College Admissions Essay: Monopoly Is Life

Monopoly is love; Monopoly is life. The philosophy of this game is to win at any cost, even if it means dismantling one’s ethics and sense of morality. Playing Monopoly all these years has taught me, however, in the game of life there will always be one winner and many losers. While playing this game, the soul of JD Rockefeller takes control of my mind and turns me into a ruthless competitor whose only mission is to maximize my assets by capitalizing on crucial and unfortunate mistakes made by others. It wasn't until the second semester of my sophomore year, when my Honors US History teacher introduced the side effects of greed, that I became socially conscious of the ramifications of dishonest business practices. If that was not convincing, he showed the class Gordon Gekko’s unforgettable, iconic 1987 speech— one that will be ingrained in me for a lifetime, as it was the catalyst that shed new light on my interest in history and business. My teacher explains to the class, while Gekko is right about one thing — be good at what you do — he is not one to turn to …show more content…
Hews’ Honors US History class is over, my thirst for knowledge in this subject area has yet to be quenched. My economics class offers me both sides of the equation, history and business. Reading about men like Alexander Hamilton and Henry Ford inspire me to pursue my dream of combining my love for history and business. From Hamilton I learned the values of doing business in a forthright and respectable way. The former Secretary of the Treasury understood what running a country required: ratifying the National Bank. The one quality that I admire the most about Hamilton is his adherence to always doing what’s right. I try to pay homage to this virtue by never soliciting money in Monopoly when I am playing the banker. In business and in life, it is not enough to be philanthropic and enthusiastic. Rather, one must also conduct operations with moral integrity and ethical