PDA

View Full Version : My Character: The Actual College Essay I Sent



CriticalCalla
03-10-2013, 06:16 PM
I've been here since June and I've done my best to stay the heck out of here, but I decided that I would humor you guys with the actual essay that I wrote and sent to colleges. So far, I've got into three out of three colleges, one of them with an average GPA of 4.2, which is like WTF SERIOUSLY? Anyways, I know there are a few mistakes, but I don't care #yolo. This essay is based off the video game Persona 4, which if you haven't played and have a PS2 still, I recommend finding it online or at Gamestop if you're lucky. It basically talks about how I relate to the main character. Hope you enjoy.

When people think about video game characters, they think of them as either over exaggerated personalities or imaginative specimens created for the sole purpose of entertainment. However, like great protagonist of literature or warriors of cinema, these characters can drive passionate emotion and philosophical thoughts into a player. Take, for example, Yu Narukami from the popular Japanese role-playing game, Persona 4. The story revolves around the year that Yu spends in the rural town of Inaba, meeting people, doing schoolwork and part time jobs, and solving a murder mystery. When Yu comes to town he finds out he has a power to enter a television world were people have been sent to be killed by Shadows. Shadows are the darker side of people, the true thoughts people hide from others. By overcoming and accepting one’s shadow, that shadow becomes a Persona, which can be used to combat other Shadows.

Yu is faced with a tough challenge every day. He must decide which people he feels he must help the most, a challenge I’ve felt before. I’ve tried to be as helpful and encouraging to as many people as possible, but sometimes I’m limited by time and personal strength to continue.
The decisions that are made in the game impact how the story ends, which is exactly what life is. Life is making decisions and living with those decisions, for better or worse. Yu and his friends must face off against the massive Shadows of his friends to help them get over whatever secrets they hide from others. From those battles, I realized that I need to help my friends fight past their lies and have them accept themselves for who they are.
At the end of the game, Yu is nearly exterminated by the final boss and feels like surrendering. However, his friends, who already gave their lives for him, encourage him to get back up one more time and finish her off. This displays that a person may fall, but if he or she has a good foundation of friends and family, he or she can be brought back up to face the challenge again, which I’m a firm believer in.

Yu Narukami is a perfect example of a protagonist from a video game that can be a good role model to follow. Being there for people, what you do impacts what will happen to you, being able to be true to yourself, and to persevere through tough objectives are the ideals that Yu lives by. When completing the game, I came to realize that I shared these same ideals as him, since I was the one making the decisions for him. I was the one who was making the decisions, selflessly helping other and persevering though tough times. Though all the laughs, tears, and controversial decisions, I was the one who lived my life though the character.

Dragonite
03-11-2013, 01:25 AM
You wrote a college essay about video game characters?

You are far more creative than I am.

Merga
03-11-2013, 02:38 AM
Sometimes I wish that my college makes me write essays to apply, that way I can write about something as random as that. Oh well, less work for me.

Kyoits
03-11-2013, 05:22 AM
I like writing essays at my college. It really shows what people can think of and how they express it in public. I've never shared one in front of a huge class, yet. I know it's gonna happen sooner or later.

Sean
03-11-2013, 10:37 AM
Bravo to your essay, I hope you get into the college/univeristy of your choice!