James Del, LTD

The Lost College Essay

I scrapped this essay and went with something a little more narrative about a week before my application was due. Solid decision.

            The place where we spend our formative years etches deep into our character. Our perspective of the world originates from this single place, as do our aspirations and dreams.

            That being said, I grew up in the tiny suburban community of Seaford. Located on Long Island’s south shore, Seaford is sandwiched between affluent Wantagh, with their Blue Ribbon Schools and Massapequa, home to several famous actors and writers. Both of these towns have bustling social hubs situated close to the Long Island Rail Road, attracting visitors from both east and west. They also boast opulent enclaves hidden among their southern most canals.

In contrast, Seaford lacks a downtown, and the homes found on its canals still belong to 3^rd generation bay men who fish for a living, rather than pleasure. Unlike it’s sister suburbs, Seaford remains insular, content to reflect on its own successes and bury its failures. Friday nights are often spent wandering from friend’s house to friend’s house with very little purpose or aim in mind. It’s a safe place to grow up, but it’s also a sheltered one. The high school tries hard to offer something for everyone, but generally nobody deviates from his or her predestined niche that developed in middle school. That’s how things work here, and no one ever really questions it.

My parents always told me my first word was “More.” I contend that I was really saying “Mom,” but my parents are insistent. In retrospective however, “More,” is a great way to characterize my life in comparison to the town I’ve grown up in. From a young age, I’ve always strived to get more out of my options, be they educational, artistic, or social. To me, this contrast between my town and me has only furthered my search for a greater challenge.

One of the most valuable things to me is education. I’ve always believed that knowledge is power, so I strive to soak up as much information as I can in whatever setting I happen to find myself in. In 7^th grade, three partners and myself voluntarily submitted a project to Toshiba’s Exploravision science fair and received an honorable mention—something that no Seaford student had ever done before. In high school, I’ve only taken the most challenging courses available, even if it meant not having a lunch period. I’ve stayed constant in my studies of music, and I’m one of the only students to request further instruction in music theory, turning a one year course into a more complex, more challenging two year course. Even my summer was dedicated to extra education, as I spent this past July at NYU studying journalism and taking a college writing workshop.

While I do enjoy the educational challenges, I have a deeper respect and yearning for artistic challenges as well. I started playing trombone in fourth grade, and I continue to do so even today. While I received my weekly instruction at school, I needed more. In the tenth grade, I bought my first guitar and took a month of lessons. After that month however money was tight, and I was forced to continue my studies alone, playing songs by ear and translating what I learned in the school band to guitar. Now quite fluent in guitar, I decided to conquer another instrument on my own—the piano. The exciting thing about instruments is you can always learn more. And that is what I do, even though most students in this town are restricted to learning a “band” instrument or finding lessons on their own.

I mentioned earlier that Seaford does not have a lot going on most of the time. My résumé shows that I participate in just about everything Seaford can offer, but there’s always more to be had outside the bounds of this town. My weekends are spent traveling the northeast, filming my best friend’s band, Bandcamp. Through them, I’ve met hundreds of people, young and old, who could never be found in Seaford.

Back to the original question: How has Seaford made me who I am today? There’s a one-word answer. Contrast—my town and me are polar opposites. Instead of accepting this place, I decided to make the most out of it that I could, and then go further. My town inadvertently inspired me to do so. Had I gone to a school of 7,500 students and not 750, I would have been challenged more, but artificially. In Seaford, I had to create my own challenges, and that is what made me who I am today. I’ve always asked for more, and in Seaford I had to get it by myself.