50 Harvard Essays

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counselors with rifles. I suddenly wondered if I had made the right decision. 
Weeks later, sitting outside the Bayit Va’gan Youth hostel as the sun began to sink in 
the Israeli sky, I smiled with reassurance. As I looked up from writing in my journal, 
a group of misty clouds converged to form an opaque mass. But the inexorable sun 
demonstrated her tenacity. One by one, golden arrows pierced the celestial canopy 
to illuminate the lush, green valley between Yad Vashem and the hills of western 
Jerusalem. I could feel holiness in those rays of golden light that radiated from the 
sun like spokes of a heavenly wheel. 
That moment was one of the most spiritual of my life. The natural grandeur of the 
sight seemed to bring together the most meaningful experiences of my five weeks 
in Israel: watching the sunrise over the Red Sea, wading chest-deep through a 
stream in the Golan Heights, looking up at the myriad stars in the desert sky, 
exploring a cave in Negev, and climbing the limestone precipice of Masada. These 
natural temples far surpassed any limestone sanctuary built by man. 
Shifting my gaze downwards, I noticed Ofir standing beside me with his eyes fixed 
on the sacred valley. At age twenty-five, his head was already balding, but the 
expression on his face, with his eyes stretched wide and his jaws parted, reminded 
me of a child starting with delight at a fish in an aquarium. For over a minute neither 
of us spoke. That poignant silence said more than a thousand words could ever 
express. 
Being an empirical person, I need confirmation, to prove to myself that I 
understood. 
Finally, I said to Ofir, “This is holiness.” His weapon bounced as he swiveled to look 
me in the eye. As he nodded in affirmation, a beam of light transcended his pupils to 
produce a telling spark of corroboration. 
Emerson said in “Nature,” “The sun illuminates only the eye of man, but shines into 
the eye and heart of the child.” I carried an L. L. Bean backpack, and Ofir carried an 
Uzi, but that afternoon as the sun warmed our hearts, we were both children. 
ANALYSIS 
The topic of this essay works well because it conveys the author’s personal growth 
from an experience unique to most American students. His declaration of his 
decision to leave the atmosphere of his boarding school to travel abroad establishes 
him as a student willing to broaden his horizons and venture to the unknown. The 
initial comparison of Israel to his hometown is thoughtfully phrased and expresses 
his honest feelings. 
The author is extremely concise in this essay, describing everything that is 
necessary and leaving out unnecessary details. His personal voice is evident. Rather 
than give plain descriptions of the places he visited, the author recalls his personal 
reaction to seeing such places, therefore allowing the reader to get to know the 
writer’s own perspective. 
The dialogue in this essay is also succinct, but complete. The author integrates other 

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