Essays 3

his was written for the Common App college application essays, and works
for prompts 1 and 7 (or none of them, because the author is that cool):
I am on Oxford Academy’s Speech and Debate Team, in both the

Parliamentary Debate division and the Lincoln-Douglass debate division. I
write screenplays, short stories, and opinionated blogs and am a regular
contributor to my school literary magazine, The Gluestick. I have
accumulated over 300 community service hours that includes work at
homeless shelters, libraries, and special education youth camps. I have
been evaluated by the College Board and have placed within the top
percentile.
But I am not any of these things. I am not a test score, nor a debater, nor a
writer. I am an anti-nihilist punk rockphilosopher. And I became so when I
realized three things:
1) That the world is ruled by underwear. There is a variety of underwear for

a variety of people. You have your ironed briefs for your businessmen, your
soft cottons for the average, and hemp-based underwear for your
environmental romantics. But underwear do not only tell us about who we
are, they also influence our daily interactions in ways most of us don't even
understand. For example, I have a specific pair of underwear that is holey,
worn out but surprisingly comfortable. And despite how trivial underwear
might be, when I am wearing my favorite pair, I feel as if I am on top of the
world. In any case, these articles of clothing affect our being and are the
unsung heroes of comfort.
2) When I realized I cannot understand the world. I recently debated at the

Orange County Speech League Tournament, within the Parliamentary
Division. This specific branch of debate is an hour long, and consists of two
parties debating either side of a current political issue. In one particular
debate, I was assigned the topic: “Should Nation States eliminate nuclear
arms?” It so happened that I was on the negative side and it was my job to
convince the judges that countries should continue manufacturing nuclear
weapons. During the debate, something strange happened: I realized that
we are a special breed of species, that so much effort and resources are
invested to ensure mutual destruction. And I felt that this debate in a small
college classroom had elucidated something much more profound about
the scale of human existence. In any case, I won 1st place at the
tournament, but as the crowd cheered when my name was called to stand
before an audience of hundreds of other debaters, and I flashed a
victorious smile at the cameras, I couldn’t help but imagine that
somewhere at that moment a nuclear bomb was being manufactured,
adding to an ever-growing stockpile of doom. And that's when I realized
that the world was something I will never understand.
3) When I realized I was a punk rocker philosopher. One summer night, my
friend took me to an underground hardcore punk rock show. It was inside a
small abandoned church. After the show, I met and became a part of this
small community. Many were lost and on a constant soul-search, and to
my surprise, many, like myself, did not have a blue Mohawk or a nose
piercing. Many were just ordinary people discussing Nietzsche, string
theory, and governmental ideologies. Many were also artists creating
promotional posters and inventive slogans for stickers. They were all
people my age who could not afford to be part of a record label and did
something extraordinary by playing in these abandoned churches, making
their own CDs and making thousands of promotional buttons by hand. I
realized then that punk rock is not about music nor is it a guy with a blue
Mohawk screaming protests. Punk rock is an attitude, a mindset, and very
much a culture. It is an antagonist to the conventional. It means making the
best with what you have to contribute to a community. This was when I
realized that I was a punk rock philosopher.
The world I come from consists of underwear, nuclear bombs, and punk
rockers. And I love this world. My world is inherently complex, mysterious,
and anti-nihilist. I am David Phan, somebody who spends his weekends
debating in a three piece suit, other days immersed within the punk rock
culture, and some days writing opinionated blogs about underwear.
But why college? I want a higher education. I want more than just the
textbook fed classrooms in high school. A community which prizes
revolutionary ideals, a sharing of multi-dynamical perspectives, an
environment that ultimately acts as a medium for movement, similar to the
punk rock community. I do not see college as a mere stepping stone for a
stable career or a prosperous life, but as a supplement for knowledge and
self-empowerment; it is a social engine that will jettison us to our next
paradigm shift.

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his was written for the Common App college application essays, and works

I am on Oxford Academy’s Speech and Debate Team, in both the

1) That the world is ruled by underwear. There is a variety of underwear for

2) When I realized I cannot understand the world. I recently debated at the

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