Common App Essay ADMITTED to Duke Sarah ONeill / Coatesville

 Sarah ONeill  / Supreme Editing

My trips to the pacific coast have brought golden choy-sun in the mouth of the Yangtze, torches of flam-like kapok on the tropic of cancer, and star-like plumeria scattered along the south edge of Temasek. These flowers did not live long, maybe just for a season, so for years I dreamed of finding the strongest flower, and I found it in the most spectacular coral carpet. Along the seafloor was the most gorgeous light with more colors than you can imagine. When I was pulled closer to the reef, I found tiny polyps huddled together on jagged branches, charming creatures blossoming energetically as the sunshine shone above them. Their stretched tentacles swung with the gentle waves. It was different from every other sea flower. 

I have been interested and involved in sea life and the natural world for as long as I could swim. They are my biggest passions. Over summer breaks and in between, I scuba dive into the crisp sea just to observe the wildlife and plants that exist in the South China Seas. I am also someone who goes beyond to fight for the rights of domesticated dragon owners. Truth be told, I am not afraid to show my passions. While most people my age are playing basketball, I am plunging into the ocean any chance I get. 

My most special times exploring the ocean and other wildlife are spent at a lab on the coast where other researchers do very special work of saving marine life. For a long time, I could not find other people for whom to share my unquestionably ardent passions for coral in particular. But, by traveling and revisiting the ocean so many times, I have found more people to help me grow like a professor at Chinese Academy of Science who specializes in coral reefs and who allows me to use his research station. 

I still plunge into the ocean, and visited there recently. I specifically look for new species of coral every time I go. They have special variations of colors and shapes. Coral stays strong and prospers amidst adversity. Sadly, on that most recent trip, the coral’s jagged rocks no longer rose from the surface. I rubbed my eyes and looked down to the intertidal plain. I poked the sea bed with a bamboo cane with a sinking heart...the reef wasn’t there. I found no sign of marine life except stinky crab corpses winded by faded seaweed. I trudged away, bumping into a plastic coconut tree on the beach: UNDER CONSTRUCTION. The tropical breeze started howling and tides smashed the incessant waves onto the shore. The carpet of coral was also torn by a storm surge. Their colorful branches turned into skeletons scattered along the beach. I kneeled on a layer of dead coral but noticed a figure with a different color—a coral branch that was still alive! I tried to pick it up and take it back to the lab but it was attached to a rock, fused together. When I told Dr. Luo in the lab, he said that they were trying to reproduce. “Corals utilize waves to bring their branches away from the colony and take root in a new site.” He said. “Don’t worry about the coral. Life will find a way.” 

Suddenly, I was so inspired to actively stop coral from disappearing, I became a fixture at other research stations all along the coast. From a fishing boat in the estuary of the Pearl River to a lab on Hainan island, I still volunteer to preserve our oceans. 

I realized that my trips to the Pacific not only allowed me to appreciate how strong the coral is, it also showed me how strong I can be - how I cannot exist alone and that taking care of every life is necessary, no matter how different we are. 

Sarah ONeill Coatesville Supreme Editing