I want to become a history teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am extremely passionate and committed to earning my Bachelor’s in both history and education.

I have been a fan of Wicked since I saw the Broadway show in 2022. I found the music of the show enthralling and the choreography fascinatingly fantastic. When I heard they would be making a film adaptation I was worried. I love the Broadway show, and feared that they could not do it justice. But, after seeing the movie, I am pleasantly surprised. It managed to hit the ball straight out of the park. I watched Wicked in the small theatre in my college’s town, alone, on a Wednesday night. I had a gift card I had to use, so I decided to use it on Wicked just cause. I walked out of the theatre gushing to my roommate about how good was. I believe that it perfectly encapsulates the mood of the broadway show, while allowing Cynthia, Ariana, and Jonathan to make the characters their own. I found the singing fabulous. I found the dancing fabulous. I found the cinematography fabulous. I just found everything about this movie so great. It was an excellent adaptation of the show, while including more of the book, and more of the greatness about this world. I am excited to see part two next year.

My favorite book to film adaptation of all time is the Lord of the Rings series. These three movies, extended edition or theatrical, are what I consider to be both peak cinema and peak book to movie adaptation. They manage to capture the grandeur of the Tolkien books, while omitting the parts which may drag the stories’ pace. To be honest, I enjoy the movie adaptations more than the original Lord of the Rings books, which might be an unpopular opinion. The first time I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy was in the seventh grade, after a long weekend of swim meets. My father introduced me to the movies, as he had seen them in theaters and thought I would enjoy them. Before this, I had tried to read the books, but I could not for the life of me get through them. Since, I have reread the books, and have found a deep appreciation of them, but only after watching the movies. I feel like watching the movies before reading the books allowed me to be introduced to the world of Tolkien in a less-dense form of media than the books. As a book to movie adaptation, I think the Lord of the Rings excel at being a near perfect adaptation. I believe that Peter Jackson and his writers took the most important parts of the books and managed to string them together to convey the essence of the Lord of the Rings, without making hours upon hours of movies. Scenes like the Council of Elrond, the March of the Ents, the Balrog in Moria, the Battle of the Black Gate, and the Coronation all are near perfect examples of how Jackson’s team took the essence of the books and adapted them for the big screen. Each of these scenes takes dialogue and camera cues directly from the source material, however, altered it to fit the movies. For example: in the Balrog scene, Gandalf monologues for longer in the book, but Jackson took this and cut it down to the essentials, letting the visuals convey the strength that Gandalf did through his words. Every other scene I mentioned does the same thing: taking the most important lines, and conveying mood through visuals rather than long monologues. I believe that Jackson’s usage of this trick allows his movies to soar while other book adaptations fall flat. His movies simply convert dialog to visuals, rather than dialog to more dialogue.

1) I am Quinn Downing. I’m currently a freshman at Dickinson College, but I am originally from Kennebunk, Maine. I graduated in the top 10% of my class at Kennebunk High School, and am looking to become a history teacher. Outside of school, I am a summer camp counselor, and I write for the newspaper. 2) This scholarship will greatly help me. I am barely scraping by with paying for tuition as it is, and it will only get more expensive as the local scholarships I received upon graduation will stop covering tuition. This scholarship would allow me to keep pursuing my studies, and without it I may have to stop attending college. 3) I, since the fifth grade, have wanted to become a teacher. Until the last year, I hadn’t narrowed down what typed of teacher I wanted to be. I had gone back and forth on which grade level to teach. For a while, I wanted to be a second or third grade teacher, but after working with second graders, I decided not to, instead wanting to focus on history. 4) I have over 200 volunteer hours registered through my school. I have helped the theatre department put on shows for other organizations. I have volunteered at the local library. I have helped organized the Maine Regional One Act Festival. I, on top of this, have been a teacher's assistant for two teachers in my senior year of high school. 5) I think a time where I exhibited failure was when I had to teach a class on my own, without supervision, for the first time. My supervising teacher had contracted COVID, then had his appendix burst the week after. I was thrust into teaching for the first time and it went disastrously. I was unable to effectively manage the classroom, and I was beyond unable to effectively teach anything. During this time, I do not think anything stuck in those kid's heads. When my supervising teacher returned, he had do do a review of all the material that I taught, but did it a lot better (obviously). However, I feel like it was also a moment of growth. I feel like it both helped reaffirm my choice to become a high school teacher and highlighted how far I needed to grow. I do not think I was able to accurately teach the material. That may have been because it was math, but it also may have been because I had not been taught how to teach by the teacher I was assisting. He assumed I would never have to deal with this, and thus had not prepared me. I think both of us were able to grow from this, with him being better prepared for his next TAs, and me knowing what and what not to do in the future. 6) I believe my greatest strength is my ability to adapt. No matter what gets through me, I can find a way around it.

