This is pretty ballsy to send to an admissions board. Let me know your thoughts... (Does anyone read this blog, just out of curiosity?? REPLY if you do!)
While perusing the topics listed as options for this essay, the first that struck my fancy was the ethical dilemma question. I envisioned all sorts of scenarios where I could paint a florid picture of how I was confronted with two evils and chose the lesser one. I could impress you with how I maintained my calm under dire circumstances, and single-handedly saved the day, while maintaining the integrity of all parties concerned, leaving no side wounded. However, if I had done that, I surely would have been bending, if not exaggerating the truth entirely, because honestly, no ethical dilemma I have tackled in my 22 years of existence has been that noteworthy. Faced with the decision to either distort or manipulate factual events to grab your attention, or bore you with the actual goings-on of past decisions, I’ve decided to write about the conundrum of whether or not to embellish this essay.
When confronted with an ethical dilemma, there is always a choice between two or more moral imperatives, which in most cases are diametrically opposed. In this case, my two choices were clear: Either impress you with my aptitude for composing fiction or to bore you with my ability to write fact. The former would garner your admiration and respect for my tact in a difficult, multifaceted situation. The latter would lull you in and out of consciousness, forcing you to take extra sips of your coffee just to struggle through the last few words printed on my second and final page. The consequence for the first option would undoubtedly lead to your approval of my credentials, experience, and leadership skills, which would lend to your acceptance of me as a student into the business program. The second option probably would have caused you to overlook my essay entirely, simply for the fact that it had nothing to offer in terms of speaking to my personality, moral fiber, or credibility as a professional in the business world.
Neither of these choices really appealed to me as lying has never been my forte, and ‘dull’ has never been used in a sentence describing my character. Therefore, I chose the third, and probably least traveled of paths. The way in which I’m handling this problem of creating an essay to assure you of my intellect, proficiency, and competence as a business professional speaks more to who I am as a person than any falsely elaborate and contrived scenario that I could concoct, or some dreary, lackluster run-of-the-mill recount of only the mild ethical transgressions I have seen others make, and of which I have played no part.
The way I handle any sort of problem, especially when ethical in nature, is to remind myself of who I am, and what I stand for as a human being. I do not want to be associated with vice, and choose virtue as often as possible when given the chance. However, especially concerning ethics, where rarely anything is completely black and white, it sometimes works in your favor to think outside of the box and choose a creative option rather than ruling with an iron fist of what is just/convergent with protocol.
In choosing this format for my writing, I have remained true to my own identity, while accomplishing the intended purpose of this essay: to display to you how I handle an ethical problem. This option, like any moral dilemma, inherently entails risk. The outcome of my choice is yet to be determined. Will you admit me into the program upon reading my work accepting me for someone who knows that in life, just as in business, the safest bet never returns the highest yield, or will you immediately pull me from the applicant pool and toss my résumé into the trash?
My hope is that you will choose the former, for if anything, I have most certainly entertained you, proven to you my written skill, and also demonstrated that above all, I am not frightened nor intimidated by traveling uncharted territory. For one to truly be an innovator and to succeed in the business world, fearlessness and creativity are essential survival tools. Luckily for me, I have both on hand and readily available.
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