Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal statement of 500 words
'As pertaining to the custody of the children,' the judge continued, 'the court
has decided that it would be in the children's best interests if full custody
were henceforth awarded to the mother.'
My mother then uttered a long sigh of relief. Although I was only eight
years old, I knew that I had just witnessed a life-changing decision. My
parents
had officially obtained a divorce. I had undergone a month of attorneys'
interviews, courtroom drama, and private dissertations in the judge's chambers,
so I then knew why my mother had sighed. My father's lawyer (or, as I referred
to him, the angry, loud man) had by far overshadowed my mother's more mellow
attorney, and this fact was reflected in the divorce decree. Aside from a
minimal child support payment and a division of the mutual assets, my mother
received next to nothing for ten loyal years of marriage. As our broken family
relocated to a small, two-bedroom apartment, I searched for someone to blame.
Although I was too young to understand the complicated legal proceedings, I
observed how 'the big, important guy' (the judge) seemed to listen more
attentively to 'the angry loud man.' When I asked my mother the reason for this
inequality, she said something about not having the same resources that my
father
had. So I was convinced that 'the loud, angry man' who wanted a lot of
resources
was the cause of my unhappy situation. For the next year, I repeatedly asked
questions about lawyers. While my peers were still insisting that they were
going to be ninja fighters or ballerinas, I proclaimed my future as a very loud
lawyer that did not require a lot of resources to do a good job.
As I grew and matured, I realized that my childish declaration would
require dedication. To adjust to my new school and family situation, I eased
the
transition with extracurricular activities. I especially became interested in
public-speaking, which was reflected in my growing confidence at school and my
outspoken personality at home. The jump from middle school to high school
shifted my attentions from 4-H debates and school elections to more in-depth
experiences. Sophomore year I discovered a rare opportunity in the Boy Scouts
Law Exploring Post. This group provided first-hand insights into modern law
careers and enabled me to directly experience numerous aspects of legal
medicine.
Enticing lectures from the district attorney, personal interviews with private
lawyers, and observational trips to local courthouses not only furthered my
interest in more popular, romanticized courtroom action, but also expanded my
interests to include the more practical applications of the law.
I have found within myself a passion for understanding and upholding the
institutions by which man attempts to govern himself. One day I hope to be a
productive part of the American justice system without losing touch of how
deeply
my efforts can affect a person's life. So now that I have established a clear
path to my goal, I must gather my resources.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal Statement
Personal Statement Cleaning my room is a gentle excavation. During summers at home, I rumble the dust and sift through the layers of my accumulating life. Recently, I read through what classmates had written in my high school yearbook. It was a strange and unsettling experience as these words spoke directly to a self that I had nearly forgotten. I felt as if I were one of those Russian nesting dolls that hold several smaller dolls inside; the thought of multiple past identities coexisting inside me was new and wonderful. The words 'Do what you do best' caught my eye. If there were a way to know what one did best and could then train this possibility to the fullest extent, how could life not be both fruitful and enjoyable? Instead of asking the daunting question of what I did best, I thought about what I liked to do and what I did often. Perhaps in time, the source of these questions will lead me towards what I do best. I have always been drawn toward writing: creative, analytical, expository and critical. I realized that whatever I was pursuing, the beginning and end result for me were often made possible through writing. Thinking back to meaningful academic experiences in college, I realize all of them began with a presentation of my self and my interests through the medium of writing. I believe the only thing we can write about well is what we know, for this is the only truthful and never-ending source we are given. Often I was in the situation of writing a proposal to an audience of strangers, whether it be a scholarship committee, participants at the symposium, or fellow researchers at a presentation, and the only thing I could tell them was who I was and what I knew. Many times, these experiences culminated in reflective writing as well, not only a testament to what I had done but more an examination of where I had been, what space I had occupied and what space I now occupied. Writing became a way to capture the changing of my spaces, both around me and inside me, for I had to take into account the spaces within myself which had been excavated, explored, or widened because of particular experiences. My interest in law school received a personal and directive boost this summer while working as an assistant for a professor at my home town laws school. In the spring, I found his website and was intrigued by his work in international criminal trials and Asian human rights. I wrote a letter to the professor expressing my interest in working with him over the summer and thus began my first dip into the legal education. I began by learning about the fundamental conceptions of international law and the beginnings of the United Nations by way of an introductory textbook, and supplemented by meetings with my professor. Every time I stepped into the law library for research, I looked up into the winding staircases and ceaseless rows of books and I was captured by an overwhelming sense that in here existed something bigger than me; it had a long history and yet it pressed its urgency onto the future, and onto me as a burgeoning student in the legal education. Soon I began my project on the difficulty of international human rights standardization in Asia from a cultural perspective. I complemented research with current developments in human rights violations by reading and editing articles related to this topic, written mostly by scholars working from Asia. I brought into formal research my own cultural values and these two bodies of knowledge supported and challenged each other. These few months were an inspirational stepping stone for my future; it reconfirmed my dream to one day become a law professor and I also found a way in which my personal interests and academic strengths engaged each other. Since I have lived in Asia for only the first year of my life, I cannot explain exactly what draws me there and what strings pull at me to learn more, but friends and my own family are always perplexed at my fascination. In the past few years, my interest in Asia has extended into an academic context. In the spring of 2002, I was awarded a travel scholarship from my undergraduate university to travel and explore the relationship between culture and