2019-11-26 You passion made the decision

It's not you who chooses your passion, but it's your passion that chooses you. I just read a great PS that communicated this idea. The author tells an authentic story of discovering his passion by accident. The author uses various techniques to develop his story. For instance: self-reflection, being authentic, and keeping it relevant.

The good authors combine different techniques together, but the great authors can tell a personal, self-reflective story to distinguish themselves from a cohort of undergraduate students. The author does a wonderful job in this aspect. "... I signed up for German, a language I had loved the sound of since I was a child..." This seems like an accident led him into ASL study, but also hints at his interest in studying language, through which he will discover his passion for studying ASL. 

The second thing this author does well sharing his weaknesses. By sharing his fear and avoidance of spontaneous conversations, he recognizes and accepts his love and fear of the deaf community. Knowing his fear is a huge barrier, he then steps out of his comfort zone to overcome it. This shows confidence to the admissions personnel. If I were one of them, I'd definitely believe such a self-reflective student could absolutely bring value to our program.

Admission personnel can smell a phony. They can also spot an authentic person. "...I peeked in. More hands. Hundreds of them. Hands were flying, waving, articulating, dancing..." Those words are so vivid it’s as if I were there, experiencing the same situation on my own. Only a person who has real experience could describe fear so accurately. Everyone has disadvantages of their own, but the author's way of accepting it is so real. He knows his fear, his love, and he's always been internally struggling with it. The audience feels and understands his struggle. It is so real. Authenticity prevails.

Let’s talk about "keeping it relevant". The author has made it clear that he is one of the best candidates of that program. His experience is extremely relevant to the program he is applying for. "...but I suddenly found myself compelled toward anything that would help immerse me in ASL and deaf culture."; "...Workbook exercises and casual conversation with classmates... had become increasingly comfortable..."; "I had been studying ASL for nearly three years...ASL and deaf studies had captured my heart..." etc. By showing relevant studying experience and the passion he has, the author proves he is a hardworking student..

There are also other advanced skills the author uses in his PS like: using specific examples, and drafting and editing his work. However, we cannot include all of them here. He wrote his PS with the same passion that he has for language. He was self-relfective, authentic, and kept his work relevant to the study of linguistics. He is confident. He is the right choice for the program. He knows it. And Admissions personnel know it too. His passion made the decision.