For some reason,
my parents felt the necessity to inundate me at a young age
with extracurricular activities. After school, I was always
being driven from tennis to violin to swimming to cello to
baseball to piano to karate to near craziness! I could have
been called the world’s busiest kid at the time. From two
of the activities, I have reaped the most benefits. Although
my cello has been used less frequently than my tennis racquet,
the musical instrument creates the most meaningful ideas in
my life.
However, my appreciation
for playing the cello did not come immediately. From the time
I was nine years old until I left for prep school, I detested
Sunday. The first day of the week was torturous “cello day”:
I practiced all morning, had a lesson during the afternoon,
and came home in the evening exhausted. But today, I thank
austere old Professor [teacher’s name] for forcing me to learn
the art in music.
With the hectic
schedule I have year round, being overwhelmed is not a difficult
task. Therefore, I consider playing the cello one of the most
rewarding aspects of my life. Very few people have the luxury
of being able to absolutely enjoying themselves in the middle
of a workday. I can bomb a physics test, and then five minutes
later be in heaven. Totally relaxed, I sway back and forth
to the rhythm created by my bow and my fingers; both of my
arms work in harmony. Eyes closed, I reach the final note
and my left hand creates a slow, soothing vibrato-mediocre
cello playing at its perfection.
The cello reigns
as the supreme instrument in my mind. Whether blusteringly
chaotic or lovingly sweet, good cello playing, with its deep,
rich tones and fantastically broad range is the epitome of
expression. I also have ample opportunity for the other half
of art-interpretation. I feel a delight beyond description
when listening to Pablo Casals or Yo-Yo Ma. I am able to just
sit there and think about my life, and their masterful music
can make me feel ebullience or rage. Most importantly, whether
I listen to music or play it, I can reflect upon and enjoy
life as one special being.
I wish the venerable
Professor [teacher’s name] could be alive today to hear me
play the cello. “With feeling,” he would always say. Whenever
I played a note out of tune, Mr. [teacher’s name] would yell
at me until I cried. But now, with my newfound love for the
cello, even if he screamed in my ear, I would continue to
relish my playing and let him go until he became hoarse.
COMMENTS:
This essayist does
a clever job of combining his focus on the cello with gentle
reminders that he is involved in much more as well. He does
this by beginning with brief mention of “tennis . . . violin
. . . swimming . . . cello . . . baseball . . . piano . .
. karate . . ..” in the second sentence. Then he quickly hones
in on the cello alone, making only one additional indirect
mention of the “hectic schedule I have year round.” He wisely
does not go into more detail about the other activities. This
single reference is enough, since the admissions officers
can easily refer to the rest of the application for more detail
on his other involvements. This writer also does a good job
of showing his love for the cello by painting a picture of
himself playing: “totally relaxed, I sway back and forth to
the rhythm created by my bow and my fingers; both of my arms
work in harmony. Eyes closed, I reach the final note and my
left hand creates a slow, soothing vibrato…” This image is
likely to be the one that sticks in admissions officers minds,
making him more memorable.
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