Bubble Gum

I've found alot of old papers on my computer and stumbled upon all my college application essays! Here is one i sent to lowell (i got in!)
I am Jonathan William Leaman, I chew bubble gum.
Bubblegum chewing is a skill I have. It sounds simple at first but a lot of planning goes into chewing bubblegum all the time. Right away you need to buy bubble gum. This requires one thing: drive. I have drive! This drive causes me to do a lot of things. Last year actually, I had the drive to get a car (no pun) and I worked all summer to save money so I could buy a car. So I saved all my allowance, 5 cents per week, just so I could make my weekly bike ride all the way to the corner store. This is drive and physical work. I continue to do physical work today. I play soccer and do track, both of which are very rewarding challenging.

I remember the first time my dad took me to the grocery store instead of my mom. Every time someone would comment on my cuteness or how awesome I was at tying my shoes my dad would make me talk to them, this was scary at first but I needed to get used to it because I needed to talk to the old lady behind the counter every week. This helped me with my social skills. You would be surprised how often you use people skills. When I go to Boy Scouts we need to present ourselves, not only in from of our peers, but the leaders as well. I also use my people skills in school; I have to deal with my peers all day.
Some of my peers pick on me because of my bubblegum habit. They poke fun when I tell them I am trying to break the world record of how many sticks of gum I can eat in my lifetime; I am keeping track of it. This helps with courage, persistence, and also organization. It isn’t that east to do something where you know you will get ragged on for later. Once I had to do a skit with my Boy Scouts in my schools auditorium. I knew I would be picked on for being a Boy Scout but I knew I had to do it. I don’t think these people know what Boy Scouts are about. Persistence helps me excel everywhere, especially in math. I am in Calculus AP now strictly because of persistence. My school didn’t think I could start in Algebra 2 so they put me in Algebra 1 freshman year, but the next year I showed them. I took two math classes and passed both with very good grades. In Calculus persistence helps too with allowing me to finish the problems, they get much longer when you get to higher classes. Organization is also a good skill I use in my everyday life, from planning my day to scheduling my time well and to planning a camping trip to Maine.
I am Jonathan William Leaman and I chew bubble gum, thank you.