Creativity and Risk Taking Can Work in A College Essay (especially when it's about zombies).
Sometimes risks pay off. Guen struggled with her personal statement topic. At our "College Application Boot Camp," she had decided she would write her extracurricular essay on "zombie prom." Once a colleague read her few sentences on this experience, she wanted to know more. Guen decided she would take a big risk and use this experience (and include a photo) as her personal statement. She knew that not everyone would "get" her obsession with zombies, but she knew if someone did, that college would be a great place for her to attend. Fortunately, she had many offers of admission and ultimately chose to attend Bates College in Maine. She is currently a sophomore.
Imagine a normal day spent at the spa. You sit in the chair, your back to the mirror, anxiously waiting to see what the makeup artist has done. You watch as their steady hands wield the brushes as if they were the surgeon and you the patient. After more than an hour they stare at you for a second as you wonder if they are finished with their masterpiece and suddenly, as if it were whispered into their ear, they realize the last detail they were missing. As you are spun around to look in the mirror, looking back at you in the reflection is a brain-eating, skin-rotting, living-dead zombie. For many girls, this scenario would be a nightmare but for me the process is quite calming, whether I’m the artist or the work of art.
On the top shelf in my closet is an oversized tackle box equipped with everything needed for a zombie apocalypse. No, it’s not filled with the usual zombie survival needs: crow bar, gas mask, sawed-off shot gun, etc. it’s stocked with fake blood, fake skin, and most importantly deep flesh wounds. The history of this tackle box begins far before it was filled with an ‘everything you need to make your own zombie’ kit. The box was passed down to me from my father, one of the few things I am proud to have from him. As a kid, my parents were very involved in the haunted house business, my siblings and I like to term them ‘Big Halloween Buffs’. Our living room was an actual dungeon for about five years! My mom had decorated the walls, from ceiling to floor, with a castle-like brick pattern grey cardboard and liked it so much decided to keep it as a part of our normal feng-shui. I thought it was completely normal having life size mummies in my basement and learning piano next to the Crypt Keeper.
Growing up I became increasingly intrigued by my parent’s eccentric Halloween costumes and elaborate make-up work. As time went on my passion to learn their techniques grew and was fueled by other family members as well. My aunt got me started with making short films for the public broadcast station. The themes would range from killer ninjas to zombie infestations. The zombie films were my favorite because they required the most makeup application. I was constantly finding new tricks to make a better zombie; how to make falling skin, a broken bone sticking out, or make it appear that piece of the jaw is missing. Doing the short films influenced my drive to be the actress in addition to the makeup artist. In high school, the theater became my temple and performing became my favorite pastime. I take great pleasure in being the one to teach my fellow thespians everything I have learned from my family and those tricks I discovered myself. Over the years I’ve participated in different zombie gatherings. Zombie Prom was the most memorable. I had been voted Zombie Prom Queen for having the best costume and that’s when my tackle box became strictly a zombie makeup box.
Imagine a normal day spent at the spa. You sit in the chair, your back to the mirror, anxiously waiting to see what the makeup artist has done. You watch as their steady hands wield the brushes as if they were the surgeon and you the patient. After more than an hour they stare at you for a second as you wonder if they are finished with their masterpiece and suddenly, as if it were whispered into their ear, they realize the last detail they were missing. As you are spun around to look in the mirror, looking back at you in the reflection is a brain-eating, skin-rotting, living-dead zombie. For many girls, this scenario would be a nightmare but for me the process is quite calming, whether I’m the artist or the work of art.
On the top shelf in my closet is an oversized tackle box equipped with everything needed for a zombie apocalypse. No, it’s not filled with the usual zombie survival needs: crow bar, gas mask, sawed-off shot gun, etc. it’s stocked with fake blood, fake skin, and most importantly deep flesh wounds. The history of this tackle box begins far before it was filled with an ‘everything you need to make your own zombie’ kit. The box was passed down to me from my father, one of the few things I am proud to have from him. As a kid, my parents were very involved in the haunted house business, my siblings and I like to term them ‘Big Halloween Buffs’. Our living room was an actual dungeon for about five years! My mom had decorated the walls, from ceiling to floor, with a castle-like brick pattern grey cardboard and liked it so much decided to keep it as a part of our normal feng-shui. I thought it was completely normal having life size mummies in my basement and learning piano next to the Crypt Keeper.
Growing up I became increasingly intrigued by my parent’s eccentric Halloween costumes and elaborate make-up work. As time went on my passion to learn their techniques grew and was fueled by other family members as well. My aunt got me started with making short films for the public broadcast station. The themes would range from killer ninjas to zombie infestations. The zombie films were my favorite because they required the most makeup application. I was constantly finding new tricks to make a better zombie; how to make falling skin, a broken bone sticking out, or make it appear that piece of the jaw is missing. Doing the short films influenced my drive to be the actress in addition to the makeup artist. In high school, the theater became my temple and performing became my favorite pastime. I take great pleasure in being the one to teach my fellow thespians everything I have learned from my family and those tricks I discovered myself. Over the years I’ve participated in different zombie gatherings. Zombie Prom was the most memorable. I had been voted Zombie Prom Queen for having the best costume and that’s when my tackle box became strictly a zombie makeup box.
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