Sample
Admissions Essays - Accepted by Cornell (Courtesy of EssayEdge)
Tell
us about an opinion you have had to defend. How has this
affected your belief system?
I
chuckle to myself every time I think about this. I am perceived
as a mild-mannered, intelligent individual until I mention
that I am involved in riflery. It is interesting to watch
someone's expression change. It is as if I instantaneously
grew a pair of horns and a sharp set of claws. Believe me
this gets worse; I am a member of the NRA. I try to tell
these folks that I belong to the NRA to fire my rifle. "Oh
my God! You fire real guns? with real bullets?!?" they
remark with a perplexed look on their face. Besides having
horns and claws, I now possess a tail and leathery wings.
This
is how it began five years ago. I had played on a soccer
team for several years. As I grew older I began having difficulty
playing soccer because of shortness of breath. I was diagnosed
as having mild asthma which ended my soccer career and eliminated
my participation in most physical sports.
Shortly
afterward, during a Boy Scout summer camp, I participated
in riflery at their shooting range. This was the first time
I had ever touched a firearm. To my amazement, I won the
camp's first place award for marksmanship. I was more than
eager when a friend of mine asked me if I would like to
join a shooting club.
My
parents were wary when I asked to join the rifle club. My
mother feared guns, but my father felt there was no problem
with trying this sport. Gratefully, he gave me the opportunity
to try rifle marksmanship, despite secretly hoping that
I would quit. Both of my parents were afraid of what people
would think about their son's involvement with guns.
Like
my parents a majority of people believe that all firearms
are dangerous to our society. All they remember are the
hysterical news releases of street violence and injured
children. I am often asked how many deer I've shot. Frankly,
I could never bring myself to injure another living creature
and neither would most of the competitors I have met. Yet,
I keep finding myself defending the sport from all of the
misconceptions that surround it. Most people have developed
a negative impression of the sport and I have found that
these prejudices are difficult, if not impossible, to rectify.
Because
of this conflict, I have become an open minded individual.
I express my opinions without reservation, and I have learned
to accept opinions and viewpoints contrary to my own. I
do not intend to alter what I enjoy because of the ignorance
of friends and acquaintances. If people have a negative
view of me simply because of the sport I am active in, then
they must be so superficial that they cannot see the person
who I really am. I am no longer apprehensive of being perceived
as a gun toting, trigger happy fanatic, even though I still
endeavor to educate my friends and relatives on the beauty
of this sport.
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