The Common App essay that got me into Cornell

Recently, I was accepted into the College of Engineering of Cornell university through early decision. I have always wanted to make a college admission decision reaction video but since I got into ED and have only one reaction, I, unfortunately, won't be able to do that. So instead, I'll be sharing my essay with my readers.

* * *

I'm looking at my scrabble rack and I notice WATCH: Double word, 37 points. Not bad, I think, as I'm slowly taken back to a memory…

I'm in my school's auditorium in a brand-new uniform, surrounded by other girls wearing the same uniform. I zone out but snap back into reality when I hear my principal's voice, "Watch and learn. This should be the rule you follow every day while you're here. Watch and learn from anyone and everyone, and you'll be able to thrive here." As the nervous new girl I am, I take this to my heart and decide to live by it. I am here to Watch, Learn, and…

FOLLOW. Almost a bingo. Oh! And I can place it at B14 for 38. This reminds me of…

"Follow-on": a phrase that appears in my school anthem precisely 21 times. Now I realize the meaning behind it, as it resonates with the words of my principal. Adding it to my motto, I follow others and learn from them. I observe every move, success, and mistake, and learn that I should do this here and say that there. I find activities that give me a sense of belonging and things I think would help me survive in a new environment. I repeat this process, blinded by wanting to fit in, without realizing how it's affecting me, like how I made...

…SQUAD for 45! It will open the board too! Today is indeed my lucky day. And I'm yet again reminded of a day just as lucky…

"The squad goes to….SANSOM HOUSE!" And we rejoice. After weeks of non-stop practicing under the scorching sun, we won! As we hug and scream, I think back to the words that brought me here, "Watch and Learn." I recall how I watched my seniors in action and realized that this was something that made me feel included, and I pat myself on the back for my motto choice. I get that sense of belonging again, however...

...something feels off, and I can't quite put my finger on it. Then it dawns on me! All this watching and learning made me the person others wanted me to be. I was toning myself down to fit others' standards, and now I'm struggling to be myself and shape my own life. I took my principal's words into my heart without understanding their true meaning. I made a…

MISTAKE! A Bingo! But…. I don't have anywhere to place it. I realized I was opening the board since I was leading, without noticing my opponent was close behind. I must pay attention to the long term, just like how…

...instead of watching people and learning what my next move should be, I decide to filter what I see, modify it to suit myself, and mold myself into my own person instead of a blueprint of what's expected of me. I add "filter" and "modify" to my motto.

I slowly shatter the shell I made for myself. I do sports that are considered lame, start new clubs, take on challenges and simply be myself. A series of such events over 2 years led me to my first ever bingo in scrabble in 2019…

STARLET! And I can make it at O1 for 75! And now I'm leading with a 150+ margin. Oh! The satisfaction, like what I felt when I made the same word in my first-ever scrabble tournament 3 years ago, unveiling another string of memories of myself…

…over the last three years. I watch myself grow into my own person with my own personality and values. I play scrabble -a game nearly rejected by my school until I strived to revive it- and code -when many people discouraged me. I keep challenging myself as I create a new meaning for my motto. One doesn't simply "watch and learn." Instead, one must "watch, filter, learn, and create."

Comments

Curfew: 2018

Hello Readers! This is a collection of 3 short stories I wrote about the lockdowns/curfews that were implemented within my country in 2018, 2019, and 2020/2021. This is the first story of the collection. You can use the following links to read the rest. 2019 part 1 2019 part 2 2020 * * * It was a stormy night, and a girl was staring at the deserted road from her window. There was a curfew. The word that still haunted her. It was because of the riots between Sinhala and Muslim people. This girl was Maya. “Why do people fight like this?’’ she thought, petting her dog. She turned to her dog. “You don’t know why, do you, Domino?’’. Domino licked her hand. Maya was a Sri Lankan Christian. She went to a school where there were Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, and Christian students, and she loved this diversity. She proudly told everybody who asked about her school how they celebrated each other's festivals together. “Why can’t they live as we do at school? We NEVER argue about our relig...

Bullet journal vs Notion, which one should you use?

When your life gets hectic, you need a way to organize it. Both bullet journaling and Notion are getting more and more popular every day. Both are very effective methods to organize your life. Both have their pros and cons. But which one should YOU use? Let’s find out! Bullet journaling A bullet journal is a mix of a daily/weekly/monthly planner, to-do list, diary, bucket lists, trackers, and many more things you want to keep track of in your life. Even though there are digital bullet journals, most people start by using a traditional analog bullet journal. Pros: You can customize it in any way you want - An analog bullet journal gives you the flexibility to add almost anything that fits into the book. For example, a doodler can use this as a planner AND to doodle, basically killing two birds in one stone. It keeps everything you need in one place - You can use your bullet journal for habit tracking, daily planning, monthly planning, project planning, grade tracking, and many m...

