novels are the characters, people forced to rely on their fortitude and endure
trying situations. However, the first moving literary character I have ever
encountered is one about whom I can read every day. He's Charlie Brown.
Charlie Brown possesses incredible attributes that I hope to completely attain
soon. For example, every autumn Lucy holds a football for Charlie Brown to
kick and then pulls that football away at the last second, causing Charlie to
fall. Expecting a great fall, Charlie Brown still attempts to kick the
football every year. Without fail. Some might call this gullibility, but
really Charlie Brown sees the best in people; he waits for Lucy to give up ill
will and to let him kick the football. Also, Charlie Brown is very
determined. He plays for a baseball team that has never won a game and still
shows up at each game. Though his chances at winning are dismally low,
baseball remains Charlie Brown's favorite sport; he doesn't give it up.
Lastly, even though many of his friends make jokes about him, Charlie Brown
still takes care of them. He tries to help his sister with her homework and
listens to Linus's worries. Charlie Brown is therefore kind. He bears every
tribulation put in front of him; he tries to succeed. He will always be a
literary character worthy of anyone's admiration.
By: Lisa Reyes
Comments On Lisa Reyes' Question 2
Comments can be sent to uchicago2006@hotmail.com
Question: "Plain and simple. Who are you, and what
moves you?"
My Long Essay
I am Lisa Ann Reyes. My name is neither extremely plain nor extremely
peculiar. I can imagine what other people think when they hear that name. I
have been called a "shy" person with a soft-spoken voice. I have been seen as
a "talkative" person with a voice that flows and ebbs as my excitement
intensifies and wavers. I am a "brain child" with a pencil for an appendage
and a "drama queen" with a stage for a home. However, such descriptions are
inadequate and lacking. They do not offer the core of who I am and for what I
hunger. The task of defining my quintessence has been pressing and arduous for
over seventeen years. Nevertheless, my character becomes increasingly
elucidated each time I reflect on it.
I am restless. As a young child, I hated sleep. Sleeping meant that
somebody somewhere would be experiencing something in which I could not take
part. All night I used to stay awake, imagining on what I was missing out.
Like many people, I wished to travel to other lands. I did not simply want to
observe the other people out there. I wanted to meet them and touch them and
speak to them--just to make sure they were always there while I was sleeping,
to finally come to know what once kept me awake at night. I still do.
I have a love. During my fifth grade year, I went to see my first
professional theatrical production. That night I saw something so honest about
communicating to strangers passion and vulnerability, injury and delight. My
breathing betrayed me as I started to want what the people onstage had. I
craved sharing with strangers what those actors shared with me. Acting is no
longer an ambition of mine, but the theatre is the interest for which I first
developed passion. I cannot imagine ever tiring of performing showtunes to the
make-believe audience in my bedroom. And still in my old journal, I often read
something I wrote during fifth grade. "I want to do something where you can't
sleep or speak just because you were impassioned." I still do.
I am a ship. For over seventeen years, I have lived in a familiar harbor,
protected from all harms. In this harbor of St. Louis, I have seen so much--
from fresh green grass to refuse thrown onto cracked pavement, from people in
power suits to people in tattered coats. But never has my stability and
security been threatened by anything I have encountered. I have not left the
harbor and thrown myself into the uncharted waters. However, soon I must do so
to pursue my aspirations. The boundless waters call me to depart home and
explore, and I will go for the sake of the girl who would have forfeited sleep
to be a part of everything. For the girl who could not miss out on anything.
The idea of being completely independent and testing my fortitude is daunting,
but a ship must journey on. And though my harbor is safe, I yearn to verge
upon strange lands and claim the sea.
By: Lisa Reyes
Comments On My Long Essay
Comments can be sent to uchicago2006@hotmail.com
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Admission Essays