Loyola University Undergraduate College Application Essays

If you were to ask me about young Darcy St. James, don't think I wouldn't hesitate to tell you my opinion on the topic. The honest truth was that Darcy was a conniving witch who did whatever was necessary to get her way. She cussed too much, had...

In retrospect, bouncing out from beneath my comforter as I awoke that balmy seventh of June, I don’t remember feeling so much as a pound of fate’s weight on my scrawny ten-year-old shoulders. Instead, I closed my eyes and breathed in the sweet...

The cordial bustle that perpetually flowed through the diner no longer flowed. Conversations stopped. Waitresses stood still, and the clinks and clanks of silverware could no longer be heard. All that I could hear were the dismal tones of “Taps,”...

My palms were sweating. My heart was beating out of my chest. “When you go in, you might want to put on a mask so you don’t smell them, and make sure you are wearing your universal precautions!” I was about to see and explore inside of dead...

On Being a Middle Child

As our annual family picture day approaches, disputes about matching attire, scenery, or whether or not our pets will be included continue to dominate our dinnertime discussions. I’m not keen on, nor do I oppose, this...

Every bus ride is marked with either utter serenity or galling racket. At eight years old, I found both equally unbearable. "The world," my mother would often say, "isn't always going to be the way you want it to be." Innumerable repetitions of...

During my freshman year of high school, I fell in love.

My English teacher assigned Jane Eyre as our last reading of the year. Great, I thought, another pretentious novel about 19th century English society that the BBC adapts for television every...

A big part of my who I am is my racial identity. All of my life, I have dealt with unwarranted phrases directed towards me like "you look nothing like your family" and "are you sure you're not adopted?". It has been an occurrence during all 18...

I remember in kindergarten, during my troubled sleeps, my mother would come in and sing the Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”. I didn’t know what the lyrics meant then, but I do know that in her voice I found a universe of meaning. By first grade I was...

“Sit still!” my mom shouted at me in Igbo, as she continued to press the scalding flat iron to my scalp. I hung my head, watching as the puddle of tears in my lap grew larger, each additional tear rolling off my chubby ten-year-old cheek,...

“Where are you from?” The girl, seated to my left, looks my way intently.

I barely look up, refusing to make eye contact, allowing the pronounced seconds to tick by awkwardly. The question hangs heavy in the air.

“Texas....” I finally mutter,...

The purr of the engine dulls the voices of the other passengers. The cabin is fiercely pressurized, and the economy seating is cocooned in the back. After we visited the fresh farmland and enjoyed accustomed smoked foods, the only taste that both...

There I stood in my basement during spring break of my freshman year, just a few feet away from my old acoustic guitar which had been collecting dust for years. I can’t explain what had drawn me back to that neglected instrument, but I suddenly...

The blazing summer heat wears away at my body. I stare at the children laughing and splashing each other in the cool pool water. Sweat drips down my back begging me to jump in. I sit there, letting my mind race with ideas of excuses to leave. I...

“A mi no querer takar la clase de español”, I fervently and somewhat jokingly argued with my mother after she DECLARED that I would take Spanish 1 in 7th grade. It’s sort of like those times when you know the battle has long been over, yet you...

Starting in a dark, unknown place full of ‘enemies’, after passing the initial area, you will approach a desolate but welcoming town. Elderbug startles all travelers who enter Dirthmouth. Everything seems as simple as just traveling and meeting...