Describe a personal experience that has profoundly changed your perspective on an issue of regional, national, or international importance. In what way has this event impacted your previous perspective? How will it change your approach to this issue (or similar issues) in the future? (UCLA, undergraduate application from Writing in the Works page 146)
When I was 14, my parents decided to take me out of public school. At the time, I was very against the idea of it. I was very against the idea of it, being the rebellious teenager that I was. At the time I felt that uniforms were entirely too oppressive. After going to New England Christian academy (a private school that required students to dress in uniform) for four years, I can honestly say that the uniforms helped me in ways I could have never seen at the time. My opinion of uniforms in general has changed drastically, and thanks to my experience, I will now vote in favor of them from now on.
Middle school and high school aged children are going through an odd time in their lives. They're trying so hard to fit in but still stand out in their own way. A lot of kids try to either wear crazy styles or expensive brand name clothes. The unlucky bunch of kids that are still stuck wearing whatever their parents force them to wear are usually judged by their peers for it. This sort of judgment can leave some kids out and hurt their social development. When I was forced to wear the same uniform as everyone around me at school, I found that it was easier to get out of that horrible routine because that possibility of judgment wasn't even present.
How someone dresses shows a lot about them. When you take that away from kids, they have to learn to make their personalities and interests be what sets them aside from everyone else. For example, you might see a young person in expensive clothing and immediately think they must be popular. A popular clique might start because they all dress the same or shop at the same expensive store. With uniforms, the only kids that are popular are the ones that are actually fun to talk to and be around, the ones that are actually charismatic.
Without a doubt, having to actually wear uniforms for myself has changed my perspective on the subject greatly. When I was younger, before I had worn them myself, I was completely against them in favor of dressing how I want as a form of expressing myself. As I grew up and went through high school wearing a uniform, I came to understand it from a better perspective. I came to understand that having a uniform removes a good deal of judgment that kids that age can bring on each other. I also realized that wearing uniforms gives young adults more of a chance to develop their personalities to stand out in a crowd. I'll definately been in favor of children wearing uniforms while in school in the future.
Hi Ashley:
ReplyDeleteno post write?
The writing here is clear with relatively few technical lapses: good.
You have a subject and pretty much stick with it.
But here's the challenge: I'm not sure that you've fully answered the question given to you. Remember that you were to offer a perspective on an issue of "regional, national or international" significance. Does a dress code fit into that scheme? If so, can make the case that it does?
capitalize? academy
why the shift to "you"? When you take
note spelling and verb form? I'll definately been
Talk back:
ReplyDeleteSorry, I saved the post write on my computer but forgot to post that here. I'll post it after this comment to keep them separate.
What you're saying here is that I stick with my subject well and keep with the flow of it well. But you're also saying that you don't see how the subject of dress codes fitting into regional, national, or international significance. I see what you mean, I should have answered that part of the question and made its importance clearer in my paper. I feel like you haven't missed anything in my paper and said everything that needed to be said.
Post Write
ReplyDeleteI feel like the changes to this paper were minor, but really helped the overall flow of the paper. I think I've made my point very clear. If I had any questions for readers, they would be: have I provided enough first hand information from wearing uniforms to really help you to see my angle? Does this perspective make sense to you?