Sample Essays

Below is a sample of our work. Please note that we
don’t just provide critique, but effectively work in
collaboration with the customers on the essays.

Essay 1: What figure do you admire and why? You
may choose any field (art, literature, policits, sports
etc.)

Lance Armstrong, the American cycling legend, is
undoubtedly my Hero. In 1996, when he was
diagnosed with cancer, Doctors opined minimal
chances of his survival. But the next 9 years of his
life were a testimony to probably one of the most
glorious sagas of human resilience; not only did he
recover from cancer, but went on to win 7
consecutive Tour de France titles, arguably the most
arduous test of human endurance, challenging
cyclists to cycle over 2,000 miles of perilous terrain,
over 21 days.

People who’ve closely observed Lance over years,
chronicle his obsessive training regimen, his focus,
his will to prevail and his impeccable managerial
style, that gets manifested in his strategies for
staying ahead of his competitors and his own body.

In 1998 he turned to philanthropy and started the
“Lance Armstrong Foundation” for Cancer, through
which, he has raised millions of dollars to assist in
cancer research and to help people recover from
cancer. The motto of this foundation is: “We believe
that in the battle with cancer, unity is strength,
knowledge is power and attitude is everything”.
Truly, he has transcended from just being a sports
champion; he is a champion of life; an inspiration for
millions of cancer patients, for whom his indomitable
story gives hope and reason…to not let it go.

Perhaps Dan Gable’s words would aptly surmise my
sentiment for this living legend: “Gold medals aren't
really made of gold. They're made of sweat,
determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts”.

Essay 2: Describe an incident that has influenced
you most and changed your outlook

This incident dates 4 years, when a close neighbor of
mine, lost his job. This ensued in a severe bout of
depression, culminating in his committing suicide
at the tender age of 30, leaving his hapless widow
mother all alone. This incident shook the lights out
of me. Here I was, a strict disciplinarian and firmly
in control of my life (or so it seemed), following a
grueling 12-14 hour work regimen, with my family,
friends, hobbies and anything but work, falling into
oblivion. Relentless work seemed to be the only
rationale and spending time with family seemed a
luxury I could ill-afford. “Me, myself and my-name”
seemed to be the motto of life.

But suddenly, it didn’t seem like that anymore. It
was almost as if all the purported control over my life
was an illusion and rationality, an afterthought. I
contemplated and decided to give chance to things
that I had almost forgotten, existed. This included
spending time with my family, sparing time for
hobbies, arranging for Financial security for my
dependents, getting more health conscious and
engaging in social work.

Like any other transition, this one was not easy, for
years of work regimen seemed to have de-sensitized
me from deriving pleasure out of simple things in
life. It required effort from me to take my family to
vacation, to re-kindle interest in my hobbies, to
indulge in sports and to even play with my kids!!

Over time however, I realized that my changed
regimen benefited me at my work place as well.
Since I now did not have an infinite amount of time
at hand, I became more efficient at work. My rapport
with colleagues and subordinates improved as well. I
know it since they mentioned it in passing that I
seemed more affable now.

I would also like to mention my indulgence in few
social initiatives, that was a direct fallout of my
changed outlook. I have been funding our
house-maid’s 8 year old son’s education for the last 4
years. In my organization, I took the initiative of
arranging blood donation camps and am also
associated with various NGOs like CRY etc.

Overall I can doubtless claim myself to be a happier
person now. In retrospect, it almost seems
surrealistic to think about the kind of life I was
living and it does pain me to think that it took a
young man’s life to make me realize that there was
so much more to life, than I had ever cared for.