Standardized testing.

I just want to say standardized testing is ridiculous in what it pretends to measure. A 5 hour MCAT exam is really only measuring one's ability to write a five hour exam under high stress conditions. It only pretends to quantify my reading, writing, and mathematical abilities. I think it does shed some light on my ability to regurgitate science facts. The heart has four chambers, all of which seemed to be beating madly and independtly for the better part of my Friday.

My Boss's Son

I once dated a boy and now I work for his father. I had the privlege of hearing stories about the boy. To preface the story, when we broke up, he disagreed with me on who's skinny jeans were who's. The story is that when he was in preschool, the little chap decided that he loved his Hawaiian shirt and would not take it off. To his parent's dismay, his Hawaiian shirt was not Hawaiian at all, but rather his older sister's pink shirt with a feminine flowery pattern. In childish persistence he wore his sisters flower shirt to preschool. Needless to say, I got no shock value from the father when I informed him that his son still borrows my clothes.

Sample essay.

The following is an essay I wrote for my MCAT.

Uneditted and uncited and written in 30 minutes with other constraints and a given topic (the examples used are my own selection).

Popular education deceives students into thinking everyone is a leader. One is left asking who the followers are. True, there the human potential is great and leadership may be within all of us, but consensus must remain that within our world there are great leaders that are followed. These great leaders are not the insecure fifth grade students that get taught to celebrate their talents, these are the children come into the world looking for a battle to win. These are the leaders that stood up against popular opinion to correct an injustice. They were born with a drive to change our world.

In Yuwen Middle School in Korea one fourteen year old boy exhibited the aforementioned innate desire to make a difference to other people. When Kim Il-sung compared the ideologies of communism with the life of his friends and family, who were struggling with poverty, he took a stand. Infront of his classmates, he spoke out against the injustices he observed and preached of communist ideals. Although he was often opposed, Kim did not give up. He joined activist and opposition groups over the years, slowing building a reputation for himself as faithful to the reformation. It was only a matter of time before Kim Il-sung was elected President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and gained the title of "Great Leader" in North Korea.

Contrastingly, Tommy Douglas arrived at his life's mission by circumstance, and not through a birthright. It wasn't by chance that this former premiere of Saskatchewan, became known as the father of healthcare. An incident with an unusual leg injury landed eleven year old Tommy in the hospital. The exceptional situation he witnessed here sparked him to make the changes that defined Canada as world leader through the 1980's. Tommy was noticed by a teaching doctor who took him on as a teaching case, thereby allowing him to have his medical procedures covered for him. This gratuity inspired him to make a movement so all sick and vulnerable people may be relieved of the burden of medical expenses. Through years of campaigning and hard work, Mr. Douglas became the face of accessible healthcare for all.

There may be a leader potential in everyone, but the great leaders of our world possess a little more dedication and focus than the average person. It is these special qualities that most leaders are born with. They are not taught at home and especially not in classrooms. However, there must be room in our understanding of leadership development to appreciate the leaders that arise from unusual circumstances and achieve greatness in response to their life experiences.