College+Essay

 Out of all the essays, the college essay was a very liberating writing experience. There was much freedom in our choices other than the fact we had to remain under 500 words. Our teacher gave us many prompts and ideas to work off of, and I decided to write about the topic on food. I personally connected to this essay through such a simple object, a papaya. The easiest part of this essay was writing it out. Like our teacher suggested, I did not worry about grammar, spelling, or organization but rather I wrote what my heart emanated. The most difficult part of this essay was editing and transforming my thoughts into a well organized 500 word essay. I had written over the maximum amount of words because I had so much to say. I truly experienced the freedom of pure, raw writing and through this experience I was able to inform colleges who I am and where I want to go.

The Ripe Fruit

By gently pressing his fingers against the smooth canvas, my dad tested to see if the papaya was ripe. He gingerly took a knife and sliced the papaya open with one swoop. Standing at a safe distance, I took the whole scene in with wide eyes. As he opened the two halves, I was astonished to see the black little pebble-like seeds against the bright orange flesh of the fruit. I asked my dad what they were and he said, “They are little plants ready to be spread out throughout the world.”

Every time he scooped out the seeds, I did not know where he put them. This time he showed me by opening the sliding-glass-door and throwing the seeds off our deck to the farthest end of the garden. As my father threw them, I saw the seeds create an arched effect as the wind took them to all the corners of the garden. I attempted to cut open a papaya by myself after learning from my father’s example. After many battle wounds, I was able to learn how to open my papayas just like my dad had shown me. Each time I cut my papayas I never forgot to throw their seeds into the wind and over the garden.

Like a papaya, I have the seeds to my future ready to be thrown, caught by the wind and distributed across the garden. As I grow older and riper, these seeds within me will begin to mature. College is the time for my seeds to continue maturing and for me to gain the tools to potentially be able to spread across the world. Sometimes I will be challenged and feel "sliced" in many different ways, but I will learn from my mistakes exactly like I learned how to cut the papaya just right. Throughout life, I will learn how to use tools to open my papayas in order to access these seeds. After college, I will take these tools and jump into the world; hoping that my seeds will end up in every corner of the garden. At the end of a fulfilling life, I potentially see myself being the papaya tree producing and adding nutrients to the world around me.