Myself

"Myself"
--by Jamie Smith
A teenage girl, JAMIE, walks out on stage alone from stage left. She has brown hair that falls to her shoulders and deep blue eyes. She is wearing a white blouse and blue jeans and in her right hand is a pair of binoculars. The stage is dark except for
a single spotlight following JAMIE across the stage. When she reaches the center, she sits down on the edge of the stage, her feet dangling over, and raises the
binoculars to her eyes. She proceeds to stare at the audience through them for a
few seconds, then slowly moves them away from her face.
JAMIE: With these binoculars I can see each one of you on an extremely personal level. (She brings the binoculars to her eyes then down again.) Do any of you audience members by any chance have your own pair handy? (scanning the
audience) I was afraid of this. Well, here, why don't you take mine for a while? (She jumps off the front of the stage, hands a front row audience member her pair of
binoculars, then resumes her previous position.) Now look through those and tell me what you see. Be honest now, I could use a good session of constructive criticism. Wait, maybe if I stand up you could get a better look at my true self. (She stands and gracefully turns around.) Make sure you get every angle now. Okay, now tell me everything you know about me… not much to tell, is there. I mean, you really don't
know what kind of person is standing up on this stage in front of you blabbering on
about binoculars and constructive criticism. Well, I guess I have my work cut out for
me today; I must describe who I am. Fortunately, I did come prepared. I have
provided myself with a prop – and the influence of a very special person – to assist
me throughout one of the most difficult performances of my life, an interpretation of a piece I call "Myself." (she steps off the stage and returns to the audience member
in the front row.) Do you mind if I take these back now? (She returns to the stage.)
the one prop is, you guessed it, a pair of binoculars. Not just any binoculars, they are one of the few reminders I have of my great-grandmother, Gran. No, she wasn't an infamous spy at large during World War 2 nor was she an avid birdwatcher. In
1986, when I was six and she was ninety-four we both watched Halley's Comet
make its celestial appearance through these binoculars. I remember she said that
she and I were truly blessed because we both were able to see Halley's Comet twice
in our lives. She told me about seeing it out in her backyard in 1909, when she was
the same age I am now. there we were together, seventy-seven years later, watching the same comet shoot across the same sky. I think of all the things that have happened during those seventy-seven years, the triumphs and setbacks Gran
achieved and endured, and it has given me strength to deal with the challenges in
my own life. I imagine how much life had changed since 1909 and wonder how my life will change by the time I see Halley's Comet again. What will I become? I will not, like Gran, be a part of the Oklahoma land run or witness the birth of the automobile. I will probably not be quarantined for tuberculosis or listen to the progression of two
world wars over the radio. But I know I will do and be something. And the
determination and success of my great-grandmother will help me reach this
something. She is more than a memory or a story, she has become a part of me: my family, my history, my source of knowledge and my source of pride. Her struggles and achievements are reflected in mine. She is with me when I rise and fall and
always there to make sure my feet are still on the ground. She is with me backstage and with me in the spotlight. She is a woman. She is my great-grandmother. And
that's truly what she is – great, grand, everything. Gran. It's amazing how a simple
name can inspire so much.
She sits down, returning to her initial position with her feet dangling over the edge. She brings the binoculars to her eyes and looks through them. But instead of looking at the audience, she is attempting to look beyond them, almost as if there is some invisible sky behind the rows of seats. She slowly moves the binoculars away from
her face, but her eyes are still fixed on some object off in the distance.
JAMIE: Only sixty-xi years to go. I've got to make them count.
ANALYSIS
Written in the format of a play script monologue, both in style and overall structure, this essay addresses the concept that it is difficult to evaluate a person from strictly superficial appearances. In order to truly know someone, no matter how closely you study their outer appearance, it is what' inside that counts. Emotions, thoughts,
dreams, and personal goals are the most important and telling aspects of one's identity. The writer does not just theorize about such ideas, but makes a logical
progression by giving a concrete, vivid example to back up her thesis. Without
having to explicitly list interests or personality traits, they style of the essay reveals a good deal about the applicant: she probably enjoys acting or playwriting and is highly creative and optimistic about life.
One of the strongest aspects of the essay is the fact that it is written as a monologue. The creative format is going to stand out from the thousands of other application
essays that admissions officers must read. The use of binoculars as a linking device between the present and the past is highly effective – it produces an overall coherence within the essay. The applicant's use of a very specific moment to frame her love for "Gran" increases the naturalness of the passage. In many cases, essays written about family member can sound contrived. The use of a specific event adds
to the realism of the applicant's emotion. The creative use of stage directions addresses the adage "show – not tell" head-on. It is an effective way of creating a
mental picture of the applicant in a reader's mind. The essay also ends strongly as the last line clearly identifies that the applicant is ambitious, hard-working, and
eager to make something out of her life.
The monologue of the essay is effective, but it is important to point out that such attempts to be overly creative can backfire. This applicant's familiarity with this style of writing is apparent. If you attempt to write your essay in a nonstandard manner, make sur.e you have a similar comfort level with the techniques you are using.