Stan College App Essay-Rough

[whiteamerica]

Prompt: “Describe a character in [a work of] fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you and describe that influence.”

Many works of literature, and various other art forms, have had impacts on my life ranging from subtle to heavy. One work of art, which people are forced to agree is poetry, that has had a heavy and lasting impact on my life is Eminem’s Stan. In this song, Stan, Eminem’s super-fan, writes a series of letters addressed to Eminem. Stan’s first letter contains mostly small talk, asking Marshall (Eminem’s first name) how he’s been, how his daughter is doing, and other such friendly topics. Stan’s letter is written in the tone that one would use when speaking to a close friend. It also references previous letters Stan has written to his idol, which have been apparently ignored. Stan’s overly optimistic view that he and Marshall are actually friends has influenced me, somewhat, to become a more realistic, some say pessimistic, thinker. Thinking realistically has helped me develop core values and avoid wasting time chasing unattainable dreams. Many things have led me to think this way, but Stan is a lead contributor.

Progressing to his next letter Stan’s level of obsession has enhanced considerably. Mentioning yet again the lack of reply from Marshall, Stan tries to brush it off after an angry rant on the subject. Moving along, Stan begins talking about his girlfriend, who is pregnant (established in his first letter). While on the subject, it is obvious that Stan cares more about his favorite rapper than the woman carrying his child. By now it is clear to the listener that Stan is not well and his obsession over Eminem dominates his life. Inversely influenced by Stan’s allowance of a music icon to dominate his life, I have learned how to prioritize events and make the best use of my time and dedication. Previous obsessions of mine, such as video games and basketball, have become hobbies which only command a small portion of my time. As a result I am able to focus more on things that will have more bearing on my future, such as education and relationships with friends.

In his third and final message to Mr. Mathers, Stan records himself on a cassette. By now Stan is a total wreck; he is driving in his car (drunk) with his girlfriend in the trunk, still pregnant. In his cassette Stan makes frequent references to Eminem’s music and uses them to justify his actions. Stan eventually drives his car off a bridge, killing his girlfriend, himself, and his daughter to be. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the last thing Stan worries about before driving over the edge is how he’s going to send his tape to Marshall. Many fellow students of mine have suffered from making mistakes similar to Stan’s. Most have at least once been driven mad by obsessions over boyfriends, girlfriends, tests, grades, and other silly things. All of those things require some focus of course, but obsessing about them just adds stress. I usually try my best to get good grades and score well on tests, but if I don’t do well I have found that it is not worth getting upset. Thinking this way eliminates added stress which will only lower my chances of doing well next time.

As you can see, Stan has had a significant impact in many areas of my life, and has taught me quite a few valuable lessons. Marshall Mathers’ masterpiece has allowed me to avoid several problems beforehand and has kept me from learning many lessons “the hard way”.


this is a working concept and essay, not finished. i realize that there will be trolls, and masterchief. but please try to give some honest advice, criticism, or praise. thanks guys

[Master Chief]

Let's do the math here. You are a horrible poster and you posted quite the long OP. Are you stupid enough to believe that people will take the time out to read all that? If they do then it's probably just to ridicule you anyway.

[J.R.]

I hope you're not applying at a college with optimistic feeling's at the campus in general. You'll be fucked, I actually read this. If they don't care that your pessimistic, you're good.

[Amaranthine]

Because I'll be writing fun crap like this in just a month or two, and unlike MC up there, I'm not allergic to reading essays...

I don't have much to add, except you should mention which album Stan is from [probably the year it was released, too]; make sure you put Stan in quotes every time you're talking about the song and not the character, because it's a formal essay; and you should add in actual lines where you can instead of summarizing what happens in the song.

Good job.

[Mahmoud48]

Don't mind master chief he's just mad SL won't accept him

Still tl,dr

[Master Chief]

Don't mind master chief he's just mad SL won't accept him

Still tl,dr

EVERYBODY! Read this thread:

http://www.studioleaks.info/forums/f53/ ... jay-24478/

^ Official Mahmoud exposure/humiliation thread. I suggest everyone reads it ALL. Fucking hilarious.

[aprilm]

I don't know how much criticism you are up for here, but I'm not trolling you with this advice:

1 - Consider VERY CAREFULLY your audience for this essay - you didn't mention what college you were applying to, but understand that if the school isn't a very arts-heavy campus, or it is one that emphasizes the traditional over the contemporary, your choice of subject will fall flat.

