Indeed the inexplicable glee of the holiday season is upon us, yet for individuals like myself, we are simultaneously endeavoring a period of complete madness. And friends, it is simply not because of the triggering Christmas-shopping traffic.

One website, one reaction: www.commonapp.org

"What's APPening?" There, I said it.

Oh....no.

At the dawn of glorious college applications, or dare I say, Application Eve, Christmas trees are the mailboxes, as the desired wrapped presents transform into long-awaited decision letters. Amidst such vital and pressurized times, self-reflection inevitably perpetuates. How well do I know myself? Okay, maybe I do know myself, but how well can I articulate and showcase such passions?

Supplements, anyone?

From the most general of prompts to the downright quirky, all questions equally mandate the uncomfortable. That person in personality, that character in characteristic. This time, it's not only a mere description of yourself, adjective-dropping in every sentence, but rather, analyzing those qualities and identifying their significance. How does my love for lamps contribute to my intellectual prowess?

As VIllanova's past supplement states, "What sets your heart on fire?"

How dense is this question, like many other college prompts. Vague and flexible, yet extremely limiting, for you are the only one who can hinder such boundless grounds. Sure, the eve of "why this school" and "create your own question to answer" responses may slowly manifest into throbbing brains and shattered hearts (attention: no brains or hearts are actually harmed during this experience...well actually...), but the deepness inevitably releases the blossoming maturity within us.

That "fire" that constantly fuels our innermost desires, yet burns us at our indifference--alternatively dying down into darkness from oblivion.

In actuality, supplements, along with the entire application process, are not designed to be your personalized pandemonium, for they simply thrust you into discovering those inflamed yearnings.

Let them burn you.

Well now you make ask, if I am so apt about this topic, what has set my heart on fire?

Friends, that is an answer that is still in the works, for I am still in that application season spirit myself. That fire, quite honestly, is currently flickering. Might have to get back to you after January 1st *wink*.

For now, all I know is that I am hungry. Yes, for both food and for knowledge.
My intellectual appetite catapults me from boundless curiosity and into action. The existence of the unknown excites me. To become a sponge, to absorb all and be all.

Well, that wasn't super philosophical at all (please note my sarcasm).

To my fellow college applicants, let us find that fire by January 1st. No pressure. Okay, maybe a little bit. For everyone else, light up that match--expose yourself to the experiences anew--and see that fire eventually manifest, restlessly dancing amidst the wind.

What sets yours?