An essay I had to write to get into the Honors program at USU. I did get accepted but ended up dropping out after a couple semesters (though I don't feel too bad because I was far from the only one). The writing prompt was something to the effect of, "You return to your dorm one day to find a copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare, a cutthroat trout, and Michael Jackson's toothbrush. Explain why. Note that a story about you destroying or throwing away the book will probably not go over well."

USU Honors Program Application Essay
​By C. Randall Nicholson

​I was confused at first to see the three objects, until I remembered that last August I had gone to England to visit Oxford professor Charles Harvard at his summer home by the lake. We had spent long hours fishing and, meeting with little success, whiled away the hours discussing literature. I was ashamed to admit that I had only read a few Shakespeare plays, while he practically knew them by heart and spent his time studying more obscure things. He was even currently attempting to write a novel of his own. He told me he had several copies of The Complete Works of Shakespeare – people were always giving them to him for his birthday – and could easily spare one. I accepted his offer but thought no more of it.

By the time I had to return to Utah, we still hadn't caught a single fish. He jokingly promised he would get one and send it to me. The fish in the hall, however, was a cutthroat trout, which is native to North America and not Europe. Perhaps it had been an import. As for the toothbrush, I wasn't so sure until I remembered that one evening we had been browsing eBay and happened to see Michael Jackson's old toothbrush up for grabs. This was it, but though Professor Harvard had joked about buying it, it was well out of his price range. The items were not in a package or accompanied by a note, so I knew nothing more.
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Imagine my surprise the very next morning to head to my English literature class and see that my teacher was none other than Professor Harvard. He nodded my way but gave no further acknowledgment of our acquaintance, and I was sitting on pins and needles waiting until the end of class. Finally I was able to question him about the items. Laughing, he explained that after my departure, he had remembered he was going to give me The Complete Works of Shakespeare, and had gotten one of his copies out. Something had impressed upon him to read through it again, and, though he already had many times before, this time it provided the inspiration he needed to finish his novel and reach the top of bestseller lists all over Europe.
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His circumstances guaranteed for a while, he had taken a leave of absence from Oxford to deliver the book in person, and once at Utah State had decided to teach there for a change of scenery. In spite of the short notice, because of his expertise and recent fame an opening was made for him. The fish had come from a local market in town when he passed by it and remembered his other "promise".

"What about Michael Jackson's toothbrush?" I asked.

"I bought it on a whim," he said. "Then I realized it's worthless to me, so I thought maybe you'd want it. You could stand to brush more often."

Read more of my essays here.