By: Chelsea King

September 2009

Some might brand me as random. I however, prefer eclectic. I love hand-knit sweaters, and my favorite composer is Dvorak. I have an affinity for the French Revolution and environmental sustainability. I play French horn and am a student-athlete. Modernistic writing holds a special place in my heart and I find spiritual truth in both the teachings of Buddha and Darwin. I cannot deny that my eccentric eclecticism permeates through all my pores and courses through all my veins. And I feel that all of these multi-faceted, seemingly unrelated aspects, and more build me as a whole. Just as I see that my idiosyncrasies intertwine to define me, I seek connections between the unexpected in all spheres of life. My frequently confused parents often wonder why I chose to pursue such a wide scope and large quantity of extracurricular activities, classes, and hobbies—especially in the traditionally lax senior year. After much contemplation and some heated arguments, I have found that the answer lies in the fact that the sound of a symphony enraptures me just as fully as a lecture on climate change. I do all that I do simply for the joy it brings me and for my love of life. I began my college search with a list of nearly sixty schools. I obviously could not apply to sixty schools and knew that I must winnow my list down to a few schools that had everything I hoped to find in a college. As I began to wheedle down my list, I looked for schools that I felt had the same enthusiasm and breadth of interests as myself. In this area, Providence particularly caught my attention.