POST 2 - (Essay) What single adjective do you think would be most frequently used to describe you by those who know you best? Briefly explain. (Stanford)

Honestly speaking, what is one adjective, one word in the endless ocean of words available to mankind for the use of describing something? A simple pebble found on the sidewalk could be depicted in countless different ways. To use a single word to explain something as complex and intricate as a human being is close to impossible if one is aiming to achieve greatness in ones work.

What is intriguing is that the purpose of such a question is to identify a certain characteristic about an individual which the reader of the work has never met before, and has absolutely no affiliations with. It is the goal of such an assignment to convey the strongest of an individual’s characteristics, the most dominant feature of a person using words on a piece of paper. But to limit the scope of the research that could be achieved about a person by asking him/her to write about how others most frequently describe him/her seems almost counterproductive.

For example, suppose if a person’s most dominant personal feature is his/her unattractiveness, which is a highly likely outcome. And suppose that this hypothetical, unattractive person is also extremely introverted, which results in him/her not having that many close friends which he/she could ask to honestly describe him/her. But suppose that person was an extremely hard worker, an amazing person, a genius in the making. If this person was to write an essay such as this one, he would not get very far in trying to leave an impression in the reader’s mind because all he would have been told by those around him would be related to his unattractiveness. Therefore, a question such as this one seems somewhat unfair to those who are not extremely popular, or extroverted.

Another curios aspect of this question is that is tries to understand an individual by asking him/her to describe themselves with a single adjective. If the reader of this essay is trying to determine what sort of a person the author of the essay is for the purpose of making a decision of whether or not the author is suited for the college which the reader is currently working for then, a single word seems somewhat vague. Because there are many generic words that people could use to describe themselves in a more flamboyant way than what they really are. There are also a limited number of words that people would want to describe themselves for the purpose of impressing the reader of the essay, someone who potentially holds the power of either accepting or rejecting the author from the college of their dreams. Therefore, I believe that the way the question is phrased, and what the question tries to accomplish, are two things which work as a juxtaposition, they fail to make sense to an extent.

But for the purpose, and the sake of accomplishing what the question asks me to finish, a single adjective that I think would be used to describe me by the people that know me best (assuming that there are such people, which I am not saying they aren’t) is that I think I would be described as an incredibly meticulous person for obvious reasons.

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