50 Successful Harvard Application Essays

L
ISA 
W
ANG
Playing It Dangerous
In hazy stillness, a sudden flurry of colored skirts, whispers of 
“Merde!”
Sternly, my fingers smooth
back my hair, although they know no loose strands will be found. My skin absorbs heat from stage
lights above—if only that heat would seep into my brain, denature some proteins, and deactivate the
neurons stressing me out. A warm hand, accompanied by an even warmer smile, interrupts my
frenzied solitude. I glance up. My lovely teacher nods, coaxing my frozen lips into a thawed smile. A
complex figure, filled in with doubt, yet finished with shades of confidence: My body takes its place
and waits.
One, two, three, four; two, two, three, four.
On stage, the lights and music wash over me. Never
having had a true ballet solo before, my lungs are one breath away from hyperventilating. Trying to
achieve a Zen-like state, I imagine a field of daisies, yet my palms continue sweating disobediently.
It’s not that I’ve never been on stage alone before; I’ve had plenty of piano recitals and competitions.
Yet, while both performances consume my mind and soul, ballet demands complete commitment of
my body.
Gently slide into arabesque and lean downward; try not to fall flat on face—Mom’s videotaping.
In
terms of mentality, I would hardly be described as an introvert; yet, a fear of failure has still kept me
from taking risks. Maybe I was scared of leaping too high, falling too far, and hitting the hard floor.
As I moved up in the cutthroat world of dance, this fear only increased; the pressure of greater
expectations and the specter of greater embarrassment had held me contained. Now, every single
eyeball is on me.
Lean extra in this pirouette; it’s more aesthetic.
But is it always better to be safe than sorry?
Glancing toward the wings, I see my teacher ’s wild gesticulations: 
Stretch your arms out,
she seems to
mime, 
More!
A genuine smile replaces one of forced enthusiasm; alone on the stage, this is my
chance to shine. I breathe in the movements, forget each individual step. More than just imagining, but
finally experiencing the jubilation of the music, I allow my splits to stretch across the stage and my
steps to extend longer and longer, until I’m no longer safe and my heart is racing. Exhilarated and
scared in the best way, I throw myself into my jumps. I no longer need to imagine scenes to get in the
mood; the emotions are twirling and leaping within me.
Reaching, stretching, grabbing, flinging … 
My fear no longer shields me. I find my old passion for
ballet, and remember the grace and poise that can nevertheless convey every color of emotion.
Playing it safe will leave me part of the backdrop; only by taking risks can I step into the limelight.
Maybe I’ll fall, but the rush is worth it. I’ll captain an all-male science bowl team, run a marathon,
audition for a musical, and embrace the physical and intellectual elation of taking risks.

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REVIEW
Lisa dedicates the bulk of her essay to describing her first ballet solo and the life lessons learned
during that experience. Making a single important moment into an applicable exemplar of important
changes is a common tool for the personal statement and Lisa does it well. Her prose falls easily and
gives the reader a solid feel for what Lisa might be like as a student and, more importantly, a person.
Losing the “person” in a personal essay is a common mistake and attempting to highlight one’s
attributes can make an essay fall flat and toneless. Lisa avoids that well here.
Lisa masterfully hits many key moments in her personal statement. Her opening blends art and
science, subtly showing her depth as a student. The first two lines are excellent as the subject of dance
immediately bumps heads with the language of science, allowing Lisa to hit one of the key purposes
of a personal statement: demonstrating diversity. She successfully and humbly shows many different
strengths using only one moment of her dance career.
The story’s short length gives her room to finish the essay with a quick laundry list of things that
she can conquer and presumably has. But this conclusion detracts significantly from her essay. Many
of those things can be checked on a résumé by an admissions counselor. In an essay about taking
risks, she plays it safe right at the end and stumbles just a bit. Overall, this is an excellent essay that
would impress admissions officers at Harvard or any other college.
—Amy Friedman

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Also Compiled and Edited by the Staff of 
The Harvard Crimson
55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays, First & Second Edition

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