2.

Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem
solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how
you express your creative side.

I’ve never considered myself creative. It’s ironic, given most of my hobbies are
creative in nature. Animation, design, writing, things that many would say require a
creative mind to enjoy. But creativity isn’t something that comes naturally to me. I define
creativity as innovation, something fresh, something new. I’ve never felt like what I was
producing could be held to such a standard. This imposter syndrome plagued me - how
could I call myself an artist if I wasn’t, by my own definition, creative? Creativity isn’t one
solid definition. Creativity, under the definition of originality and uniqueness, is
impossible. Humans have been creating for generations, there are no ‘new’ ideas.
There are, however, new minds. New people, with fresh and individual lives and
mindsets. Creativity is inherent in every person because each person could tell the
same tale in their own way. My creativity comes from my individuality. The way I
perceive the world around me. Every artistic piece I create is a small reflection of the
broader portrait that is the life I’ve lived. Creativity is expressed in each action you take.
My creativity is imprinted upon others just as their creativity is imprinted upon me.

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken
to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic
achievement?

Kind, empathetic, giving. Words used to describe me have always been those of
my desire to please others. For as long as I can remember, I have always strived
towards bringing joy to others. A middle child of two siblings, I found the best way to
attain attention was through being what people wanted me to be. When I look back at
my memories from elementary and middle school, I distinctly remember the feeling of
being praised by my teachers and fellow students. The flowering bud of warmth that
rose up in my chest - it was addicting. I never had any issues in school, since the
validation I received from doing well was enough of a driving force to keep me working
hard. I never felt it was an issue either. I’m making people happy, and doing so brings
me joy, so where’s the issue? Of course, living your life for other people isn’t a habit one
can healthily uphold. In middle school, one of my best friends was suffering from
depression. I found myself one day holding her back, thrashing and yelling in my arms
as she tried to jump into the street of oncoming traffic. I felt that I had failed her
somehow, as if I had given more of myself to make her feel better, she wouldn’t have
tried something so terrible. After that day, I truly struggled with finding boundaries. I felt
like I needed to be enough for people, I needed to give part of myself up so I wouldn’t
fail anyone again. Only recently have I truly identified how unhealthy this mindset is.
The habit that once got me through school and gave me small nuggets of satisfaction
was now tearing me apart. Enough was enough. I needed to find validation within -
understand that I am my own top priority. I need to succeed because I want to succeed,
not just because I want those around me to be proud. I have been very strict about
setting boundaries for myself. Every day is a battle, reworking my own mindset into
something productive. I am finally starting to see improvement. I work hard in school
because I have dreams, because I want to make myself proud. It’s a long and hard road
ahead, but I know I will always have my back. I will achieve my dreams.

● People-pleasing
● Thriving on praise
● External validation
● Finding validation within
● Altering educational mindset

8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe
makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of
California?

I have spent a large portion of my life succeeding solely for the praise I received
from other people. I always intended on going to college, majoring in something
impressive, and living a life my family and friends would be proud of. Only recently have
I self-reflected. What do I truly want? Am I pursuing something I truly enjoy, or am I just
doing what I think will be considered most impressive? Being a senior in high school
really forces you to think about your future, and I quickly realized my priorities were
skewed. It has been a lot of work - reprogramming my internal voice, relying on myself,
pushing my own boundaries, lessening my social anxiety. All these things have proved
massively difficult, and while I still have a long way to go, I know my priorities are in
order. I know I am the perfect candidate for admission to the University of California
system. I have a drive to succeed, I want to push myself and grow. I know now I am
capable of the rigorous work I will inevitably face in college. I plan to major in Computer
Science, a predominantly male and notoriously difficult field. If you had told me just a
few years ago that I would feel comfortable pursuing such a career, I wouldn’t have
believed you. I care deeply for the world at large. I want to make a difference, no matter
how small. I want to live up to my full potential, be a person I can be proud of. I’m
intelligent, perceptive, empathetic. I know I can, and will, be great. The question isn’t if,
but where will that flourish?
1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively
influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

Leadership is an incredibly intimidating prospect to most individuals, including

myself. I have lived a good portion of my life unsure, and uncertainty doesn’t make for
good leadership. One must be confident, strategic, and quick-acting. I always figured I
was out of my depth in that way, and was happy to take the sidelines as a dedicated
follower and hard-worker. In comes my senior year of high school, overflowing with
self-discovery and growth. Throughout all four years, I was a part of the Clayton Valley
Arts Academy, a program that bolstered artistic ability and formed a community in its
constituents. Each semester, the Arts Academy holds a significant group project, in
which two seniors lead a group of around twelve younger students in some type of
large-scale creative endeavour based on a provided proposal. Seniors, given they have
committed to all four years of the Academy, will typically have 6 projects worth of
experience under their belt and be well-versed in such projects. Due to COVID-19,
however, I had only completed half that amount. Our project was proposed - we had to
create a company for a new, innovative product, and market said product at a booth on
presentation day. I was gracelessly thrust into a leadership role I had very little
experience in. Regardless, I was determined to do right by my younger group members.
I remembered how kind and reassuring my senior leaders were. I knew I needed to be
that same presence, if not more so with such trifling times. I didn’t have time to brood
over every way I could fail them, I had to stand up to the challenge. Having expected
the worst from myself, I was shocked how easily I slid into the role. I lead group
meetings, proposed plans and schedules, diversified workloads, and strategized with
relative ease. Along with leadership responsibilities, I was also in charge of logo design,
booth design, resume building, budget planning, and ad production. It was a lot of work,
and I had my fair share of stressful moments. But our booth day arrived; we displayed
over two months worth of hard work, and I had never felt so proud. I truly believe I was
a positive leader for my group members, and I can only hope that when they are
seniors, they will look back on my leadership as I did.
● All Academy Project
● Guiding people to a finished product
● Managing group conflicts
● Producing a beautiful product
● Overcoming
EDITED
2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem
solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how
you express your creative side.

