Friday, August 14, 2020

Admissions And Aid

Admissions And Aid My boss was a nice, local guy in his early forties. He was fun to talk with and had great stories about when he was a teenager. But as I got to know him, underneath the “cool” exterior, I soon realized he was not happy. While it may have taken me longer than others, I have learned the value of hard work and the importance of having purpose and direction in my life. I am very excited to take the next steps and hope to have the opportunity to continue my journey at your university. Similarly, I will never forget the first time I saw a dead body. We were asked to search for a mentally disabled man that had disappeared nearly a year before, but was never found. His family needed closure, and we were tasked with searching an area not far from his house that had very dense vegetation. My team members and I lined up about 10 feet from each other and began hacking away at the shrubs, vines, and tall grass. I enjoy helping out with the animals there and aiding the general conservation attempts of the charity. Generally, we tended to smaller animals like badgers and raccoons but sometimes we got larger animals to look after like deer, which have been injured out in the wild. For me, helping to look after a wounded deer and helping her return to the wild was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. When I was younger my mum used to read to me, so reading has always been an established part of my routine. When the first Harry Potter book came out, my mind was blown. I became absorbed into this fictional world, and was addicted to the escapism. This was the beginning of a life long appreciation of English Literature. Just recently, I’ve been getting to grips with Russia, reading Richard Pipes’ Russia Under the Old Regime. Outside of my studies and my passion for biology, I’ve spent a lot of time volunteering at the local animal sanctuary. As an individual, I’ve always been interested in the Leopold Von Ranke-esque perception of History, where the historian aims to understand history whilst leaving contemporary prejudices at the door. I’ve always been fascinated with History in terms of hearing from groups/nations who aren’t the typical capitalist superpowers presented to us by mainline historical scholarship. Ever since I learnt about the Crusades in History at school, I’ve known History is the subject for me. Learning about how western Christendom ushered to defense of the holy land and occupied the surrounding areas seemed strangely reminiscent of western interventionism following the Iraq war. To me this was one of those places where History seemed to repeat itself. After many hours, I discovered the body in my section. The skeleton and decaying remains were clothed in the man’s t-shirt and boxer shorts â€" and his hat was not far away. This scene, combined with the looks of both sorrow and relief on the faces of the man’s family, changed me. I gained perspective on both the value and reality of life and was proud to be part of such a great organization that had truly made a difference for this family. That spring my parents announced it was time for me to get a job. I found a position at a local bakery and made decent money for being sixteen â€" it was OK, for a job. Since first becoming enamored with the Crusades my passion for History has steadily grown outwards. Today, I’m always expanding my knowledge of History wherever I can. Naturally, I found it very refreshing to see your institutions commitment to ethical and sustainable research practices. Ever since I was young, I’ve never been able to put down a good book. It’s a bit of a cliché to refer to yourself as a bookworm, but for all intents and purposes, I’ve always been a bit of a bookworm.

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