Meaghan Novi Personal Statement Right Understanding What can the contents of a grocery cart reveal about a person?

How about the deviations between the items in the cart those on the list? I have always had a particular fondness for the food store, as my family says colloquially, not only because I am enamored by the beauty of ripe fruits and vegetables or fascinated by the transcendence of language achieved by a single meal (blueberry pancakes = Im just as excited its weekend as you are; filet mignon = happy birthday for the next couple years; easy mac = Im starving) but because I. Love. To. Watch. And where better to observe the (kinetic) collision of every walk of life, every level of stress and discipline, or lack thereof, than at the food store? Wandering aisle-city, a microcosm of my generation's dilemma, that of choice and necessity, I occasionally1 indulge my imagination, allowing it to a few moments of unadulterated fun; the majority of my trip to Giant Eagle Market District2 is subsequently spent narrativizing the lives of other shoppers. Between trying to avoid a cart crash,3 buying my own groceries and mentally collaging faces and expressions in context of an oft-considered mundane ritual of the developed world, I find myself interested not in the ultimate artistic outcome but of the process, the underlying truth, the humanity. As a triple major in English, Global Development and Public Health, at the intersection of

Alright, more than occasionally Because there is no equivalent Ha Ha3a

3a. On one trip to the food store, a devil wheel spun out of control and my cart mysteriously knocked over an entire Quaker Oats tower that had taken an employee almost 4 hours to construct. I then spent 4 hours apologizing and rebuilding the model of infinity.

my academics is the understanding of humanity through creative expression4, 5. I want to fuse my areas of focus and carve out a completely unique career path. After college, I plan on doing a dual-degree graduate program for a Master's in Public Health in Infectious Disease and Global Health and a Master's in Business6 to prepare me to work for the Center for Disease Control or the World Health Organization living, studying and serving in third-world nations. This summer, in addition to continuing my research at the Ohio State University College of Public Health, I am applying for a separate research grant to fund my vision of an experimental novel that plays with the definition of narrative and character via 21st century modes of communication (i.e. social media,7 texting, Prezi or Powerpoint presentations, Tumblr). I hope to explore the connections across media in contributing to how characters, and how we ourselves, perceive and organize personal situations in relation to the self and to others. The English Department at OSU has pushed me to think beyond the bounds of what I see in front of me, of what I read in my hands and of what I hear from those around me. Every professor I have had and every class I have taken has challenged me to expand, grow and broaden my cerebral reach. Such a gift is priceless; I am indebted; a simple thank you could not possibly suffice, but will have to do8
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Slightly esoteric, I'll admit. But it took me until this past winter quarter to realize the trajectory of my life would be driven by the tremendous task of understanding humanity through the multiple disciplines of literature and writing, economics and international relations, and health and wellness.
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In high school I justified my participation in theater beyond the fact that I loved acting, singing and dancing to expanding my comprehension of the connections between man's movements, motivations, speech and thought. Indeed, I sought further knowledge of Hamlet's observed principles which distinguish us: reason, faculties, form and moving, action, apprehension (Act 2: Scene 2).
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Again, my love and intrigue for business stems from people's motivations behind business, finance, entrepreneurship and their relationships to these occupations, in these specific environments, as they function within the greater global arena.
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Twitter tweets, trends, #hashtags, links, Facebook walls, FB timelines, comments, HootSuite, etc. The role of colored text has also piqued my interest and I would love the chance to write an entire chapter with words being in different colors.
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