阅读: 11 发表于 2024-08-27 10:45
Like Gypsy Rose Lee, my siblings and I spent our formative years at rehearsals and performances, where I was indoctrinated into the cult that worships Sondheim. In our household, Sondheimian theatre was a religion (I’m not sure how I feel about God, but I do believe in Sondheim.) My brother and I read Sondheim’s autobiography, Finishing the Hat, like the bible, reading the book cover to cover and returning to page one the moment we finished. At six, he introduced me to Sondheim’s West Side Story, which illustrates the harms of poverty and systematic racism. Initially, I only appreciated Jerome Robbins’ choreography (Sorry, Mr. Shakespeare). When I revisited the musical years later, I had a visceral reaction as I witnessed young adults engaging in deadly gang rivalries. Experiencing Tony’s gruesome death forced me, a middle-class suburbanite, to feel the devastating effects of inner-city violence, and my belief in the need for early intervention programs to prevent urban gun violence was born.
I began to discover political and historical undertones in all of Sondheim’s work. For example, Assassins whirlwinds from the Lincoln era up to Reagan’s Presidency. Originally, I simply thought it was hysterical to belt Lynette Fromme’s love ballad to Charles Manson. Later, I realized how much history I had unknowingly retained from this musical. The song “November 22, 1963” reflects on America’s most notorious assassination attempts, and alludes to each assassin being motivated by a desperate attempt to connect to a specific individual or culture to gain control over their life. Assassins awakened me to the flaws in some of our quintessential American ideals because the song “Everybody’s Got the Right” illustrates how the American individualism enshrined in our Constitution can be twisted to support hate, harm, and entitlement. I internalized Sondheim’s political commentary, and I see its relevance in America's most pressing issues. The misconstrued idea of limitless freedom can be detrimental to public health, worsening issues such as the climate crisis, gun violence, and the coronavirus pandemic. These existential threats largely stem from antiquated ideas that the rights of the few outweigh the rights of the majority. Ironically, a musical about individuals who tried to dismantle our American political system sparked my political interests, but this speaks to the power of Sondheim’s music and my ability to make connections and draw inspiration from unlikely sources.
Absorbing historical and political commentary set to music allows my statistical and logical brain to better empathize with the characters, giving me a deeper understanding of the conflicts portrayed on stage, almost like reading a diary. Theatremakers are influenced by both history and their life experiences. I internalize their underlying themes and values, and my mindset shifts to reflect the art that I adore. I’m an aspiring political changemaker, and Sondheim’s musicals influence my political opinions by enabling me to empathize with communities living drastically different lives from my own.
I sang Sondheim melodies before I could talk. As I grew intellectually and emotionally, Sondheim’s musicals began to carry more weight. With each viewing, I retained new historical and political information. This ritual drives me to continue studying Sondheim and enables me to confidently walk my own path because Sondheim’s work passively strengthens my ethics as I continue to extrapolate relevant life lessons from his melodies. Sondheim’s stories, with their complex, morally ambiguous characters, have solidified my ironclad set of morals which, together with my love of history, have blossomed into a passion for human rights and politics.
点评：
Lauren的文书很有冲击力。
文书开头就以《理发师陶德》为主题的课间游戏中快乐地“谋杀”朋友，欧博abg你就会被深深的吸引住。这不是一篇普通的个人文书，这是一段对斯蒂芬·桑德海姆痴迷的童年狂野之旅。在这段童年中，欧博官网“戏剧是一种宗教”，而《Finishing the Hat 》是圣经。
这篇文章之所以引人注目，欧博是因为Lauren毫不掩饰的热情，她不只是喜欢音乐剧。《West Side Story 》实际上让她产生了内心的反应，欧博娱乐塑造了她的智力成长。
Lauren描述了这些音乐剧的政治背景如何点燃了她对社会正义的热情。她还展现了一种既善于分析又富有创造力的思维，将历史歌曲与枪支暴力和疫情等现代问题联系起来。
我们一直鼓励学生这样做——让你的热情闪耀。你的大学文书是让你的真实声音得以表达的最佳场所。因此，一定要选择一个你真正感兴趣并投入的主题。这种热情会具有感染力，并会给读者留下持久的印象。
Lauren还出色地保持了一种亲切而可爱的语气（“我不确定我对上帝的看法，但我相信桑德海姆”）。
她成功地将对桑德海姆作品的热情与成为政治变革者的愿望联系起来。这种热情和目标的结合令人信服，最终使她成为哈佛大学的一员。