Common Application Essay - Undergraduate Applications

The awareness of countries touching our border and beyond our shore is far heightened today. The vast immigration, the reach of modern media, the ease of travel, improved methods of communication, the sense of the global corporation, make us more conscious of the rest of the world. What are my responsibilities to this world I see? And, how do I think some of the changes described in this passage produce new challenges for me and others in my generation?

We live in complex times and maybe this statement could be said at the beginning of every century over the past two thousand years. Regardless, we do live in a heightened state of complexity and turmoil today. The

changes described in the above passage make the world more vulnerable. On the other hand, they also provide new and improved means of getting one’s message out to others in our own country and across the continents as well.

If we, as individuals, or as institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church, are to have an impact on making this world a better place to live today and tomorrow, we have to get our message out to not only the masses but also those individuals with political power. One thing is for certain: that over the past several thousand plus years, we have not learned how to avoid war and killing one another. We have not solved many of the social issues that have been around for centuries and

centuries such as a simple lack of enough food for all, educational discrepancies, and health care issues. It has happened time and time again. History only tells us it will continue. Can we afford to accept that piece of history as fact? It is our responsibility to speak our minds and not become part of any silent majority. This is not at all an attack on our current administration, but it is a challenge to all of our leaders to be honorable, moral, and lead by example one hundred percent of the time without any special interest group concerns. We need to demand the most from our leaders and not settle for anything less. A silent majority should never exist in our country, or anywhere for that matter. Our voice back to our government and to our fellow citizens is our strongest weapon in fighting against any problems we face in society.

I also believe that educational and religious institutions based on moral ideologies, have a responsibility to speak out on all social and political issues of significance, helping future generations of individuals and groups follow their example of voicing concerns, so making an impact becomes the norm and not the exception.

It is also extremely important that one questions themselves as to what they can do to make their mark on the world we live in, understanding that no positive influence is too small. Those who do the most to keep their

community stable often go without recognition, for they are often not high profile individuals or organizations. They quietly make their positive affect on society. I must admit that I have sometimes been persuaded and taken more than I have given back to the community, and first-hand, I have realized that it is not a fulfilling lifestyle.

So while we find ourselves in the midst of turmoil, challenge, and a new global complexity, there is real hope that we will begin to learn from some of our mistakes of the past and speak out loudly whenever we see injustice, and speak out loudly whenever we feel our leaders are about to make a mistake, and finally, look in the mirror and examine our own actions as well.