So my yesterday was crazy. It's because I'm possibly the most unoranized person ever, that and I have no memory whatsoever. Thanks to Colvin I didn't completely forget about my honors college application for Towon... I just had to write it in two days. So here it is. Weird I know and horrible I'm sure but I just keep telling myself that's better than nothiung and the worst they can say is no. You can read it if you want. Also feel free to laugh because I know it
Towson University Honors College Application Essay
Stability Through Change
My perceptions of the world around me are not fixed, neither is my personal understanding of exactly who I am. In fact it is because I am ever changing that my views on everything, from the events of the past through to issues of the present, continue to adjust. Though some may think an unlikely place, through Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone With The Wind I was able to better establish my beliefs of what the ideal woman should be, both in her own eyes and in the eyes of others, and therefore gain a better understanding of the woman I would desire to strive toward becoming.
Though a fictional work, it allowed me a glimpse into the past and also into what the lives foremothers might have been like. It allowed me to analyze the actions and personal ethics behind them of the main character, Scarlet O'Hara, and several others in the story. The book caused me to reflect on what personal characteristics I most valued and wished to embody.
While I was reading I would often pause in reflection and wonder at, that though changes in society and even in this nation are abundant, human nature and passions are still the same. All the characters' thoughts and actions could be related back to present time and how we live our daily lives. How we relate to situations and make decisions today is no different than it was in the 1860s; everyday is full of choices some of them hard, some of them easy and obvious. Every day is full of decisions weather they be moral or immoral as judged by self and those about us. Though we may wish to eliminate our judgmental behavior it is as mush a part of our human nature today as ever before.
This book taught me that our daily judgments of the people and situations around us are what daily contribute to help make us who we are. I also learned that though challenging it is very possible for a person to break out of, or embrace the roles prescribed to them by society depending on what is their personal desire. This novel gave an example of each and showed the immense potential present to live a satisfying, beautiful life either way.
Scarlet O'Hara had goals and ambitions that were not determined acceptable for a person of her gender or position. She refused to let that stop her and pursued her dreams with passion and resolve. For this she was almost always considered improper and often openly ridiculed. Melanie Wilkes on the other hand is a constant favorite because of the way she fits just so into everyone's expectations of what is lovely, right, and proper. For this she is most loved by all.
Upon critical thought and thorough analysis, which woman is better? I don't believe it's possible for that question to have a single correct answer. Which woman would I want to be was the reoccurring question in my mind. Again a definite choice was unattainable. But then it came to me, though perhaps slower than it might have come to some, that it was not about choosing between the two, it was about blending the two. Life has to made up of part resolve, part compromise. We are thus able to both get along well in society and with humanity as a whole, and yet also grow personally. Personal growth is comprised of spiritual awareness and confidence, intellectual expansion, and continued encounters with the consequences of social acceptance and deviance. These individual attributes are measured by one's own principles or goals and also the standards and expectations of others.
An example of the qualities of which I speak is perseverance. Though Scarlet O'Hara as a whole is not my ideal woman yet when times are hard and I feel overwhelmed I'll fine myself thinking of her character and her vitality of spirit, which never allowed her to give up. It is a good picture of how strong perseverance allows humanity to adapt, when you consider the many in the novel that feared, hated and regretted change, and yet see them pressing on and overcoming the struggle to make the best of a bad situation.
It's amazing some of the concepts, that though just a novel, "Gone With The Wind" made me fully realize for the first time. There are times when change is inevitable. Each of us, even through tremendous changes, has the strength to be what we want to be. We can push through. By adding to our life experiences and by applying knowledge to all types of situations we are able to give testament to the increasing wisdom we are constantly gaining.
However, just because these things are not fixed doesn't mean that they are unstable but my life principles and aspirations shall always be based in the deeply rooted beliefs that make up who I am as an individual just as each character in the novel was unique and therefore thought and behaved accordingly.
Me, before I had to worry about college and all such nonsense. And look Mommy loved me.
