Introduction
For those who don't me, I'm Aaron Bai and I began attending UC Berkeley at the age of 16. My college application process involved me reading and watching a ton of application related materials. Especially "the-essay-that-got-me-into-x" and "day-in-the-life" vlogs.
The problem is I'm a big advocate for reading > watching. I can't lie. You would've consistently found me succumbing to an endless amount of 6 second videos when I should've been reading a school-assigned book. However, when I'm serious . . . when it's game time . . . when it's time to lock in . . . I can digest written materials 10X faster than video.
So, the reason why I'm posting this series of college essays is to help give examples that future college applicants can quickly read & digest.
As a disclaimer, please do not go about copy-and-pasting this for your application. And additionally, I'm not saying these essays were "good". UCs take a very holistic approach towards acceptance, and for all I know, these essays could be the worst part of my application. Final disclaimer — college app results don't define you.
Prompt #6 — Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Every night, my six-year-old-self would find my father binge-watching another Asian historical drama. Warlords in their shimmering palaces were what attracted me to the screen, but the ingenious military strategists and their chess-like interactions were what made me stay.
Indescribably delighted that his son shared his interest, my father put down the remote and decided to read me Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a classic novel about China’s three warring nations following the collapse of the Han dynasty. It didn’t take long for my poor father to realize that I had become obsessed. Every night, I would beg him to read more and more with no sign of falling asleep. Afterall, naval ambushes had quite the opposite effect of what a calming bedtime story should do.
To work smarter and not harder, my father invested in an MP3 player (haven’t seen those in a long time) and audiobook recordings of historical stories. I felt captivated by every one of them. As I set up battles between the Lego Ninjago toys in my room, I thought about Zhuge Liang, my favorite strategist, and how he would plan the attack.
My immersion in history transcends the walls of my house and my classrooms. After I landed in Indonesia for my summer internship last July, the first thing I did was call a taxi to take me to the Jakarta History Museum. My parents, at home in California, questioned my sanity when I explained to them how the port I would be staying at used to be the center of the Tarumanagara Kingdom, instead of just simply settling into my apartment after the 28-hour flight.
I believe history is dynamic; every new point of view and every story uncovered is a puzzle piece that brings me closer to a more complete understanding of the world we live in. And it’s never-ending. Today’s reality will not only be tomorrow’s history, but will shape the culture and environment of the future. Through history, I’ve learned about the impact of actions in the past, and realized how much today’s actions can change the future.
Contact Me
If you want to reach me for any questions, please shoot me a message on any of my social medias: Aaron Bai's LinkedIn