A time I exhibited leadership in my academic journey was the time I was a teacher’s assistant, and my supervising teacher had to leave school for two and a half weeks due to COVID, then complications surrounding an appendix removal surgery. I, naturally, was left alone with a classroom of twenty three difficult students, revolving substitute teachers who did not know math, and an entire unit of geometry I had to teach on my own. Before this, my role as a teacher’s assistant was solely to help the students after the teacher had taught them the material. I had not been prepared to teach or manage the class on my own, but in this case, I had to. To prepare for my classes, I did what most people do: read the material. I searched down a copy of the teacher’s edition of the geometry textbook, and tried my best to familiarize myself with concepts that I wasn’t too great at. I then practiced with my friends, making sure that I could explain the concept well, without either over or under explaining it, as well as making sure that it made sense. I, then, went to class. I used the skills I had learned as a summer camp counselor to try to effectively manage the class. This did not always translate perfectly, but it was passable until I learned more skills to deal with high schoolers, instead of second graders. By week three, I had learned what I needed to know to manage this class. I had figured out how to teach the kids how they needed to be taught. I learned which kids needed extra attention, and which were able to help others. This example of leadership will directly apply to my future career, as I want to be a high school teacher. I would actually consider this situation a trial run for student teaching in college. I feel like it both helped reaffirm my choice to become a high school teacher and highlighted how far I needed to grow. I do not think I was able to accurately teach the material. That may have been because it was math, but it also may have been because I had not been taught how to teach by the teacher I was assisting. He assumed I would never have to deal with this, and thus had not prepared me. I think both of us were able to grow from this, with him being better prepared for his next TAs, and me knowing what and what not to do in the future.

I want to become a teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am extremely passionate and committed to earning my Bachelor’s in both history and education.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it. I wish for a world where I am able to talk about my mental health problems with someone other than my therapist and parents. Bottling up mental health issues is never a positive thing, and I hope that the world will be more accepting of mental health issues one day. There is also significant reform needed in the medical system. While not being in the medical system for a mental health problem, I was hospitalized for CDiff in the fourth grade, and the staff nearly killed me by mistreating me. Things need to change, and I don’t know if I can make a difference, but I want to help.

I want to become a teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am exteremely passionate and comitted to earning my Bachelor’s in both history (with a focus on American history) and education (with a focus on High School). I would incorporate the usage of stamps as a part of teaching history.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it.

I want to become a teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am extremely passionate and committed to earning my Bachelor’s in both history and education.

