College Application Essays accepted by University of Texas - Austin

University of Texas - Austin

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...

University of Texas - Austin

As I plug in the radio and balance the camera on a few shoeboxes, I yell for everyone to get in their spot, then hit record. We dance around the room and jump on the bed shouting the lyrics of the new Hannah Montana CD. I don’t have a worry in the...

University of Texas - Austin

Ever since I was a child, I fantasized on going on an adventure right out of Indiana Jones. If I were given a golden ticket heading anywhere, I would unquestionably opt for an expedition. Right now, my definition of a place that embodies that...

University of Texas - Austin

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...

University of Texas - Austin

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...

University of Texas - Austin

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...

University of Texas - Austin

Water. Agua. מַיִם. These words describe one of the most vital substances that the human race requires in order to survive. Water nourishes, agua keeps us healthy, and מַיִם cleans. Beyond its essential qualities, water can also bring people...

University of Texas - Austin

“Your dad was born in Lebanon? Wow, that’s so cool!”

I often hear this when I first meet someone. While my father was only in Lebanon for the first one and a half years of life, our family had a presence in the city of Beirut for many years before...

University of Texas - Austin

Naked forms were everywhere. On the walls, on the floor, on the desks. Smudged with charcoal and twisted in fantastic poses, the products of our human figure drawing class papered the walls and blanked the room, evidence of the past five days’...

University of Texas - Austin

One of the most important failures I have experienced was in a program called DI (Destination Imagination), a creative problem solving competition. DI has been a major part of my life not just through my own experiences, but through my family as...

University of Texas - Austin

I made my first movie when I was seven.It was a two-minute slasher flick entitled “Psycho Killer on the Loose”. I spelled “psycho” wrong on the movie’s hand-drawn title card. It starred my five-year-old brother as “the psycho” and my best friend...

University of Texas - Austin

It’s the mystery of the shining lights and the sense of adventure in the air. It’s the vibrant feeling at night as if electricity is running through your veins. It’s the desire to find yourself, and the way the city inspires you no matter what...

University of Texas - Austin

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...

University of Texas - Austin

The sky was the baby blue of my new tricycle with streaks of mandarin orange peels highlighting the end of another innocent day. He stood beside my 5 year old self, with clothes smelling of Chinese take-out and the sweat of yesterday’s hot sun....

University of Texas - Austin

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....

University of Texas - Austin

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,...

University of Texas - Austin

I met her when I was six. Though she stood two inches shorter, her intimidation towered over me. Yet, I saw beyond her hard exterior; I saw a friendship that has lasted over a decade. She’s more of a listener, only speaking when spoken to. She is...

University of Texas - Austin

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...

University of Texas - Austin

I grasped the empty, plastic one-gallon container within my right hand as I strolled towards the salty waters of the Gulf of Mexico, trying not to gain others' attention nor look awkward. It would seem unusual and strange to others when they see a...

University of Texas - Austin

In the corner of my room sits my grandfather’s diary: soft, well-worn, and cracked. The first entry, written in English, is dated “June 1st, 1970,” in the halting, elaborate script of a man accustomed to Bengali. The last entry, dated “November...

University of Texas - Austin

Tap-tap-tap. My fingers tactfully hover over my controller as a white ball darts between players on the screen. For me, the afternoon FIFA is a ritual that precedes even my mom’s famous grilled cheeses.

Soccer has long been a keystone in my life....