TOW #7 - "How to Become an Adult"

To continue with the theme of my essay choice last week, I decided to read another college essay written by a student accepted to an Ivy League college. The reason for this is simply because I found the last one so intriguing. This week, I read a comical and sarcastic essay written by a student named Michaela. She wrote about what it means to her to become an adult. To her, parenthood is definitely an indication, but not just any kind of parenthood…plant parenthood. "Today, I am the proud parent of not one, but seven beautiful, boisterous, carnivorous plants.” The author uses the sarcastic tone evident in the quote throughout her essay to show how her first plant child, Stanley, opened the doors for her academic and (hopefully) professional career in botany. She realized that taking care of a simple houseplant is much more multi-faceted than one might think. I think the author sharing this realization of her’s with the world is important because it reminds readers to pay attention to the little things; they just might turn out to big, important things! I also thought that it was important the author used sarcasm and a comical tone because inspirational speeches (that aren’t given in speech form and have to be read) can come off as cheesy or won’t get their point across in the right manner. All in all, I was glad I chose to read this essay—it had a great message and a cute background story.