Well now I’m feeling a bit curious and I want to keep this thread alive so what did you guys write about?
I’ll go first:
For the first essay, I said I wanted to go to TASS to develop my academic skills and learn more to effectively educate my home community about AA. I also wrote about how traveling and having immigrant parents helped me add to the diverse environment.
For the second essay, I wrote about the speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” and wrote about how it changed my view on the importance of AA utilizing their vote to make change.
For the third essay, I wrote about how I once hurt one of my friends with my close minded view on mental illness and how that put a tear in our relationship. I discussed the root of my ignorance and how I would go about it again if I had the chance.
The first essay was, by far, the hardest of the three. I wrote about how being biracial has become a large part of my identity, and I explained how personal experiences have led me to become “confused” about both my race and ethnicity. And then I conveniently tied TASS’ focus on Black and ethnic studies into the essay by saying that it could teach me about myself.
The second essay was my favorite. I wrote about my love for art history and analyzed Winslow Homer’s “The Gulf Stream.” I compared the subject of the painting to the students at my majority-AA school. I somehow proved that the century-old painting reflects modern society, and explained how it taught me new things about AA culture.
In the third essay, I wrote about a somewhat complicated story where I lied about being able to attend a local organization’s gala. I admitted that I couldn’t go because my family didn’t have enough money for a tuxedo. I explained that I was pretending to be something that I wasn’t, and in doing this, I ruined someone else’s chances of getting an invitation.
@prospecti – Your essays seem amazing! I would love to know more about what you wrote for the “Gulf Stream” piece
I thought my application was kind of inadequate, especially since I’m a non-African American POC and I wasn’t always sure what I “deserved” to say, haha…
What did you guys put for your favorite media list?
I’m surprised people had trouble with the first one, because I found that one to be my favorite by far, whereas I had sooooo much trouble with the last one.
In my first essay I talked about my struggles growing up as a Ghanaian-American student in a non-culturally diverse community with tons of ignorant people. I basically described how the things that I was taught to hate about myself now let me see the world through a unique perspective. Then I said what I hope to gain from TASS was a more in depth perspective of different cultures that would help me learn not only about others, but myself too.
In my second one I talked about a reading that changed my view on the role of young people to speak out on injustice. I explained how I used to be the “safe” type of person not to stir the pot, and then argued that speaking out is important, because “the only thing worse than pain is pain suffered in silence”
The third one took me foreverrr, but I ended up writing about how I’m not really a good communicator and how that used to put a lot of strain on relationships with the my friends and family, because I was always irritable with no outlet. I basically just talked about how that led to my battle with depression, and that although I wish I wold have learned how to express my feelings sooner, depression and anxiety have helped me appreciate and take grasp of happiness all the more. I sort of think it’s too similar to the second essay, but I guess we’ll see what happens.
Most of my space was taken by my song list which was sooo long but I absolutely love music. Then I put my favorite book “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” a sermon that a guest speaker gave at my church, and the movie Menace 2 Society. How about you?
@Erikahc01 I tied in the challeges I’ve faced being Ghanaian-American, too!! Though I did take a different path and detail how I’ve always felt like an outcast on either side of my heritage.
For my book list I listed about nine items. I didn’t know how acceptable it would have been to list all music so I tried my best to refrain, even though I LOVE music. I did mention my favorite book though “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Ned Vizzini and my favorite poem “Let America be America Again.”
@philae Thank you so much! I think that they sound better here than they actually were lol… if that makes sense.
Anyways, did anyone else have a problem with the word count? Like my essays were considerably lower (high 600’s for one, low 700’s for two, high 800’s for three) than the 1500 word limit. I just thought that I fully completed each essay and any more content would be futile.
@Erikahc01@DJ01 Dang, there are a lot of Ghanaian-Americans in this thread!! I wrote my first essay about my unusual “love affair with words”, and how TASS is a sanctuary for words. I tied in stories about being Ghanaian-American in there, too, especially about being fluent in Twi and English.
In my second essay, I wrote about respectability politics, and how I expunged certain elements of my thinking when I learned more about the danger of buying into respectability politics. The “piece of writing” that changed my views actually started out with a Twitter conversation!
And in my third essay, I talked about a time where I criticized my debate partner pretty harshly, and about how it alerted me to the fact that I have to strike a better balance between wanting to succeed and having compassion.
@futuredoctoryang
Wow, it seems that arguments with debate partners seems to be a pretty popular topic to use!
I intended to write about a particular central idea to tie all three essays together, specifically through my experience in debate and how I used AA critical thought in my argumentation.
In the first essay, I indicated that my study of black critical thought began through a philosophical/lacanian introduction through Wilderson’s Afropessimism and its distinction from AA critical thought in the university. In addition, I wrote about how analysis of critical pedagogy through a lens of argumentation is distinct from a historical lens. I also tied in some stories of how debate is an inclusive activity and thus reflects my ideals to promote inclusivity and diversity.
