As I sat in that wealth encrusted waiting room complete with plush furniture in the signature maroon and gold, I started to think that my first college interview was not starting out too well. I had gotten lost on the way there and ran into the office, huffing and puffing. When I got there, the waiting room was deserted and I sat there for a quarter of an hour, which seemed like a quarter of a century. My hands started to moisten and my mouth dried completely. I started pumping myself up for the actual interview. "Karin—You can do this. Don't let this scare you. So what if it's Harvard? It's nothing special—really..." Thoughts of impending embarrassment and tears clouded my judgment.

Finally, an elderly woman and a middle aged man walked in and greeted me "Karin Firoza, Townsend Harris High School?" At that moment, I decided that I was going to go through this interview smoothly, not holding anything back and just being myself. I greeted my alumni interviewers with a sturdy, slightly moist handshake and proceeded into the room. The door read "West King's Hall"; the name itself was intimidating. I sat down at a long table across from my two interviewers. As we sat down they whipped out two tablets of paper and positioned themselves to write. We started off with the basics - my SAT scores, my SAT II scores, and AP grades. Finally, after we had discussed the numbers, they asked me to talk about myself. Believe it or not, that is a hard subject for a confused teenager who is at times unsure of herself. This was the moment where I was suppose to blurt out how great I am and make myself appear like the Nobel Peace Prize winner that I am not.

I took a deep breath and started talking about my extracurricular activities because I had heard that the interview was suppose to be an opportunity to step away from your academic persona and give you a chance to present yourself as a well rounded individual. So, I started talking about my scientific research at the Neuroscience Laboratory at Queens College, my community service experience as a Chumz writer, and my official positions at school. I spoke for about 20 minutes when I finally ran out of things to say. That's when the questions came pouring in. "How do you think you can use your leadership skills at Harvard?" "Which of your experience has most affected you?" "Which of your achievements do you most value?" I had expected and was ready for all of these routine questions. Then they hit me with the grand prize question. At one point during my monologue in which I was talking only of myself, I had mentioned that I was taking a Humanities Seminar and was reading The Prince by Machiavelli. It turns out that one of my interviewers is an English Professor and is an expert on Machiavelli's Prince. Fortunately, I loved The Prince and devoured each philosophy set forth by Machiavelli. Therefore, when my interviewer asked me to connect Machiavelli's ideas to current times, I was not only able but I was glad to because I had thought about it and therefore answered the question passionately.

After the interview (which lasted for a grand total of 40 minutes), the interviewers led me out of the room and escorted me to the elevator. We bid each other good bye and that was the end. Now, only the deliberation awaits.

Only when I was back on the 7 train headed towards home was I able to exhale and think clearly once again. As I think back, I do regret some things about my interview. I regret having used some adjectives and not others to clearly describe and define myself. Then again, regret is a vicious parasite and only eats away at you. Overall, it was a defining moment in my life because I had never been in such a position before and I'll savor this experience as just that an experience.

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