Canto V of Dante’s inferno. FROM the first circle I descended thus Down to the second, which, a lesser space Embracing, so much more of grief contains Provoking bitter moans. There, Minos stands Grinning with ghastly feature: he, of all Who enter, strict examining the crimes, Gives sentence, and dismisses them beneath, According as he foldeth him around: For when before him comes th' ill fated soul, It all confesses; and that judge severe Of sins, considering what place in hell Suits the transgression, with his tail so oft Himself encircles, as degrees beneath He dooms it to descend. Before him stand Always a num'rous throng; and in his turn Each one to judgment passing, speaks, and hears His fate, thence downward to his dwelling hurl'd. "O thou! who to this residence of woe Approachest?" when he saw me coming, cried Minos, relinquishing his dread employ, "Look how thou enter here; beware in whom Thou place thy trust; let not the entrance broad Deceive thee to thy harm." To him my guide: "Wherefore exclaimest? Hinder not his way By destiny appointed; so 'tis will'd Where will and power are one. Ask thou no more." Now 'gin the rueful wailings to be heard. Now am I come where many a plaining voice Smites on mine ear. Into a place I came Where light was silent all. Bellowing there groan'd A noise as of a sea in tempest torn By warring winds. The stormy blast of hell With restless fury drives the spirits on Whirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy. When they arrive before the ruinous sweep, There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans, And blasphemies 'gainst the good Power in heaven. I understood that to this torment sad The carnal sinners are condemn'd, in whom Reason by lust is sway'd. As in large troops And multitudinous, when winter reigns, The starlings on their wings are borne abroad; So bears the tyrannous gust those evil souls. On this side and on that, above, below, It drives them: hope of rest to solace them Is none, nor e'en of milder pang. As cranes, Chanting their dol'rous notes, traverse the sky, Stretch'd out in long array: so I beheld Spirits, who came loud wailing, hurried on By their dire doom. Then I: "Instructor! who Are these, by the black air so scourg'd?"—"The first 'Mong those, of whom thou question'st," he replied, "O'er many tongues was empress. She in vice Of luxury was so shameless, that she made Liking be lawful by promulg'd decree, To clear the blame she had herself incurr'd. This is Semiramis, of whom 'tis writ, That she succeeded Ninus her espous'd; And held the land, which now the Soldan rules. The next in amorous fury slew herself, And to Sicheus' ashes broke her faith: Then follows Cleopatra, lustful queen." There mark'd I Helen, for whose sake so long The time was fraught with evil; there the great Achilles, who with love fought to the end. Paris I saw, and Tristan; and beside A thousand more he show'd me, and by name Pointed them out, whom love bereav'd of life. When I had heard my sage instructor name Those dames and knights of antique days, o'erpower'd By pity, well-nigh in amaze my mind Was lost; and I began: "Bard! willingly I would address those two together coming, Which seem so light before the wind." He thus: "Note thou, when nearer they to us approach. "Then by that love which carries them along, Entreat; and they will come." Soon as the wind Sway'd them toward us, I thus fram'd my speech: "O wearied spirits! come, and hold discourse With us, if by none else restrain'd." As doves By fond desire invited, on wide wings And firm, to their sweet nest returning home, Cleave the air, wafted by their will along; Thus issu'd from that troop, where Dido ranks, They through the ill air speeding; with such force My cry prevail'd by strong affection urg'd. "O gracious creature and benign! who go'st Visiting, through this element obscure, Us, who the world with bloody stain imbru'd; If for a friend the King of all we own'd, Our pray'r to him should for thy peace arise, Since thou hast pity on our evil plight. ()f whatsoe'er to hear or to discourse It pleases thee, that will we hear, of that Freely with thee discourse, while e'er the wind, As now, is mute. The land, that gave me birth, Is situate on the coast, where Po descends To rest in ocean with his sequent streams. "Love, that in gentle heart is quickly learnt, Entangled him by that fair form, from me Ta'en in such cruel sort, as grieves me still: Love, that denial takes from none belov'd, Caught me with pleasing him so passing well, That, as thou see'st, he yet deserts me not. "Love brought us to one death: Caina waits The soul, who spilt our life." Such were their words; At hearing which downward I bent my looks, And held them there so long, that the bard cried: "What art thou pond'ring?" I in answer thus: "Alas! by what sweet thoughts, what fond desire Must they at length to that ill pass have reach'd!" Then turning, I to them my speech address'd. And thus began: "Francesca! your sad fate Even to tears my grief and pity moves. But tell me; in the time of your sweet sighs, By what, and how love granted, that ye knew Your yet uncertain wishes?" She replied: "No greater grief than to remember days Of joy, when mis'ry is at hand! That kens Thy learn'd instructor. Yet so eagerly If thou art bent to know the primal root, From whence our love gat being, I will do, As one, who weeps and tells his tale. One day For our delight we read of Lancelot, How him love thrall'd. Alone we were, and no Suspicion near us. Ofttimes by that reading Our eyes were drawn together, and the hue Fled from our alter'd cheek. But at one point Alone we fell. When of that smile we read, The wished smile, rapturously kiss'd By one