First Draft of my PS.
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 9:26 pm
If anyone could review my PS, I would really appreciate it. It's my first draft, so it's going to have issues.
Please be constructively critical of it! (edited because of brief mark-ups)
On a quiet Saturday afternoon, the piercing and distinctive ring of my telephone has engraved itself in my memory. “Andrew, someone has a handgun in the building, what do I do?” Those twelve words whispered by one of my fellow resident assistants will live with me for the rest of my life. I turned nineteen years old two days earlier and suddenly I found myself in a life or death situation. When I was hired to become a resident assistant, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my resident assistants who so graciously helped guided me during my daunting freshman year. I never could have anticipated how ambiguous and broad the term “help” truly is. I want to practice law in order to help others, because I know from first-hand experience that helping others fulfills me.
My fellow resident assistant was sitting in the main lobby with her large, swollen eyes staring down at the floor. We both feared this was the next Columbine or Virginia Tech. As I called University Police, whispering to ensure no one could hear what I was saying, I felt confident and able. I was not allowed to fear, not afforded the luxury of “what if”. When the officers arrived, I informed them of everything I knew and directed them to the room. The officers discovered a hand gun, numerous bullets and, to my incredible relief, apprehended the individuals and resolved the conflict. As I slowly walked back to my room, I laid down in my bed, put the pillow over my face, and screamed. As I found myself imagining every possible scenario, I came to the realization that I made a difference for one simple reason; none of my residents discovered what happened that Saturday afternoon. This, however, was not the end of my involvement in crucial situations.
After a lack of a serious problem for approximately one month, I received another call on my room telephone. I was informed that a male resident was crying in the women’s bathroom. Upon reaching the bathroom, he looked at me with incredible sadness and begged me not to compel him to return to his room. When I asked why, he told me he was going kill himself and that he tried to do so the previous night but failed. He did not want me to be his resident assistant; he simply wanted me to be his friend. I brought him into my room and for four hours we discussed life. For those four hours, I developed a genuine interest in his life and therefore he did the same for himself. For the past year, every Sunday at noon, he comes into my room to watch football. We have never discussed that night and we probably never will, but when he walks into my room at the same time every Sunday, it’s all the communication about that night we will ever need.
Unfortunately, crucial incidents were still prevalent in my dormitory that same year. The next semester another resident attempted to commit suicide. A female resident locked herself in her room after taking a considerable amount of anti-depressant pills. This situation, however, was different in many regards. I gained a significant amount of situational knowledge from dealing with that resident six months prior. After a struggle to persuade her to leave her room and obtain medical help, the police officers and I finally convinced her to do so. One of my fellow resident assistants asked me how I was able to remain calm and relaxed during the confrontation. The answer was simple, I was a different person and I was stronger and better at helping.
My position as a resident assistant has allowed me to experience the benefits of lending a hand to those who need one. Situations which seem like a burden can have the greatest impact. I have discovered that helping someone is a reciprocal process. When I applied to become a resident assistant, I never expected it to become one of the defining aspects of my personality. If accepted into ¬¬¬_______, I am positive that ¬¬______ will allow me to practice the law in a style that utilizes my experiences as a resident assistant to the greatest extent.
Please be constructively critical of it! (edited because of brief mark-ups)
On a quiet Saturday afternoon, the piercing and distinctive ring of my telephone has engraved itself in my memory. “Andrew, someone has a handgun in the building, what do I do?” Those twelve words whispered by one of my fellow resident assistants will live with me for the rest of my life. I turned nineteen years old two days earlier and suddenly I found myself in a life or death situation. When I was hired to become a resident assistant, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my resident assistants who so graciously helped guided me during my daunting freshman year. I never could have anticipated how ambiguous and broad the term “help” truly is. I want to practice law in order to help others, because I know from first-hand experience that helping others fulfills me.
My fellow resident assistant was sitting in the main lobby with her large, swollen eyes staring down at the floor. We both feared this was the next Columbine or Virginia Tech. As I called University Police, whispering to ensure no one could hear what I was saying, I felt confident and able. I was not allowed to fear, not afforded the luxury of “what if”. When the officers arrived, I informed them of everything I knew and directed them to the room. The officers discovered a hand gun, numerous bullets and, to my incredible relief, apprehended the individuals and resolved the conflict. As I slowly walked back to my room, I laid down in my bed, put the pillow over my face, and screamed. As I found myself imagining every possible scenario, I came to the realization that I made a difference for one simple reason; none of my residents discovered what happened that Saturday afternoon. This, however, was not the end of my involvement in crucial situations.
After a lack of a serious problem for approximately one month, I received another call on my room telephone. I was informed that a male resident was crying in the women’s bathroom. Upon reaching the bathroom, he looked at me with incredible sadness and begged me not to compel him to return to his room. When I asked why, he told me he was going kill himself and that he tried to do so the previous night but failed. He did not want me to be his resident assistant; he simply wanted me to be his friend. I brought him into my room and for four hours we discussed life. For those four hours, I developed a genuine interest in his life and therefore he did the same for himself. For the past year, every Sunday at noon, he comes into my room to watch football. We have never discussed that night and we probably never will, but when he walks into my room at the same time every Sunday, it’s all the communication about that night we will ever need.
Unfortunately, crucial incidents were still prevalent in my dormitory that same year. The next semester another resident attempted to commit suicide. A female resident locked herself in her room after taking a considerable amount of anti-depressant pills. This situation, however, was different in many regards. I gained a significant amount of situational knowledge from dealing with that resident six months prior. After a struggle to persuade her to leave her room and obtain medical help, the police officers and I finally convinced her to do so. One of my fellow resident assistants asked me how I was able to remain calm and relaxed during the confrontation. The answer was simple, I was a different person and I was stronger and better at helping.
My position as a resident assistant has allowed me to experience the benefits of lending a hand to those who need one. Situations which seem like a burden can have the greatest impact. I have discovered that helping someone is a reciprocal process. When I applied to become a resident assistant, I never expected it to become one of the defining aspects of my personality. If accepted into ¬¬¬_______, I am positive that ¬¬______ will allow me to practice the law in a style that utilizes my experiences as a resident assistant to the greatest extent.