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Gustavo Romn Jr

ApplyTexas Essays

ApplyTexas Essays
Topic A: Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and
explain how and why this person is important to you.

Topic B: Choose an issue of importance to youthe issue could be personal, school related, local,
political, or international in scopeand write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue
to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

Topic C: There may be personal information that you want considered as part of your admissions
application. Write an essay describing that information. You might include exceptional hardships,
challenges, or opportunities that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials,
personal responsibilities, exceptional achievements or talents, educational goals, or ways in which you
might contribute to an institution committed to creating a diverse learning environment.

Gustavo Romn Jr

ApplyTexas Essays

Essay A
My teammates began warming up without me. My dad hadn't yet attached my racing number
to my singlet -- a tradition we've shared since I started running five years ago. My dad and I found each
other and followed through on our ritual as my teammates beckoned me to join them in their warm-up.
I heard over the loud speaker, to which I had not paid much attention, in a booming voice, "Final call for
the Master's Mile!"
I saw six elderly men come out of the stands wearing smiles which suggested familiarity
between them and the polyurethane track. After a quick glance, I dismissed them as too old and strange
for strapping on spandex shorts commonly sported by much younger athletes. I couldn't help but feel
awkward at their presence. This group of white-haired men, wearing tattered racing attire, gathered
around where my race would begin. I overheard another one of the younger runners say to himself,
"They can't be serious." A markedly similar thought struck me.
I noticed an elderly woman, about the same age as the men, come out from the stands. She
approached one of the old men who, without a word, turned around so she could pin on his racing
number. They gave each other a quick embrace so that this "Master's Mile" could begin. As she walked
back to the stands, I couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity with what I had just seen and the
tradition between my dad and me.
The starter's pistol went off, and the old man who I began to look at with reverence sprinted as
fast as he could over the first 100 meters of track. He ran with grace, a smile on his face, and not a flaw
in his stride. By the last 200 meters only he remained, galloping as fast as his experienced legs allowed
him. Three words uttered from my father summarized the whole experience: "Damn good race."
My dad and I approached the winded athlete, resting on the ground from the exhaustion. After
helping him to his feet, I asked for his name. In a quiet and tired voice, he told me, "Just Ed." The name
felt unremarkable yet somewhat fitting. "You know, that felt pretty good." With a weary smirk on his
face, Ed joked, "you ought to try running old." We chuckled as the drained champion reveled in his own
wit. He tore off his racing number and tried to hand it to a race volunteer so that they could record his
place. The volunteer brushed his number away as it was clear that Ed had won. Ed then extended his
arm and muttered, "Hey kid?..you wanna take this? I've got plenty of these already." I took the number
and Ed wandered off to find his wife. I put the number in my duffel bag where it would be safe. I
resolved to never to perceive someone the way I did when I first saw Ed -- The Master's Miler.

Words: 502

Gustavo Romn Jr

ApplyTexas Essays

Essay B
There comes a time when, as a society, we should realize that what we do contradicts our
objectives, although apparently in the name of justice. While we try as a whole to better understand our
brothers, human nature disallows us from succeeding. We claim to strive for equality and humility, yet
we kill our fellow man. Capital punishment exists in this country solely to benefit those who view their
friends with distrust and pessimism. Knowing this, we must remove it entirely. Capital punishment
neither benefits the community, nor does it promote integrity and righteousness.
In recent history, the death penalty applies solely against murderers. Many persons today
believe that a death penalty deters others from committing murder. Recurrently, murderers commit
their crime in an instant of passion or rage, or by substance abusers acting impulsively. Consequently, it
seems unlikely that most murderers would appreciate any correlation between the threat of capital
punishment and the decision to commit murder. National leaders in criminology have rejected the
notion that research shows any deterrent effect resulting from the death penalty. The safety of a
community does not create enhanced safety. A sentence to life in prison without parole constitutes an
affirmative alternative to the death penalty; for once in prison, those serving life sentences often settle
into a routine and demonstrate less likelihood to commit violence. A sentence of life without parole
offers guaranteed safety for a community, and with it, society avoids the use of a strange and malicious
punishment.
The eighth amendment protects citizens from the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments.
Killing someone, despite whatever context, abides inherently to the definition of cruelty. Even in
medieval times, humans recognized execution as cruel relative to punishment by enslavement or
branding for a crime. Have we not allowed ourselves to abolish these tortuous forms of "justice?" The
entire nation grieves over the deaths caused by a terroristic threat, and we view the perpetrators as
cruel. Terrorists believe that the falling of the Twin Towers creates justice. This is no different from
anything brought forth by the penalty of death. We ourselves become misguided and malicious when
we allow another man's crime to justify the taking of a life.
If civilization endorses killing to solve social problems, the essence of communal decency dies.
To progress forward, the mentality of "an eye for an eye" must cease along with capital punishment.
Murder by a criminal never justifies murder on the side of the law. As a society built on precepts of
peace and decency, how can it be that revenge and spite can overcome loss? Why would we hold that
killing justifies murder? Barbaric logic can never coexist with modern morality and principles.

Words: 449

Gustavo Romn Jr

ApplyTexas Essays

Essay C
We had run 13 miles and could see the last turn of the road. He, outfitted in American-flag
running shorts, and I, wearing my maroon Texas-flag racing shorts, had taken the lead from the start of
this half marathon. I noticed my hip hurt from turning sharply at the halfway point. That small
annoyance reminded me of the pain I felt from surgery earlier in the summer. I was born with a birth
defect called cleft lip and palate, characterized by a gap in the lip, nose, and upper palate of the mouth. I
underwent surgery soon after birth to fix the gap, but my nose remained right-crooked, meaning that
breathing was more difficult. Somehow, I still became involved in the oxygen-depriving sport of crosscountry running thanks to my middle school P.E. coach. After several weeks of struggling in five-mile
runs, I came to love running because of her.
Before the race started, I thought back to the morning of my last surgery. I reflected on what my
surgeon, Scott & White's iteration of Doogie Howser, called the "final reconstruction" during the presurgery briefing. Doogie stated that he would work with the cartilage already in my nose and if need be,
use part of my hip bone for further stability. It took me several moments to process what the surgeon
told me. A piece of my hip bone would be removed. That valuable hip bone makes me run. "You're
telling me I'm not going to be able to run?" Doogie reassured me by compensating that "while you won't
be able to run for a while, once you heal up, you'll have more room up there to breathe." I had to
believe the genius doctor, so with all the potential repercussions soaring through my thoughts, I
conceded.
The following week, I stripped down to my boxer briefs and put on the blue garments that
allowed for the always comforting hospital breeze to encompass my body. The nurses wheeled me along
to the surgery room, where Doogie would put my running career on pause. "When you wake up,
Ethiopians will be jealous of your airways." That brought some comfort, given that a doctor was about to
remove a chunk of essential running bone. I felt lifted away from my worries as the anesthesia started
doing its job.
Throughout the final sprint, my hand brushed over where my hip was aggravating me. The
struggle of waiting for weeks to recover enough to train after surgery reigned over my thoughts.
Breathing deeply through my strengthened passages, I took the final strides ahead of the American,
cementing that despite my fears, I was able to win the 13.1 mile race by 3/10ths of a second. The now
familiar twinge in my hip reminded me of how blessed I was to have overcome the dozens of surgeries
throughout my life to reach this pinnacle in my racing career.

Words: 482

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