2 - Consider VERY CAREFULLY what your choice of subject says about you, and whether or not that is the impression you want to make. This essay prompt allows you to choose from ALL of fiction/literature, ALL creative arts, and ALL of history. When you consider ALL that you have to choose from, is this really the best you can come up with? That this song convinced you not to be psycho? I'm not saying it is an invalid opinion, but make sure that of all the people/works/etc. that have ever inspired you and that you could write about, this is the one you really want.

3 - Spend more time answering the question and less time summarizing the song. Very little of this essay actually talks about you, and the essay is supposed to be about how you've been influenced. And honestly, it's a big jump to think that a song about a celebrity obsession that results in murder/suicide really convinced you not to stress out about your grades. It would be a better strategy to very quickly summarize the song in an early paragraph, then spend the rest of the essay discussing qualities about yourself that are positive. (Really, I don't think this is a good topic choice, but if you insist on sticking with it, you definitely should re-organize).

And for the record, I did take the time to read the post, I'm not ridiculing you, and I hope this helps. And I hope you get into college wherever you want to go.

[Mahmoud48]

Don't mind master chief he's just mad SL won't accept him

Still tl,dr

EVERBODY! Read this thread:

http://www.studioleaks.info/forums/f53/ ... jay-24478/

^ Official Mahmoud exposure/humiliation thread. I suggest everyone reads it ALL. Fucking hilarious.

Nd u took it srsly lmfao
U such a failure
Do u o around stalking my ass
If u wanna lick my balls just tell me I'll pm my adress

[Master Chief]

Don't mind master chief he's just mad SL won't accept him

Still tl,dr

EVERBODY! Read this thread:

http://www.studioleaks.info/forums/f53/ ... jay-24478/

^ Official Mahmoud exposure/humiliation thread. I suggest everyone reads it ALL. Fucking hilarious.

Nd u took it srsly lmfao
U such a failure

I wasn't taking it seriously lmao. I was FUCKING laughing my ass off and so was everyone else

You probably cried, be honest now.

[Mahmoud48]

Then my job is done
All I do is entertain

[whiteamerica]

I don't know how much criticism you are up for here, but I'm not trolling you with this advice:

1 - Consider VERY CAREFULLY your audience for this essay - you didn't mention what college you were applying to, but understand that if the school isn't a very arts-heavy campus, or it is one that emphasizes the traditional over the contemporary, your choice of subject will fall flat.

2 - Consider VERY CAREFULLY what your choice of subject says about you, and whether or not that is the impression you want to make. This essay prompt allows you to choose from ALL of fiction/literature, ALL creative arts, and ALL of history. When you consider ALL that you have to choose from, is this really the best you can come up with? That this song convinced you not to be psycho? I'm not saying it is an invalid opinion, but make sure that of all the people/works/etc. that have ever inspired you and that you could write about, this is the one you really want.

3 - Spend more time answering the question and less time summarizing the song. Very little of this essay actually talks about you, and the essay is supposed to be about how you've been influenced. And honestly, it's a big jump to think that a song about a celebrity obsession that results in murder/suicide really convinced you not to stress out about your grades. It would be a better strategy to very quickly summarize the song in an early paragraph, then spend the rest of the essay discussing qualities about yourself that are positive. (Really, I don't think this is a good topic choice, but if you insist on sticking with it, you definitely should re-organize).

And for the record, I did take the time to read the post, I'm not ridiculing you, and I hope this helps. And I hope you get into college wherever you want to go.

thanks. i realize that i summarized the song heavily. i want to keep it that way but they do want a lot about me. and i have no fucking idea what else to say. i might choose a new topic, but i dont want something that is unoriginal.... and i'm not quite sure how i've been influenced by ONE thing in particular..... if literature or art influence me it's like only in the slightest.... what kind of retard is super influenced by ONE thing? i know it doesnt have to be honest or anything but i'm pretty stuck

[GenePeer]

what kind of retard is super influenced by ONE thing?

That sort of close-minded interpretation isn't gonna help you be original either.

[whiteamerica]

closed minded?? how else can that prompt be interpreted?

[GenePeer]

What's so "retarded" about having an influence? Where did you get that "super influence" idea from? And it's not like you're only influenced by one thing, but just write about one thing.

[whiteamerica]

no, that's what i'm saying. i haven't been influenced enough by one thing to write an essay with a lot of content. i've been influenced gradually by many different things.