Student Profile
[Prompt & Essay]
Explain how a work of fiction you’ve read has helped you to understand the world’s complexity. (150 words)
I recently read The Handmaid's Tale which amazed me and made me reflect on the world I live in. The novel’s protagonist is a Handmaid—her only job is to provide children for her commander and his wife.
The book was written in 1985, but its themes still exist in today’s society, some of the attitudes even seen as acceptable. A lack of individuality traumatizes and degrades women, yet this is normalized through patriarchal values. The parallels to our world made me reflect on women’s role in society and how much progress we still need to make.
While written as a dystopia, The Handmaid’s Tale could be interpreted as a twisted utopic from some religious perspectives. The novel’s imagery draws many parallels with extreme Christian communities, such as the Amish and Mennonites. In any case, reading The Handmaid’s Tale opened my eyes to atrocities that still plague women in our world.
Tell us more about the topic that most engages your intellectual curiosity. (150 words)
Though my primary interests lie in science, I find immense excitement in researching historical locations. I always enjoy digging deeper into different places I visit, learning their unique stories and attempting to gain a clearer understanding of their where, when, and why.
Even as a young child, I relished in discovering interesting facts and digging through records. I am constantly amazed by the specific histories each place can hold. For example, a small hospital in Crownsville, MD was in use during the 20th century. Though it once housed patients with mental disorders, it has since been abandoned and sits empty on a large plot of land. When I first learned of it, I spent hours poring over newspapers, articles, and stories about the hospital. Researching historic places is time consuming, but the end result feels like solving a mystery, helping me better understand my environment and myself.
Describe a community that is important to you. How has that community prepared you to engage with, change, or even build the Wake Forest community? (150 words)
Throughout high school, I developed a strong connection to my International Baccalaureate community. Since my freshman year, I’ve had the privilege of being one of 100 members of a close-knit cohort. We all take the same courses and share the same graduation requirements.
Though the program is difficult, enduring challenges together bonds us together as a group. I came to my high school with little understanding of the program but grew to love it and its people. People I previously rarely talked to are now some of my best friends, and I loved getting to know people from many different backgrounds. I may not be close with every single one of my peers, but I will always be grateful for our time together and the connections we made.