E V E R Y T H I N G by Hannah Scott My mind is filled with everything and I therefore can think nothing. Everything is everything and nothing all at the same time. For everything as a concept means nothing It defines nothing excludes nothing and wants for nothing. It is self-contained incomprehensible and vague. There is no definition to thoughts in my mind no overarching theme or comprehensible explanation I am filled Overwhelmed L o s t. In all that my mind is and is not all I can do is stretch out the concentration of my mind my longing my searching in a weak attempt to find God. Is He here? I can’t feel Him. In desperation, I cry out for Him to stretch out His own fingers to touch mine What is faith? I know He is out there. Greater, I know He is with me. And yet my heart seeks His confirmation That gentle chiding presence that says “Why did you doubt?” O my love I cannot answer My mouth is full of the waters in which I s i n k. I reach out my hand and in helpless hope breathe spit the water from my lungs It hurts. Coming back and back and back always hurts. I leave Him wanting yearning mourning my love. O wandering soul why must I break His heart? Why do I ignore my God? I long for His presence yet when the time comes I do not bend my knee to meet Him. I am surrounded filled and meditate on everything. Nothing therefore is all that I have. And nothing is so much less than my God deserves.

When my mother first told me that there was a sport where athletes competed in a race three miles long, I laughed. I thought she was joking. Why would anyone willingly put themselves through such excruciating pain? At sixteen, three miles was farther than I had ever run. In fact, I could run exactly one mile before keeling over. But I followed one of my friends into one of the best decisions of my life. Cross Country is essentially a super healthy cult. Runners are constantly and almost unwaveringly consumed by the culture surrounding their sport. We obsess over mileage ratios, long-run gear, and which shoes we use for which runs. My college team doesn't have a locker room, so our meetings take place in the foyer of our athletics building. It gives me great pleasure to watch other people walk in on twenty-plus runners doing core all at once. Once you get to know us, we're not intimidating. I have a phenomenal team this year. But more people than I can count have told me that Cross Country is the toughest, most demanding sport there is. As someone who, for the majority of her life, never considered herself an athletic person, that statement makes me proud of what I have accomplished. I am proud to be part of something bigger than myself, a team who supports each other in the hard things that we go through together. And I am proud of the character traits that running developed in me. I used to hate team sports. I didn't want to deal with the drama or with letting them down. Since joining Cross Country in my Junior year of high school, I have had the unique opportunity to bond with several shifting teams. We bond over our love of our sport, even though it puts us through constant misery. When my teammates see each other doing well or struggling (or really just running at all), they are always quick to encourage one another. During one race, a teammate yelled to me, "You know how fast you are." We build people up to help them reach their individual goals. And as a team, we do better for each individual who grows. The things people say stick with us. One remark from my first coach, Bert, still sticks with me. Bert told me once that I knew how to race. I have taken that comment to heart more than any other. Running has taught me to grit my teeth and push through. It is easy to rationalize giving up. In a race, that option increases in attractiveness exponentially. When the nerves creep up before a race, I often compare racing to childbirth. If we didn't forget the pain of the race, no one would go back for seconds. In that pain, I have learned to persevere, to take one step at a time until the end is one push away. A race is not just another run. It's a competition. We pick off the other runners at any cost. And luckily, as Bert pointed out, I have the stubbornness in my system to pull that off. I followed my friend into one of the best decisions of my life. That one season of Cross Country sparked a love of running inside of me. That spark led me to pursue college athletics, a quest that brought me to Bushnell University, where I have grown in more ways than just athletics. Cross Country taught me the importance of having a team behind you and of persevering through hard circumstances. Thank you for your consideration.

We Are Here I have a playlist on my phone called "Story". It is a compilation of songs that, when put together, create a beautiful picture of life. The one song in that playlist that has had the most impact on my life is "Wir sind hier", by Alexa Feser. The song is in German, but roughly translated, the premise is this: Nothing we do is permanent. Some things will have no real impact on the world, others make no sense. Yet we are here (Wir sind hier). We go about our lives, doing the things we are passionate about. One line reads, "We raise flags, write songs, send people to the moon. We wear scars that prove, sometimes it's worth fighting." What I get from the song is this: the goal of life is not to be remembered. The impact of our lives may not last longer than the people who knew us. The Bible calls our lives flowers, which bloom in their season and then whither. But while we are here on earth, we are meant to bloom. We live our lives for the glory of God and the good of others, not for fame or fortune. A later verse reads, "We are chalk drawings on the road before it rains." We are but a moment in history. But we have the ability to make that moment beautiful. We make that moment worth living for ourselves and for others. Wir sind hier describes my passion for life. I live only a small life, but I have the responsibility to live that life well.

My era of history has always been World War II. In recent years this has stretched to include all conflicts involving the United States since 1938. However, for this essay, I will focus on one lesson that can be learned from our nation's interactions in World War II. Namely, the relations of the United States with its allies. Our conduct during WWII leading into the Cold War may give us the impression that the United States ought to be a more trusting ally. However, given the nearly identical actions of the USSR, this may be impossible for us to accept. After all, our government's first responsibility is to its citizens. I would argue that the answer is to conduct ourselves in the manner of an ally worth trusting. Now, this accusation may make little sense to someone who has not studied the subject. Let me explain. In the later years of the Second World War, the United States and the USSR were allies. Very technically, that is. There was a constant tension between the two. In some cases that tension showed itself as a rivalry. For instance, when Germany was on its last legs, there was a frantic race to be the first Ally to Berlin. Part of this was caused by the lack of trust between a Capitalist nation and a Communist one. However, it was not as simple as that. The rift was initially formed for two main reasons. The first was the ideological difference between the two countries. The second was the USSR's peace treaty with Germany, which it kept until Hitler violated its precepts. The rift only widened when Stalin realized that America did not trust him. Needless to say, Soviet moles and Stalin's moves to create satellite states did not make him the most trustworthy ally. But his mistrust was validated when his spies uncovered the Manhattan project. Neither America nor the USSR were without fault in their relations with each other. We cannot control the actions of other nations or other people. We only have power over our own actions. Therefore, we have the initial responsibility to be an ally or a person that others can trust. Their actions in that case fall on their own heads. The blame cannot be shifted onto us. In a world where we have the United Nations and a national commitment to justice, the nation or person at fault will fall under the scrutiny of a power higher than any we can, or ought to, wield. If the United States could have dealt honorably with Stalin, it may not have averted his use of spies, but it would have ensured that those spies came up with nothing to validate his suspicion. Therefore, my argument stands. It is our own responsibility to be trustworthy and the responsibility of other nations or people to do with that as they will. Thank you for reviewing my application.