Assignment 3 Application Essay (revised)

Prompt: If you were to describe yourself by a quotation, what would the quote be?

Explain your answer. (Dartmouth)

A long time ago Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "A mind stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension." This statement remains true to this day. I feel I am living proof that the human mind will never think the same way once it is exposed to a new concept. Throughout my life, my perspectives on many things have changed dramatically. Every day my views are challenged and altered by the information I absorb.

Every time we learn something, we try to understand how hit fits into our everyday lives. We all look for practical applications of our knowledge, and to this I am no exception.

I was born into an English speaking household. Neither of my parents speak more than one language, and so naturally the language I thought in was English. In middle school I began taking French classes, which I continued to study in high school. I also took a semester of German. I spent over a year in Southern California, where the majority of the population was of Mexican heritage, and heard Spanish on a daily basis. Today when I see different objects or think of a phrase I am about to speak, I think in all the languages I know. I now know all titles for objects are synonymous and tend to look for similarities in the languages I have studied.

In my younger years I played sports with my brother, and we tried everything from football to boxing, soccer to sprinting. I believed this all to be in good fun. And then I began to learn a little about early civilizations. Sparking my interest were the barbaric activities in which they engaged. People would watch gladiators battle for their lives in enormous stadiums, sometimes against their fellow man, and others against beasts to which they stood no chance. In either case, what drew spectators in was the ability to see another human harmed. Now, the same sports I previously saw as childhood fun took on a new shape in my head. Boxing and all sports with physical contact became a way to fulfill our, still present, semi-barbaric desires.

I was a person that didn't think of the global consequences of my actions. I would applaud when I'd see an overgrown lot cleared of its trees to make way for a new shopping center. One day, I watched a video on the British industrial revolution. I saw the construction of factories and the progression of roadways. Diverse topographical features were replaced by dull man-made structures. I suddenly became more aware of the footprints we, as a whole, are leaving behind. Excitement about nature preservation replaced my desire for further city development.

Though Holmes had passed long ago, his words live on. "A mind stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension," is a saying that I hold true. Is there anything of existence that can be stretched and return exactly to its previous state? Every bit of information I am privileged enough to come across changes the way I think about the subject. As long as I can think, the way I feel about any subject is tangible.

***post write***
What I feel is working for me here is that I got to fit some of my educational background into a supporting detail. I also like the fact that I make myself sound like I have a desire to learn more and use what I have gathered. I think I chose a good quote that makes me appear worldly. The supporting info I chose wasn't personal, but still had to do with me.
I think it could be better with use of less elementary detail. I feel I could have written a hundred paragraphs under this intro.
Hey reader: Do you think this would be stronger with more examples?
Would telling how certain works (particularly stories like 2bro2b or A Brave New World... I can't leave out Galapagos which goes right along with my second example) have affected my views?