so deep in love, then he, who ne'er From me shall separate, at once my lips All trembling kiss'd. The book and writer both Were love's purveyors. In its leaves that day We read no more." While thus one spirit spake, The other wail'd so sorely, that heartstruck I through compassion fainting, seem'd not far From death, and like a corpse fell to the ground. Dante shows that the central aspect of fear is the revocation of humanity through the depiction of uniquely human emotions, feelings, and thoughts. By using intense visual, emotional, and auditory realism, but also intense pleas to humanity, Dante fosters both fear of Hell, and hope for salvation in his readers. Dante incorporates a variety of hyper-realistic depictions of Hell. The first instance of Dante using this realism comes within lines of him entering the gates to the second circle of Hell. He describes how “the second circle… holds less space but much more pain— stinging the soul to wailing,” telling the audience explicitly that the second circle, and by extent the rest of Hell, is filled with the screams of the damned. This tells a reader that Hell is both scary and painful. Continuing further into Hell, Dante intensifies how he realistically describes his surroundings. He hears “sounds of weeping pound at [him],” and describes the second circle as “a place where no light shone at all, bellowing like the sea racked by a tempest,”. This intensified depiction of Hell conveys the severity of sin. Even in the highest layer of Hell, the punishment for sin is severe, with the lustful being propelled in a black wind for eternity, unable to touch each other. Dante uses a type of realism which incorporates many human senses to embrace the notion that he has been through Hell and convey its horrors to save others. Empathy, to Dante, holds equal importance in creating a Hell that readers do not want to be judged into. Upon Dante’s entrance into the second circle, Virgil outlines how heroes of classical antiquity have been damned to Hell. Virgil explicitly mentions heroes like Paris, Tristan, and Achilles , creating a sense of bewilderment in Dante, “[after hearing heroes were in Hell] pity confused my senses, and I was dazed,”. Dante wants readers to question the judgement of these heroes, for they did commit heroic deeds in their lives, and for the reader to feel pity for them. This fosters feelings of empathy and curiosity within Dante the character, leading him to speak directly with Francesca. While Francesca speaks, Dante’s pity builds on itself, culminating in him directly telling Francesca, “Francesca, the torment you suffer brings painful tears of pity to my eyes,”. His admission of empathy for Francesca prompts her to divulge the specific details of her sin. By opening himself to feeling empathy, Dante opened himself up to the true horrors of Hell causing him to “[fall] to Hell’s floor as a body, dead, falls,”. The poet describes how Dante the character reacted to expressing empathy, that sinners are in Hell for a reason. It is not for humanity to question that reason, nor is it for humanity to express empathy for the sinners, as, by design, Hell’s punishment matches the sin committed on Earth. This system which Dante establishes in the Inferno, and continues in inverse in Purgatorio, gives readers more encouragement to repent sinful behavior, yet also encourages them to see that Hell is not an unfair place. The final, uniquely human, aspect Dante includes in his Hell is hope. While depicting the horrors of Hell, Dante simultaneously instils within his audience a hope to not end up in Hell. To Dante, hope for salvation was a comfort, as it is for many Christians. Christianity is a religion which is based on fear of Hell, which Dante references when describing the damned, “[the wind] sweeps them forever, without hope to comfort them,”, and earlier, when thew entrance of Hell. The damned lack the hope for salvation which they kept in life, as they have been sentenced to an eternity in Hell, with no possibility of salvation. Dante expands on this, however, “without hope to comfort them (hope, not of taking rest, but of suffering less),”, stating that Hell itself is entirely devoid of the emotion or feeling of hope. This creates a distinct separation between the living and the damned. The living, or at least those have confessed their sins, have hope for salvation, while the damned do not. Dante also embarks on his journey in his physical body, lending a unique perspective of living hope in a space where the dead lack it. The hope for the living is derived from a sense of justice; those that sin will arrive in Hell, and those that do not will achieve salvation, which Dante reinforces in his description of the judge Minos. Dante portrays Minos’ actions as fair, calling him “the expert judge of sins”, which reflects his position as an agent of God who serves as a final confessional. It is Minos’ judgement which dictates where souls spend eternity in Hell. Dante establishes that if a sinner does not confess their sins, they will receive an afterlife which fits the sins they committed on Earth. Dante’s Hell is not designed to instill fear, but instead to instill hope. Contrary to other depictions of Hell, which are designed only to scare the reader, Dante uses the basis of Christianity to broaden the emotional depth of his Hell. Not only does Hell instill hope, but also guilt, humanity, and faith. This supports the overall message of The Comedy, which encourages the reader to accept Dante’s depiction of spirituality as truth, not just in his time, but in the past and the future. Due to its realism and humanity, The Comedy heavily encourages spiritual redemption for all.

