Ways to Begin the College Essay
3. Fish in a Sea
A sea of fish squirming to get the most space they could get out of the confined area in the Club Room at Rockbridge Young Life Camp listened to the speaker. Mike Barbetta held a flashlight in one hand and a large book in the other, on top of the massive stage made of wood (like a boat). He used his voice as bait to hook the fish. All one could see was the back of their heads, ranging from many ages. These fish were hungry, and they were all searching for food or fulfillment. Mike Barbetta’s flashlight showed them to this fulfillment that they longed for. I was a hungry fish, but the flashlight subsidized my hunger.
4. Larger than Me
Did you see how many people were there? It was huge. I was right in the center of it all. I got easily distracted because I felt so tiny in a big place. But do you remember what that guy said up there? He had a big yellow flashlight. I bet that could light up a room. I think he even looked at me when he was talking. He looked at me, me, me. And then it clicked. I was a child among many others who had thought I could do it all on my own. I thought the world revolved around me, but I found that it is not. Mike Barbetta spoke about how if we think we can fill our flashlight with something other than batteries, then we will remain children. There was something bigger than me at Rockbridge Young Life Camp, and like a child, I was eager to grow out of my old self.
5. I (he) am New
I’v always wondered where that one kid the summer after my sophomore year of high school. I saw him around often but only glimpses. We would chat from time to time, but we never seemed to have a real connection. Most likely the last time I saw him was at Rockbridge Young Life camp. Many people told me that we had a lot in common, but he would attempt to imitate me by wearing a mask around certain people. In the Club Room while Mike Barbetta spoke about a flashlight that does not work without batteries, I caught another glimpse of him. He was wearing his usual mask, but this time, it looked irregularly like me. How could that be? We were completely different people, yet something seemed to have changed. I was so intrigued that I walked over to try to pull the mask off, but it would not come off. I was new, and he was never to be seen again.
7. Beautiful Things
“You make me new,
You are making me new.
You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of us.”
We sang to the best of our ability immediately following Mike Barbetta’s talk at Rockbridge Young Life Camp. By filling my flashlight with the proper batteries, I was made new. Without empty lyrics, I sang to someone that will make me into a beautiful creation. I was excited for the future to come, and I knew that my flashlight had finally turned on. God is the only battery that works for me. He is making me new and making beautiful things out of me.
9. Engineer of Light
Math, Science, and the art of figuring out how an object works are my passions. An unanswered math problem will keep me wide awake asleep, as if my eyelids are fighting the calculus rushing through my brain. But I love it. There is nothing more frustrating than mapping out the missing piece to the complicated puzzle that makes up the mechanism I am building, and it does not work. Out of frustration I blame science, but I really know that it was my fault. Imagine how Thomas Edison felt. There are only so many times science is incorrect until one realizes that it is not just science. But the brilliant light that penetrated that light bulb once it worked for the first time in history would have been a calming sensation to Thomas’s burning retinas. Once I knew how to fill the missing piece of my flashlight, my frustration was relieved, and I could finally sleep knowing any math problem to come my way could not impede my growth.
11. Yellow
My journey started with a yellow flier that said “Come to Rockbridge Young Life Camp!!!” Then, the yellow shirt that was stuffed into my yellow bag. Next came the yellow bright sun that shone over the lake, the zip line, and all of camp. After, the yellow headband that I wore with the words “Young Life” printed on it. Consequently the yellow ping pong ball was used until its final crack. But most importantly, the yellow flashlight was the everlasting image of my enlightenment. That yellow flashlight steered me toward the bright and full life I live to the fullest. “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you… and they were all Yellow.”
3. Fish in a Sea
A sea of fish squirming to get the most space they could get out of the confined area in the Club Room at Rockbridge Young Life Camp listened to the speaker. Mike Barbetta held a flashlight in one hand and a large book in the other, on top of the massive stage made of wood (like a boat). He used his voice as bait to hook the fish. All one could see was the back of their heads, ranging from many ages. These fish were hungry, and they were all searching for food or fulfillment. Mike Barbetta’s flashlight showed them to this fulfillment that they longed for. I was a hungry fish, but the flashlight subsidized my hunger.
4. Larger than Me
Did you see how many people were there? It was huge. I was right in the center of it all. I got easily distracted because I felt so tiny in a big place. But do you remember what that guy said up there? He had a big yellow flashlight. I bet that could light up a room. I think he even looked at me when he was talking. He looked at me, me, me. And then it clicked. I was a child among many others who had thought I could do it all on my own. I thought the world revolved around me, but I found that it is not. Mike Barbetta spoke about how if we think we can fill our flashlight with something other than batteries, then we will remain children. There was something bigger than me at Rockbridge Young Life Camp, and like a child, I was eager to grow out of my old self.
5. I (he) am New
I’v always wondered where that one kid the summer after my sophomore year of high school. I saw him around often but only glimpses. We would chat from time to time, but we never seemed to have a real connection. Most likely the last time I saw him was at Rockbridge Young Life camp. Many people told me that we had a lot in common, but he would attempt to imitate me by wearing a mask around certain people. In the Club Room while Mike Barbetta spoke about a flashlight that does not work without batteries, I caught another glimpse of him. He was wearing his usual mask, but this time, it looked irregularly like me. How could that be? We were completely different people, yet something seemed to have changed. I was so intrigued that I walked over to try to pull the mask off, but it would not come off. I was new, and he was never to be seen again.
7. Beautiful Things
“You make me new,
You are making me new.
You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of us.”
We sang to the best of our ability immediately following Mike Barbetta’s talk at Rockbridge Young Life Camp. By filling my flashlight with the proper batteries, I was made new. Without empty lyrics, I sang to someone that will make me into a beautiful creation. I was excited for the future to come, and I knew that my flashlight had finally turned on. God is the only battery that works for me. He is making me new and making beautiful things out of me.
9. Engineer of Light
Math, Science, and the art of figuring out how an object works are my passions. An unanswered math problem will keep me wide awake asleep, as if my eyelids are fighting the calculus rushing through my brain. But I love it. There is nothing more frustrating than mapping out the missing piece to the complicated puzzle that makes up the mechanism I am building, and it does not work. Out of frustration I blame science, but I really know that it was my fault. Imagine how Thomas Edison felt. There are only so many times science is incorrect until one realizes that it is not just science. But the brilliant light that penetrated that light bulb once it worked for the first time in history would have been a calming sensation to Thomas’s burning retinas. Once I knew how to fill the missing piece of my flashlight, my frustration was relieved, and I could finally sleep knowing any math problem to come my way could not impede my growth.
11. Yellow
My journey started with a yellow flier that said “Come to Rockbridge Young Life Camp!!!” Then, the yellow shirt that was stuffed into my yellow bag. Next came the yellow bright sun that shone over the lake, the zip line, and all of camp. After, the yellow headband that I wore with the words “Young Life” printed on it. Consequently the yellow ping pong ball was used until its final crack. But most importantly, the yellow flashlight was the everlasting image of my enlightenment. That yellow flashlight steered me toward the bright and full life I live to the fullest. “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you… and they were all Yellow.”