App review: Slowly

Penpalling might not be as popular as it used to be back in the day. It’s still a great experience as you can share cultures, ideas, and stories with people who might live thousands of miles away from you. But after the pandemic hit, sending handwritten letters became less convenient. Apps that were created to make the penpalling experience easier began resurfacing during the lockdown. Today, I will be reviewing one such app: Slowly. HOW TO USE Initially released in 2017, Slowly retains the essence of Penpalling while making the experience digital. You can create your profile and include your interests, languages you know, a nickname, an avatar, and a small introduction about yourself. Once you create your profile, your account is set and ready to use. You can auto-match or explore pen pals manually. When exploring manually, you can use filters to find people who share interests with you, live in a specific region, are within an age range, or know a certain language. You can check prof...

Welcome, readers!

“To blog=to share, to connect, to create, to inspire” One day I was mindlessly scrolling through YouTube trying to find a video to watch when I came across the word “blog”. Curious, I decided to do some research about this word, and the rest was history. So here I am, starting my very first blog. Everything starts with a small step. Think of this introduction as that small step that’s hopefully the beginning of something big. Welcome readers! I’m a 17-year-old student from Sri Lanka, currently in 12th grade and graduating in 2023. On this blog, I’ll be talking about my favorite things/interests: study and time management tips, life skills, programming (as a beginner), different cultures, apps I use, and more! (Honestly, I’ll be talking about anything that catches my interest). Feel free to comment on your ideas in the comment section so I can research them as well. I will try my best to update as often as possible, presumably once or twice a month. I hope you’ll enjoy this blog. Happy ...

Traditions make culture

Every culture has its own traditions and rituals. That’s what makes each culture unique. That’s what makes them fit the definition of culture. There are some very well-known traditions from each culture. But some common traditions are not known by people outside the particular culture. Today I’ll be introducing you to four Sinhala Traditions that aren’t known by many outside the culture. Indul kata gama (ඉඳුල් කට ගෑම) This tradition is one of the first few traditions a baby experiences in her life. It takes place when the baby is about 1-year-old. The parents prepare milk rice, and various Sinhala sweets on this day, and they dress the baby up with a comfortable but traditional outfit. They set her on the floor in the middle of a room, and place various things such as books, electronics, food, jewelry, money, etc, on the floor around her. (Basically, these items are things that are related to a future potential career or lifestyle) They wait until something catches the baby’s eye...

Want to be more productive? Try these!

Productivity is something we all want to achieve. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Many people start out motivated and end up giving up. It is mainly because they’re either not using the correct productivity tools or are not using the tools properly, be it productivity tips and techniques, apps, or other software. Today, I’ll be discussing nine such tools that have helped me become highly productive and hopefully will help you as well. Notion/ bullet journalling Both Notion and bullet journalling were created to help people organize their life and have everything in one place. You can plan your day, write your to-do lists, write your shopping lists, note down deadlines, and even track your habits using Notion or a bullet journal. Basically, these are all-in-one productivity tools, which might seem like a bad choice for some people but a great one for others. I compared these two methods in one of my earlier articles, and as I mentioned then, both are very effective tools, one being ...

Covid to Coding

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase to take the first step” When the pandemic hit, the lockdown started, and the whole country decided to shut down completely. Everyone was stuck at home with nothing to do. We had exams to worry about, but we didn't even know if we were going to have them. Everything was uncertain. Flash forward to a few months later, we still didn’t know what to do. Everything was still uncertain, and the country –now the whole world– was still shut down. We were hanging on to the memories from a few months ago, eager to make new ones as soon as the world returns to normal. One day I was going through the memory archive of my brain when I came across a memory: the robotics competition in February 2020. My teammates and I were almost beginners in that particular area, and we had no idea how to do anything (or even what to do). Yet, we managed to make a robot using my five-year-old lego set, program it and give it a go at the competition. We w...

Curfew: 2019 (Part 1)

Hello Readers! This is a collection of 3 short stories I wrote about the lockdowns/curfews that were implemented within my country in 2018, 2019, and 2020/2021. This is the first part of the second story of the collection. You can use the following links to read the rest. 2018 2019 part 2 2020 * * * “Happy Easter!” Maya called out as she saw her best friend, Taniya coming into their house. Taniya’s family will be joining Maya’s for the Easter Mass at their local church. “I brought you Easter eggs”, said Taniya, hugging her friend and handing out a bag. “I’m so excited about today.” They arrived at the church at 7.45, 15 minutes before the Mass started. The priest conducted the Mass. He also prayed for the people who lost their lives, loved ones, and homes last year during the riots. More than a year had gone by, and the memories were fading in the minds of most. But for people who had lived in the areas of these happenings, the memories were still fresh and horrifying. May...

Productivity II: Minute and day rules

My first article about productivity was about apps and websites that'll help us be more productive. However, this one will focus on some time-related productivity rules we can follow. 2-minute rule I When we start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to complete. This way, it's easier for us to stick to that habit. Most of the time, when we start a habit we tend to give up after not even a week because they're too complex to stick to or because we keep forgetting them. If we create a habit that we can complete effortlessly, we'll be more likely to stick to it. Furthermore, we can always add more parts to the habit later. 2-minute rule II If a task can be completed in 2 minutes or less, we should go ahead and do it when we think of it. An extension to this rule is to set aside a time (around 30 minutes) to do all the tasks that take 2 minutes (such as replying to an email or doing our laundry). This way, we will stop procrastinating on these smaller ta...

Lillynn

Search This Blog