In the second essay, I wrote about how I used to be highly critical of radicalism and revolutionary critical theory but did a 180 towards a support of it after experiencing the argument in debate.
And in the third essay, I wrote pretty much exactly what futuredoctoryang wrote about. My arguments with a debate partner and how our mutual apology reflects maturity.
Shoot that makes it three of us who wrote about arguments with debate partners. Are y’all African American? @OGSquash did you also criticize a debate partner and in your first essay, did you go into great depths for Wilderson and other K authors?
@prospecti I had the same problem – they hovered around mid-700s to mid-900s, and I was very worried. But I kept having to take things off my resume and reading list! I think I really overthought the less important parts of the application, haha.
@EaseMoney no I’m Asian which makes me feel bad because I don’t think I should be applying but I couldn’t resist, this seminar looks so beautiful! 8-X
Are you guys applying to other programs?
I hope this wasn’t a terrible call but Essay 1 emphasized the fact that I was East Asian, lol. I was seeing a lot of people who looked like me taking up space in literary circles: in my opinion, many talked excessively about their personal identity struggles, instead of making space for people who were worse off than they were. I asked many angsty questions like “at one point does a member of the oppressed become an oppressor?” (cringe)
Second essay talked about a beginning-POV that classical music was a meritocracy, then an end-POV that racism heavily affected classical music for really surprising reasons – e.g. being pushed into “stereotypically Black” music genres like jazz. I started off with a profile of the Black composer George Walker, and went into music history a little with composers like Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Third essay was about something very embarrassing/too personal information revealing – tangentially debate related, but not about a debate partner, haha!
@philae Your essay on the effect of racial bias on classic music styles sounds so intriguing! Was there a particular piece of writing that changed your mind about its significance? I’d love to read it if you wouldn’t mind sharing.
Also, what were everyone’s seminar preferences? My first pick was Cornell 2.
My first pick was Michigan 1, but I want to go to Cornell 1 just as badly. I think I’m kind of biased towards the Cornell one, because I live in Michigan and have always wanted to actually be in New York for more than a few days. I’d love to attend either one regardless though.
I’m from China, and this is my second year in US.
In my first essay, I talked about the sexism I experienced in China and the racial stereotype I experienced here. I use math as an example: like how Chinese feel about me, a girl, being good at math, and how americans feel about me, as an Asian, being good at math. Then I talked about how I think racial issue is a global issue, I said I think multi-racial countries like U.S. really emphasize Racial equality, but mono-racial countries like China just doesn’t care, so I continued explaining the things I witnessed in China. In the end, I talked about my opinions of things that happened in the past 12 months.
In my second essay, I talked about Roots, because that was really the tv show that entirely changed my attitude toward racial issues. I said how i felt before, and what I feel now. Then I talked about it’s very ironic that enslaved Africans were the people who suffered, but now people have the stereotype that African Americans are more likely to commit crimes. And how people are not racist intellectually, but they do racist thing unconsciously. And I said the reason is that people from different races rarely interact with each other. I said it’s like a vicious cycle.
In my last one, I talked about the story between me and my grandmother.
I don’t know if me being Chinese will make them think that I can provide a different perspective, but I do worry that they’ll think I know too little about African American culture since I didn’t grow up here.
But TASS is like the program of my dream, and I really wanna get in!!
@CarrieWangjl do not worry about being chinese lessening your chances of getting into tass. in fact, there was a chinese-american girl in my seminar last year. so, there is no problem with you being possibly selected. good luck!
there are no racial holdups in tass! the environment of tass is very welcoming and inclusive. at michigan tass last year, the majority of tassers were black, but we had one chinese girl and one white girl. i assume it was a transformative experience for them to be a majority-black space for a long time. however, i will caution those who are not black, if you feel you will be uncomfortable in a majority-black space for six weeks–do not pursue tass.
if you have any questions please let me know! i would be glad to help.
@assemblingphilosophies we should do an essay exchange! I’d love to read one of yours, as well The “media vehicle” that I used was George Walker’s “Lilies for Voice and Orchestra” – I talked about hearing it for the first time in a small music shop, and asking the owner what song it was: I knew the styles of most big contemporary composers and couldn’t imagine not knowing of a talent like that seen in “Lilies”. When I got home to learn more about it, I realized that the piece was so good that it got a Pulitzer – but press coverage was so focused on the fact that Walker was African-American that no symphonies approached him to play it, which I found really heartbreaking. From then, I branched out into other types of racism Walker talked about in his interviews, and talked about other intersections between Africans/African-Americans and classical music.
@prospecti oh my god I just realized that your profile picture is “Christina’s World” ahh! It’s one of my favorite paintings! (Although admittedly my only knowledge of art comes from auditing random classes, haha) Have you ever seen the original in New York?
@Erikahc01 What kind of music did you include? My songs were “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar and the String Quartet in B Minor by Samuel Barber, which are at pretty opposite ends of the spectrum, haha