My biggest life passion is to teach. I want to become a teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am exteremely passionate and comitted to earning my Bachelor’s in both history (with a focus on American history) and education (with a focus on High School). Being a member of the LGBTQ community influences my dreams because I want to provide a role model I never had in school. I want to be a visible, gay part of my community, and do it while pursuing my dreams.

I am a student who suffers greatly from anxiety. I haven’t had bad anxiety my entire life, with my anxiety coming from an experience in the hospital when I was in the fourth grade, in which I nearly died, and from being exposed to graphic depictions of violence while watching All Quiet on the Western Front and reading The Things They Carried. My mental and physical wellbeing is tied closely to my sexuality. My mental health suffered, as many peoples’ did, during COVID lockdowns, when I was isolated. During this time I was broken down enough, that I decided to rebuild myself into a person I liked. This caused me to explore my sexuality, which is when I realized so much of my animosity of myself came from not realizing that I was gay, and instead just thinking I was broken. Currently, me and my therapist are trying to work through these difficulties. She and I have regular meetings, in which we discuss my flaws, and try to work through them. I used the word flaw because I believe my anxiety is something which I can work through, rather than just a part of who I am. I want to have a day where I can go into a movie theatre and not be scared they’ll play the wrong movie and I’ll see people die. I want to have a day where I can look at a medical thing, or even discuss medical things, without feeling queasy. And I’m trying to work on that. College was something which set my progress back a bit. I moved nine hours away from my family, friends, and the life I’d built. I put myself distinctly out of my comfort zone, and did something I never thought I could do. Were the first nights rough? Yes. Definitely. I questioned weather or not I should even try. In the end, however, I did stick it through. I used my support systems that I built in Maine, just at a distance. I contacted my therapist and scheduled a meeting ASAP. I believe that my mental health is an important part of who I am, and it’s hard to maintain it while I’m busy 24/7, but it’s not impossible. Because of all the work I’ve put in, I can be a successful person, while also working through my own problems. I think, no I know, I can do it.

I want to become a teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am exteremely passionate and comitted to earning my Bachelor’s in both history (with a focus on American history) and education (with a focus on High School).

I want to become a teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am exteremely passionate and comitted to earning my Bachelor’s in both history (with a focus on American history) and education (with a focus on High School).

I want to become a teacher and return to my state when I graduate college. I have wanted to be a teacher since the fifth grade, when my fifth grade teacher Mr. Chapman suggested I might be good at it after seeing how I helped other kids in my class. Ever since the fifth grade, the idea of being an educator never left my mind. I questioned what subject or age I would teach, and I still do occasionally, but one thing was clear: I wanted to be a teacher. When I got into high school, right in the midst of COVID, the first class I really resonated with was history. I, for a while, have had a love of history, especially the history of my own family and town, but also American history in general. My 9th grade history teacher encouraged me, despite a rocky performance in her class, to take AP U.S. History. APUSH was where I began to explore my interest in history. Due to the higher caliber of the course, I was more interested in the material being taught. The class went deeper than my previous history classes, which I think made me like it more. After APUSH I took AP European History. My AP Euro teacher encouraged me to explore my interest in history. While taking the course I realized that I would be happy teaching high school history. I could explore the complexities of history while also teaching, which is what I want to do. The next year, I applied to be a teacher’s assistant with both of the history teachers’ classes I’d taken. I didn’t get either. However, I did get assigned to a geometry class. I decided to take it, because basic teaching skills should be transferable. I ended up liking being a TA for the geometry class. A couple of weeks into the school year, my digital art teacher asked for a TA. Since I had four available blocks in my schedule, I accepted this request, and went on to also TA for that class. TA-ing for these classes reinforced my desire to teach, and my interest in history motivated what I wanted to teach. The summer before my senior year of high school I applied to be a summer camp counselor. Up until that point, the only job I had worked was in the foodservice industry and I hated it. I felt mentally and physically drained every day after work. I only worked three sifts a week due to me having to have a break to recharge. When I became a summer camp counselor, which is a 40-hour work week, I didn’t feel the same level of drain I did when I worked foodservice. I think this is because I was in a job which I liked, and wanted to pursue in the future. Due to all of these reasons and many more, I am exteremely passionate and comitted to earning my Bachelor’s in both history (with a focus on American history) and education (with a focus on High School).