¶ … intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field -- such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities -- and what you have gained from your involvement. Until I volunteered at the MRI center with my sister, where she works as a technician, I never thought I would ever be enthusiastic about any academic subject. Having always done fairly well in school, I simply understood how to study and get by on exams. Yet nothing made me thrilled, or made me want to stay up all night reading just for pleasure. I kept waiting for the right subject to hit me on the head and then, suddenly it happened. When I was looking at images of bones in the MRI lab, a synapse flew in my brain. That synapse connected that magnetic resonance image of a bone with the photos of the bones we were studying in my anthropology class. It hit me then: I am interested in paleoanthropology.

This is not to say that the entire field of anthropology does not interest me. In fact, I intend to major in anthropology because it is the most potentially limitless field of study for me. Taking my first anthropology class opened up a whole new world for me: one filled with a greater understanding of who we are, where we came from, and where we as human beings are going. From our deepest roots as primates, human beings have evolved into the most powerful and creative creatures on the planet. We have the potential to make destructive weapons and use those weapons against our brethren and ourselves. We also have the potential to expand our minds like Buddhist monks, or build fantastic machines that sail through

My knowledge of other cultures and societies expands every day now, because I have been inspired to read books not just for school but in my leisure time. Most of the books I have chosen to read include those like The Last Human, The Fossil Chronicles, and The First Humans.
About once per month I visit the Los Angeles zoo. It is one of my personal sanctuaries. I go to escape the world, and be among my non-human friends. Most of all, I visit to spend time with the primates and observe their behavior. Being at the zoo is like a field project for me, and especially now that I have some intellectual basis for my observations the visits are more meaningful than ever before. When I watch the primates, I see vestiges of human nature. I see caring behaviors, complex social hierarchies, and even behaviors that denote feelings humans are familiar with such as anger and jealousy. Studying anthropology gives me the tools with which to understand human societies and how they change and adapt to their surroundings and environmental stressors such as invasions. I cannot wait to learn more about anthropology, to synthesize my knowledge, and later on in graduate school, apply that knowledge to an in-depth investigation in paleoanthropology.

2. Tell us…