<p>Hey, I am applying to UT Austin, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech through apply Texas. It'd be great if you could read and critique/proofread my essays. I give the topic before the essay. Thanks!</p>
<pre><code>Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.
Negativity abounds in our lives and we are defined by our darkest hours. What we take from those dim moments shapes our ideologies and emotional capacity. The person, or rather, people who had the greatest impact on my life forever changed my views. From them I learned that only the strong willed are able to skate the thin ice of modern life and overcome the obstacle of fear, and the importance of self improvement.
</code></pre>
<p>I dont know much about the miserable piles of excrement that so drastically affected me. I dont know their names, where they live, or who they are close to. Ive spent no more than five minutes gazing upon their malicious faces. However those five minutes proved to be a great catalyst in my life.</p>
<p>So there I was. Eight years old, about to enter the fourth grade. It was a nice balmy evening during the waning days of summer. I was walking from my house to a park about ten blocks away. I had walked about six blocks when I saw three large teenagers come around the corner. They seemed to be around fifteen years old and were wearing unnecessarily baggy clothes. The tallest one noticed me and passed a disgusting smirk. Before I knew it, all three were chasing me down the block. My first instinct was to idiotically run towards the closest alley. Predictably enough, I was grabbed by the neck and tossed to the ground, hitting a garbage disposal unit on the way down. All while laughing, they each took turns stomping on my stomach and blowing punches. After what had seemed like an eternity, they stopped and checked me for money, of which I had none. Shrugging, the tall one announced it was time to leave, and the gang disappeared from the alleyway. I lay there bleeding from my arm due to being scraped by concrete and I felt like vomiting. Slowly getting up, I examined myself and decided to trudge home.</p>
<p>The walk home was the most demeaning experience of my life. Countless people stared as I walked down the street. No one offered to help. I was just a freak made for the world to see. Never before had I realized how weak I was and how fragile the human body is. I vowed never again to let myself become so weak as to let myself become a target for such fiends ever again. I came to the realization that only the strong willed survive and rise to the top of the food chain, where they reap the benefits of superiority. The weak willed are relegated to the bottom of this chain, easily controlled by that ever present factor in the struggle for life- fear. They slip between the cracks in the ice of this life, slip out of their depths and out of their minds, and drag behind them the inescapable weight that is fear. The strong willed, on the other hand, push themselves to their limits and rise above the smoldering amalgamation of inferiority in order to defeat that omnipresent beast. I promised never allow myself become a victim of fear from that day on.</p>
<p>I had another epiphany that fateful day. Absolutely no one came to my aid during the struggle. Surely, this would not be the only time when Id be all alone. Some challenge would eventually present itself and only I, along with my strength, would be able to overcome it. I learned that self-improvement would allow me to overcome these obstacles as they presented themselves. Good luck is the meeting ground of opportunity and preparation, and preparation is the doctrine of improvement. I would not allow myself to become overly dependent on other people. I would increase my skills in all aspects of life in order to jump the hurdles that would that would come my way later on in life.</p>
<p>Those three teenagers greatly affected my mindset. They threw upon me the fact that survival of the fittest carries on into this day and age, and that ultimately, only my own strength and actions will pull me through the mountains that lay ahead.</p>
<p>Choose an issue of importance to youthe issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scopeand write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation. </p>
<pre><code>Some people see fit to question the benefits of a national space exploration program and often berate the program, calling it useless and wasteful. They say that whatever discoveries are made have little to no effect on daily life. This is understandable, the effects of space exploration are not immediate, and arent often smothered in the face of the general population. Still, its benefits are colossal indeed, and its continuation will greatly boon the progress of mankind. Not only is space exploration a large source of national pride, it affects daily life. Many technologies derived from advances in this field keep the environment clean and controlled. An even larger amount make living on this planet much easier and more efficient, and many breakthroughs in medicine can be attributed to developments in this area of study.
</code></pre>
<p>A country without pride is doomed to fail. The most successful countries in history have all had proud populations willing to work for the betterment of their homeland. In the mid-twentieth century, two powerful nations competed in a massive space race. Both the Soviet Union and the United States were focused on attaining advancements in space exploration. The winner would gain national security and bragging rights in the realms of technological and ideological superiority. This pride driven race resulted in an incredible increase of spending on education and research. This increase resulted in the birth of countless new technologies that affect humanity to this very day.</p>
<p>An unforeseen side effect of the space race was an increased awareness of Earths fragility. People began to see the planet for the tiny speck of dust it is. Due to the increased spending on research many technologies originally used to help the space program were now used for the good of the environment. In fact, many green technologies can be traced back to their infancy in space development. Solar energy was originally developed to expand terrestrial applications to places where no other long term energy sources exist. The use of beeswax, which is used to control oil spills, was pioneered by NASA and has helped tremendously in the cleanup of these terrible accidents. With the advent of satellites, humanity can now monitor the Earth for unwanted changes. Forest deforestation levels can now be traced and controlled. Information about the preservation of wildlife, air and water pollution, the growth of cities, and flood control is constantly being taken from satellites that are the result of space exploration.</p>
<p>But, hey, maybe youre a guy who could honestly care less about the welfare of the environment. None of that directly affects you, and probably never will. You just care about your desires and your quality of life. In case you didnt know, many of the commodities you appreciate today are the result of developments in space exploration. The space race ushered in a new era of global communication. Aerospace and electronic engineering, as well as telecommunications all advanced greatly. Because of this, you can talk to someone halfway across the world in a matter of seconds. A computer program originally developed to use as little power as possible resulted in all of your cordless tools and appliances. The need for clean water in the space shuttle resulted in the development of an ion based filtration system that your home uses today. A NASA designed barrier to radiation designed to reflect 95 percent of the suns rays keeps your house nice and comfy in the form of home insulation. Everything from digital clocks, high density batteries, and home security systems to flat panel TVs and sports bras can be traced back to advances in space exploration.</p>
<p>The single most important thing to a human is his or her health. Many new innovations in the medical field come from ideas originating in the exploration of space. Technology originally used for the Hubble Space Telescope is now used for breast biopsies. The Charge Coupled Device, which is derived from a system used in the Hubble, examines breast tissue more clearly and efficiently than other models. Laser angioplasty helps clean clogged arteries with much higher precision and more safety than the traditional method does. Many other technologies originally designed to help view the stars are now being applied to the medical office.</p>
<p>Clearly, the benefits of space exploration are great. Not only do we learn useful information about the universe that we call home, but many of the technological advances required to further study in the field end up benefiting mankind in tangible ways. Due to these advances we can now care for our environment more efficiently, live in ease and comfort, and keep ourselves healthy. So next time you question the importance of our space exploration program, imagine what our world would be like without it.</p>