Your passion in Issues related, why you are making this admission

[Client]
[Instructor]
[Subject]
[Date]
[Admission Essay]
I have always had a relationship with food and if I intend to study Food Science, I consider the best way I have for you to know me is through the place food has in my life. This is especially important coming from a country as diverse as Indonesia, where flavors and mix so broadly, creating dishes that Westerners would regard as weird, to say the least. Back in my childhood I never thought I would have wanted to pursue a career in anything related to food. If anything, I would have wanted to pursue a career in eating food. However, jokes aside. My career path has got me where I am today, in front of you, wanting to continue my education and please that inner child who wanted to know how food was made and how all those delicious things existed. I remember watching the travel channel and looking how different cultures and nationalities reflected on the food they ate and how they prepared it.
From that perspective, I would have made a nice chef, but as I said, I like eating food more than preparing it. I remember one time I and my brother were at my father’s house, just having a good time and he got up and prepared us a grilled cheese sandwich. It was the first time I ever ate a grilled cheese and it felt amazing. I still remember the stringy texture of the cheese and its grassy feeling in my hands. Later on, my brother and I joked about being like Spiderman, but instead of shooting webs, we would shoot cheese. Until I sat today to write this, I had not remembered that story, but I consider it was one of the most important moments of my childhood, a moment that would have never happened with a different kind of dish.

My brother and I liked staying at my father’s as he had a great taste in food and would often cook us Western dishes. In one of our days together, I took us to a food court, which are quite rare in Indonesia and I was ecstatic at the amounts of food, the smells, the noises and the people. It all conjugated in a compelling picture I still treasure in my mind. Nevertheless, it also hit me how many of the sellers were not making much money out of their products, which at such a young age seemed quite unfair and the impossibility of doing something to fix their situation had me bummed for a few days.
Therefore, with that inequality in mind, when I arrived in New York for the first time it was such a huge revelation. I tasted food I had never tasted before. Do not get me wrong, I had eaten all the conventional Western food, including burgers, fries, pizza, tacos; all those things. However, in a city as multicultural as New York is, I was baffled by the sheer amount of the options I could choose from. That opened my eyes and made me realize that despite the many advancements my country has undergone in the last decades, we are still far behind regarding culture of food, along with its beverage industry and food safety, which made me more cautious when it comes to what I eat and where.
Likewise, being in New York rekindled my passion for the culinary industry, and all its derived. I started watching the Food Network again and I got pretty excited watching those big name chefs in their shows, making it all seem so flawless and delicious. For a person like me, who never got interested on TV it was a novelty watching Ferran Adria, Rene Redzepi and Fergus Henderson. Nevertheless, I realized I did not regard them on terms of their media side, but in their contributions to the culinary arts. Consequently, this newfound passion for watching cooking shows also translated into a penchant for buying cooking books and attending several cooking classes around the city as a way to complement my education and get a grip of the many things the city had to offer.
Moreover, all these things clashed directly with the major I chose, as business administration and cooking do not mix well unless you want to start a restaurant or a business related to the culinary industry. Although I have to say that my Indonesian heritage played a huge part on the major I chose, like most Indonesian start careers in Business Administration often pressured by their parents who want them to have “real” degrees that “make money.” On the other hand, I have a huge debt with my Indonesian heritage, as it gave me a pragmatic mindset that I still have and allowed me to finish my degree on good terms both academically and in experiences. Be that as it may, I realized that a sizeable part of my curriculum did not cater my tastes and I thought I was missing something, and that something was learning how to cook and that particular relation that started when I started to learn seriously how to cook is what took me here. Likewise, through food I learned to respect my origins and embrace them as part of my cultural identity, as food is often ingrained to our souls and reflects who we are. Hence, the saying “you are what you eat” is not out of place in my story.
Ultimately, my big break on realizing I wanted to study Food Science was on my Business Studies sophomore year when I attended to a free exhibition in the SoHo. The exhibition was regarding food and creativity and being the first food exhibition I attended to, I was considerably nervous. Once the door lady let me in I heard this undistinguishable mumble in what seemed to be Spanish. Suddenly, when I saw the speaker I realized it was Ferran Adria, one of the chefs I respected the most. After the talk I managed to have a little chat with him in which I told him my plans regarding food and when I told him I planned to study culinary arts his answer left me baffled. He told me that there was much more in cooking that being a cook and that Food Science would allow me to pursue those endeavors. I had been researching about the degree and hearing someone as unrelated to my life as Ferran Adria was sharpened my resolve and after a few weeks of thorough research I realized this degree was what I wanted. It felt like a sign. I am not saying I chose this degree on the whimsical assumption a famous chef did, but his words got deeper into me, making me feel I am cut for the challenge and that my passion for the food would be put at better use after I study the degree you offer. Finally, as I said, this story was about food and how something as simple as a grilled cheese with my family got me where I am now. I do not believe in coincidences, but I would not want to miss this opportunity that presents in front of me.
Sincerely, [Client’s Name]