I’ve never considered myself creative. Ironic, isn’t it? Most of my hobbies would
be considered creative in nature - animation, design, writing, baking. All are the makings
of a creative person, yet I doubted it for the longest time. Creativity, within my definition,
was something that never came naturally to me. I identified creativity as innovation,
something inherently new and fresh. Could I truly, with full certainty, say that what I
created was original? How could I call myself an artist if I didn’t have the sole quality
that defined one? This imposter syndrome plagues my early work. I tried to inject some
false abstraction into my pieces, as though that would validate my status as an artist.
My work was no longer mine, I had given up any sort of personality to adhere to some
standard I invented. My high school art class had become one of my most difficult
courses because of my intense burnout. I couldn’t maintain this anymore. I stopped
trying to ‘fix’ my work. I created what I wanted to, what brought me joy, and that’s the
most creative I had ever been. Creativity isn’t some arbitrary definition of newness -
creativity is inherent within people. We all have our own unique experiences and
mindsets. If we allow this individuality to seep into our work, rather than trying to be
something we aren’t, we’ll find everyone is creative. My creativity is the way I see the
world, the way I experience it, the way I express it. I express myself through art, sure,
but the true creativity comes innately from within me. The only thing holding you back
from being creative is yourself. Creativity comes from you.

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken
to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic
achievement?

Personal joy comes from others. A life philosophy I’ve held for as long as I can
remember. I strived to earn praise from those around me. The middle child of three
siblings, I found myself working to stand out. I exceeded expectations in school, listened
to my parents, never set a toe out of line. I was the good child, the smart one, and
obedient. Looking back, I don’t think a single achievement of my early life was earned
due to personal drive. My memories stem from the glee of compliments and external
validation. This tendency to give myself to people was addictive, and through my eyes it
seemed to work. Things work until they don’t. Things work until you have a person you
can’t save, you can’t fix. My best friend was suicidal. I was her lifeline, the one she
came to in moments of distress and doom. I needed to be there, I needed to be
something for somebody. I didn’t care if I lost myself, I just wanted to save her. And I
couldn’t. I had to hold her back from jumping into the busy street, and while she may not
have died that day, something inside me did. I couldn’t fix her, I couldn’t fix anyone, or
anything. I had failed. This idea of failure plagued me for so many years, and I still feel it
somewhere. I poured myself into my work, but the validation wasn’t enough anymore. I
couldn’t focus on other people anymore. I couldn’t try to fix them, I had to fix myself. It
wasn’t that simple, and it’s still a battle I face, but I can feel my motivations changing. I
want to prosper because I want to be happy. I want to achieve greatness because I
want to, not so other people will be proud of me. My relationship with academics has
never been healthier. I want to learn, I want to be the best version of myself. I’ve never
been more excited to see where education will take me.

8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe
makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of
California?

I have spent a large portion of my life succeeding solely for the praise I received
from other people. I always intended on going to college, majoring in something
impressive, and living a life my family and friends could be proud of. Only recently have
I reflected - What do I truly want? Am I pursuing something I truly enjoy, or am I just
doing what I think will be considered most impressive? Being a senior in high school
really forces you to think about your future, and I quickly realized my priorities were
skewed. It has been a lot of work - reprogramming my internal voice, relying on myself,
pushing my own boundaries, lessening my social anxiety. All these things have proved
massively difficult, and while I still have a long way to go, I know my priorities are in
order. I know I am the perfect candidate for admission to the University of California
system. I have a drive to succeed, I want to push myself and grow. I know now I am
capable of the rigorous work I will inevitably face in college. I plan to major in Computer
Science, a predominantly male and notoriously difficult field. If you had told me just a
few years ago that I would feel comfortable pursuing such a career, I wouldn’t have
believed you. I care deeply for the world at large. I want to make a difference, no matter
how small. I want to live up to my full potential, be a person I can be proud of. I’m
intelligent, perceptive, empathetic. I know I can, and will, be great. The question isn’t if,
but where will that flourish?

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively

influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

Leadership had been an incredibly intimidating prospect for me. I never quite had
enough faith in myself to be a good leader. A good leader is confident, strategic, and
quick-acting. I had always figured I was out of my depth in that manner, and was
satisfied to stand on the sidelines as a dedicated, thorough follower. In comes my senior
year of high school. Throughout all four years of high school, I was a member of the
Clayton Valley Arts Academy. The program bolstered artistic ability and formed a
community among its constituents. Each semester the program holds a substantial
group project, in which two seniors lead a group of ten younger students in some
large-scale creative endeavor based on a provided proposal. The project this year was
a Shark Tank project, where we had to form a business around a new, innovative
product, and market said product at a booth on presentation day. Due to COVID-19, I
had experienced only half the amount of projects a typical Arts Academy senior would
have. I was gracelessly thrust into a leadership role I had minimal experience with.
Despite my hesitancy, I was determined to be a good leader. When I was a freshman,
the senior leaders were kind and reassuring. They guided us all to a successful product,
always there when we needed them. I wanted to be that person, someone for my group
members to look up to and feel comfortable with. I was shocked how easily I slid into
the role. I lead group meetings, proposed plans and schedules, diversified workloads,
and strategized with relative ease. Aside from my leadership responsibilities, I was also
in charge of logo and booth design, resume building, budget planning, and ad
production. It was an exorbitant amount of work, but I couldn’t be prouder of our final
product. Our product won the group project, and I had never been more proud of my
group or myself. I learned to rely on myself - I could be a good leader, I could do
amazing things. I’m so excited to explore this side of myself more.