religion's sacred space. In the fall of 2002, I began a writing project on Asian-American attitudes toward their native language and I had the opportunity to present my work at a geo-linguistics conference. This past summer, however, was the turning point; in my study of Asian human rights, I realized the significant legal implication of cultural studies and as a Asian-American, the impact was deeply personal. I struggled with questions such as: What are the cultural origins for domestic legal policies on human rights in Asia? How can international policies regarding human rights be both effective and culturally sensitive? The overlap of culture and law offers a rich body of knowledge and I am eager to begin my scholarly pursuits in this area. The prospect of being a law student and with time, becoming knowledgeable in the area, is exciting to me because it combines what I enjoy and what I consider to be my strongest points: initiative, writing, and reflection. I would like to go into a discipline in which applications of what I have read, been taught, accumulated and experienced through the years are given concrete structure. For me, law represents the process in which philosophy is given solid construction; thoughts are grounded in reason; and writing becomes a powerful record of principles that guide and protect a society. I see law and writing as ways in which space is defined and thereby protected; both define boundaries and fill in necessary and often unrealized gaps. In the occupation I will later pursue, I would like to have the mind of a lawyer and the techniques of a writer. With these tools I believe I can become closer to the person who can fully realize self-potential; I believe I will be able to live out the words of advice 'Do what you do best' and thereby contribute positively to the society in which I live.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal statement
At thirteen - with baggy jeans and a voice that refused to change - I had my first trumpet lesson. My playing was strong, but my interest was lacking. Towards the end of that first lesson, my teacher changed the way I thought about music. I had played through De Gouy's 'Bolero' for him, proud to have hit every note. 'Nice,' he said, 'But I've heard it before. Next week, I want you to play it your way.' With that, he added my name to the score: 'Edited by S.' And I began to make music. From then until I was nineteen, music became my primary focus. Nowhere else did I feel as though I were creating meaning rather than merely receiving it. I excelled on my instrument, eventually playing at both Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Soon after I arrived at college, and I began to create meaning without an instrument in hand. My first opportunity was a class on ethical theory. Instead of merely reading texts, we explored their limits. I even wrote a paper on the failure of Homeric maxims under Kant's categorical imperative. 'Homeric maxims' are, naturally, rules for living according to Homer J. Simpson - my interest in Ancient Greek came later. While my work at that time might have been less than groundbreaking, I was enraptured by the chance to develop my own perspective. My interests in philosophy and music collided when I reflected, as a sophomore, on the question of peer-to-peer file-sharing. I had been using file-sharing applications for years, but with mounting litigation against such services and increased attention on the criminality of copyright infringement, I decided to put my philosophical tools to work on the ethics of file-sharing. But the initial search was aporetic: I needed to explore the underlying copyright theory. The research that followed culminated in an article entitled '[Title omitted]' which was published in the [Title omitted] Law Review. For the first time, my philosophical voice enjoyed a public performance. Though I did not thank my trumpet teacher, my article feels a bit like Lockean property theory, 'Edited by S.' I still love music, but what is even more exciting about making music in the scholarly realm is that my voice could change the way people live their lives. I do not expect that out of my article, of course. At this point, I would be thrilled if just a few people were to read the article. But being heard has inspired me to work harder: I hope to make more noise soon. My goal is to help shape the way society understands, regulates, and recognizes intellectual property in a digital world. I have developed a strong background already by working with Professor [Name] at Temple Law School, attending iLaw at the Berkman Center, and publishing an article on copyright. I can find no better place to continue my studies than at Harvard Law School for three reasons. First, I greatly admire Professor Fisher's work, particularly the alternative compensation system he advances in Promises to Keep. Second, my experience at iLaw was an amazing one, and I would love to contribute in any way possible to the Berkman Center's cutting edge research. Finally, Professor Zittrain's current research on the potentially grim future of the internet has been the primary inspiration for my current project, 'Running Headlong to Our Chains: The End of the Cyberstate of Nature.' At twenty-one, my jeans are not as baggy as they once were, and my voice has settled down. But my interest in creating meaning has not subsided. I make music every day, by rethinking property rights in intellectual products, by reinterpreting Kant, and, of course, by playing even that old 'Bolero' my own way. As a student of philosophy interested in music and law, shaping media policy is the perfect way to fuse my passions into a symphony of creativity. The laws of yesterday are not fit for the technologies of tomorrow. My goal is not to change the world, but to help resolve this discord. Perhaps one day, a small part of the way the world understands and regulates intellectual property in cyberspace will be 'Edited by S.'
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
250-word essay
The situation was immediately tense. No sooner did I enter my new LSAT student's home than his mother impugned my qualifications. She claimed that I could not tutor her son because I was a young student who knew nothing about the test. Pressured to explain who I was as succinctly as possible, I offered her this. 'I care about what I do. You can hold me to a high standard, and I will do the same.' As it turns out, I am a young student who knows nothing about a lot of things. As an undergraduate, I am too young to have published in a law review and too young to be one of the top LSAT instructors for The Princeton Review. Things have just turned out that way. But it is not just good fortune. I work hard, and I have brilliant mentors. My article, for example, would never have been publishable were it not for the close guidance of Professor X and the legal expertise of Professor Y. My student's incredulous mother quickly changed her tune. She had secretly listened to the entire first session. She invited me back, apologizing for the inquisition. Though I had never before experienced such hostility, I had often been tested. Law school will be my next great test. I know that Yale Law School would hold me to the highest standards. Should I be offered admission, I will do the same.
