More Writings to Inspire

College Application Essay

Blake began attending Chapman University in the fall of 2006 where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing in just 3 years. The following was Blake's college application essay for Chapman University.

Write an essay (approx. 1000 words) about your autobiography and a statement of your plans for the future, especially what you expect to gain from college in general and Chapman in particular.

August 22nd just a number to most, one of 366 possible designations of that type, yet on this day each year I complete another orbit around the burning golden sphere of the sun. Eighteen times I have circled and already am nearly halfway through the next. Time flies, as they say, but the short series of cycles starting and ending on August 22nd is all I have thus far. For now, it is enough... a piled treasure trove of memory, experience and lessons learned, a list of friends, dreams and a dusty tome or two with tales of great heroes that came this way. On this nineteenth trip around the sun, I am drawn to reflect upon my journey, the steps behind, the steps before and the friends beside... and the God above who put them there. Even a story so short as mine is far too long and multi-faceted to recount in a mere thousand words, especially for one with such a knack for exceeding word limits, but I shall endeavor to regale my respected listener with a chapter here and there in the long list of what has made me who I am.

They say that one is the same today and ten years from now except for the people one meets and the books one reads, and while as an author I would add "and the books one writes," the saying is fairly true. Without doubt, the people that have impacted me most are those I met first, my family. My parents raised me into the ideals I hold now, taught me love and kindness, justice and honor. Both my parents have always sought to involve themselves deeply in my life, fostering my interests and talents with encouragement, time and companionship. My mother gave me her love for literature, leading me into countless tales of adventure. Now I have written a novel of my own.

My father taught me to dream. He is and always shall be my hero, for he taught me the meaning of the word. I would be lucky to end up half the man he is, but the thing with a father like that is that he gives you so much that you can hope like he does that someday you will do even better.

Then there is my sister. No story is complete without its loyal comrade, and though I have had a few in my time, Valerie is my first and greatest friend. It is a sadly rare thing these days to have a sister for a best friend, but then Valerie is a rather rare sister, and that is not so sad. Not every sister in the world plays computer games, reads superhero comic books and is more interested in the military than most guys. We have been raised since the beginning to work together and play together, to protect each other and comfort each another, which Valerie is wont to do with a well-placed laugh. I could not ask for a truer friend.

Together the four of us are the Anderson family, a unified team that plays together, talks together, laughs together, stays together. It takes determination sometimes, and always great love, under the guidance of the Lord God, who I am fond of referring to as our fifth family member. He has blessed me with this wonderful family, perhaps the greatest testament to His glory that I have ever seen. No other element of my life is so fundamentally part of who I am, the foundation of who I will always be. Someday I hope to raise a family like this one, one that sticks together no matter what and is an inspiration to all who see it.
I could go on for pages more about the subject alone, to say nothing of my entire past, of the development of my talents with the piano and the pen, but I see already I have spent more than half my time and said little of the future. Perhaps that is proper. I know far more of the past than the future. I know not what it shall bring, only how I shall face whatever that is, with principles forged never to swerve and with trust in God, who holds the future in his hand. Beyond that, I have few guarantees, only dreams. A few of them are typical. I would like to be a husband someday and a father, though the family I would raise would not be very typical.

My career aspirations are those most relevant to Chapman University. My chief interest shall always be writing, and in my undergraduate studies I hope to further develop these skills. I believe my talents are also suited well to a career in law, and I plan to pursue this in my graduate years.

I hope very much to be a successful fantasy novelist someday. At this very moment, I am seeking to revise and publish my first novel. Art touches a piece of the human spirit that nothing else does. It is my hope and prayer that mine does just that, that it delights and that it charms, that it entertains and then causes one to ponder, that it lends life the luster that makes it more than ordinary, and, God willing, that it inspires people to live lives that are heroic, world-changing ...something to write about.

Maybe on some distant August 22nd, a young man will be standing before my statue. He reads the burnished plaque set in the granite in remembrance of what I did here, that for which I fought. He feels inspired to live a life like that, to change the world. Maybe not. I do not really need a plaque. Maybe there is just one soul out there that is a little better off for crossing paths with me. Maybe someone has a little more hope, enough to keep fighting the good fight and trusting God ...and maybe, maybe there is another Anderson boy out there by then that is about to do it all even better.