Texas A&M Undergraduate College Application Essays

My childhood memories were mixed by hand. Hunched over Formica countertops my grandmother formed my earliest ephemera between her palms. Side by side we rolled the hours away perfecting the one dish that continues to define me even now. Roll,...

What was it about Claudia’s brain that made her forget our entire conversation? Is her inability to remember my response affected by a specific part of her brain? I pondered as she asked me, “What is your favorite subject in school, darling?” for...

I walked past a building labeled “prayer room” and knew I did not fit in. A Buddhist boy playing basketball in a Christian basketball league, I found myself walking through a parochial school on a Saturday in search of a gym.

I ambled through two...

6:00 AM, small industrial town of Zhodino, Belarus. Summer 2008. I reluctantly boarded the bus, immediately noticing that it was absolutely packed. The bus, of course, was to my grandmother’s dacha, a cottage where she grew and tended to what I...

Of all the things I had expected might happen, waking up to a chicken trying to peck me to death wasn’t one of them. Last night had started out like any other, comforting in its ordinariness and definitely chicken free. After wrapping up some...

Silence stretched across the room as twenty-two nervous bodies shared timid smiles and curious glances. Name tags adorning the large U-shaped table announced our name and high school to the group, and for an uncomfortable time frame were the only...

I had the spent majority of my days here, spending my time exploring the nooks and crannies when my parents were at work and looking for the ancient photos and relics dating back in my family’s history. Whether I was on vacation or living in...

Some say that the most important piece of a journey is the first step. My first step is into thick, saturated fog. At other times, this fog would create a sense of isolation, but here, it is a being which has enveloped thousands of sojourners...

Several weeks ago, I was made aware of my sisters’ excursions into my bedroom with measuring tapes and note pads in preparation for my departure to college (which, mind you, is still one year away; their level of excitement is extraordinary). My...

What are you?

I am American.

No, but what are you?

I am Vietnamese. My father comes from a childhood of war. A war that took his father and brother and sister without notice. My father comes from broken English and mispronunciations. From...

It is often thought that the fastest route to Carnegie Hall is practice. I would never discredit the importance of practice, knowing its vitality in my own vocal development, but I believe confidence is equally important to success for any...

March 22nd, 1934. I arrive to the course, designed by Bobby Jones, in a 1933 silver Studebaker Dictator at 8am sharp. The wheels squeal in the hot gravel. The grass, still glazed with morning dew, smells fresher and more fragrant than a bouquet of...

The high-rise steel buildings and skyscrapers were replaced with vast greenery and blue, cloudy skies. The familiar symphony of sirens, honking, and indistinct chatter was suddenly replaced with oppressive silence. People I had known for my whole...

It was a brisk summer day in the park next to my house. I had just finished my Eagle Scout project I had been working on for the past week and I was preparing for a quick jog to unload all of the stress and grogginess of the past couple of days....

I winced in aversion when the document loaded. Displayed before me was a dauntingly long list of bizarre names, obscure titles, and dates hundreds of years in the past. As I scrolled through the PDF, my disorientation only grew.

Earlier that day,...

For as long as I can remember my mom has had this nickname for me. It may sound kind of strange, but she has always called me “Mommy”. While it may just be a nickname, I have always seen it as part of my identity.

My actual mom is no stranger to...

Opening the door to the Cat Assessment room was like entering a world with a myriad of lessons, some delightful and others difficult. This program, Kitten Garten, was brought to my attention by volunteer services at Pasadena Humane Society &...