Pitzer Essay Anonymous

My high school is unique. It breeds a caliber of student that is both intellectually hungry and incredibly compassionate. This is, of course, high praise, yet this atmosphere has challenged me to remarkable ends throughout my four years here. My teachers and classmates have pushed me to do my best in all areas of my life - not simply academics. I owe much of who I am to Henry M. Gunn High School, but I also realize that I, too, have made contributions to life at Gunn.

It's just before first period: the upper-classmen jockey for parking spots, mothers drop off their younger kids out front, and still more students whip up the paths on bikes, their hair poking through the air slits of their helmets. It’s the morning rush, and I soak in the energy that radiates from all corners of the quad. Every morning, walking from my car to my first class, I prepare myself for the day ahead — the tests I'll take, the questions I'll ask, and the discussions I'll have. There is nothing that I look forward to more.

All my life I’ve felt more mature than my age. Since the age of six, I have helped my mother with my older half-sister, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a childhood accident. At a time when most of my friends...