Rediscovering Bulgaria - Harvard - Successful college personal statement
Hometown: Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria
High School: Public school, 30 students in graduating class
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
GPA: 6.0 out of 6.0
SAT: Reading 730, Math 760, Writing 800
ACT: n/a
SAT Subject Tests Taken: Literature, World History
Extracurriculars: Tennis player, coordinator and volunteer in the Gorna Oryahovitsa Youth Parliament (non-governmental organization), class president and member of the student council, editor in chief of the high school newspaper
Awards: Living Rainforest Essay Competition finalist in Sustainability Debate, third place in Literary Essay Competition “Jews and Bulgarians—Two Nations, One Country, One Love,” first place in Bulgaria si ti! English competition, third place in English Language Olympiad organized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, third place in Bilingual English/Russian competition organized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science
Major: Social Anthropology
Successful college personal statement
As a child raised on two continents, my life has been defined by the “What if . . . ?” question. What if I had actually been born in the United States? What if my parents had not won that Green card? What if we had stayed in the USA and had not come back to Bulgaria? These are the questions whose answers I will never know (unless, of course, they invent a time machine by 2050).
“Born in Bulgaria, lived in Orlando, Florida, currently lives in Bulgaria” is what I always write in the About Me section of an Internet profile. Hidden behind that short statement is my journey of discovering where I belong.
My parents moved to the United States when I was two years old. For the next four years it was my home country. I was an American. I fell in love with Dr. Seuss books and the PBS Kids TV channel, Twizzlers and pepperoni, Halloweens and Thanksgivings, the yellow school bus and the “Good job!” stickers.
It took just one day for all of that to disappear. When my mother said “We are moving back to Bulgaria,” I naïvely asked, “Is that a town or a state?”
Twenty hours later I was standing in the middle of an empty room, which itself was in the middle of an unknown country.
It was then that the “what if”—my newly imagined adversary— made its first appearance. It began to follow me on my way to school. It sat right behind me in class. No matter what I was doing, I could sense its ubiquitous presence.
The “what if” slowly took its time over the years. Just when it seemed to have faded away, it reappeared resuming its tormenting influence on me—a constant reminder of all that could have been. What if I had won that national competition in the United States? What if I had joined a Florida tennis club? What if I had become a part of an American non-governmental organization? Would I value my achievements more if I had continued riding on that yellow school bus every morning?
But something—at first unforeseen and vastly unappreciated— gradually worked its way into my heart and mind loosening the tight grip of the “what if”—Bulgaria. I rediscovered my home country— hours spent in the library reading about Bulgaria’s history spreading over fourteen centuries, days reading books and comparing the Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts, years traveling to some of the most remote corners of my country. It was a cathartic experience and with it finally came the discovery and acceptance of who I am.
I no longer feel the need to decide where I belong. I am like a football fan that roots for both teams during the game. (If John Isner ever plays a tennis match against Grigor Dimitrov, I will definitely be like that fan.) Bulgaria and the USA are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they complement each other in me, whether it be through incorporating English words in my daily speech, eating my American pancakes with Bulgarian white brine cheese, or still having difficulty communicating through gestures (we Bulgarians are notoriously famous for shaking our heads side to side when we mean “yes” and nodding to mean “no”).
As a child raised on two continents, my life will be defined by the “What . . . ?” question. What have Bulgaria and the USA given me? What can I give them back? What does the future hold for me? This time, I will not need a time machine to find the answers I am seeking.
REVIEW
Alexandra’s essay elaborates on key themes of identity as an American and Bulgarian, scholar and tennis player, and answers questions the reader will have about her extracurricular passions and motivations.
The essay is a variation on the classic college essay theme where a potential hardship becomes a positive. Here, she tells the story of overcoming a life lived in constant contemplation of hypotheticals to one where duality not a source of confusion, but one that “complements” each other. Alexandra’s essay suggests that she has transcended distinction and demonstrates maturity with an ability to appreciate the quirks of both her American and Bulgarian identities.
Alexandra’s “rediscovery” of her home country serves as an opportunity for her to mention her interests and hobbies, providing context and narrative support for the extracurricular activities she probably lists on her application. Speaking about Bulgarian history, travels, and code switching, Alexandra conveys a cultural awareness and keen observation of nuance in her essay.
Alexandra’s essay could have used a bit more of thorough examination of how her “rediscovery” translated to her ultimate response to the “what if” question. It takes a distinct experience—splitting a childhood between two vastly different worlds—but doesn’t go far enough in exploring the process behind her transformation to make her story of self-discovery truly substantive or original.
From 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, 5th Edition edited by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson. Copyright (c) 2017 by the authors and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group.
