To mention or not to mention Burning Man?

[RedArmyof1]

Hello SDN,

I hope everybody's application process is going according to plan. As the title suggests I'm torn between mentioning going to Burning Man or not. Really briefly Burning Man is 50,000 person week long festival in the Nevada desert. It is a very strong community that is very special. It is special because there is no judgement there, everybody is free to express themselves in whichever way possible (art, music, outfits, art cars). Here is a few examples of the art that was there http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/1294940769_fd173c0e56.jpg?, http://www.bobpaltrow.com/images/DancingWoman.jpg, http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/09/04/article-2033540-0DB0E87B00000578-442_964x574.jpg,http://towleroad.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c730253ef014e8b50bd82970d-800wi. The event had a tremendous positive impact on my life. It improved my social skills tremendously and now able to form genuine connections with people. Burning Man is gifting society, which made me truly believe that all your good deeds will come back to you. This event made be want to be a doctor even more because of the unselfishness I witnessed there. It was astounding how much people sacrifice to please complete strangers. Over 7 years I have contributed a lot of blood and sweat towards this community. I helped put together quite a few installations for no reason other than to contribute to people enjoyment. I very proud of the labor that I have done and I feel I should talk about some it on these applications.

Anyway, a lot questions ask about unique perspectives and how my life experiences will enhance this Medical School's community. Here comes my tear, I feel that the values this event instilled in me will genuinely enhance the community that will surround me in Medical School. However, Burning Man is stereotyped as hippie drug-infested orgy in the middle of the desert. My fear is that this stereotype will prevent the readers from truly reading what I have to say and will be dismissed as some flowery hippie speak.

Thank you for reading my rant and please provide your input on this situation.

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[Arbor Vitae]

Hello SDN,

I hope everybody's application process is going according to plan. As the title suggests I'm torn between mentioning going to Burning Man or not. Really briefly Burning Man is 50,000 person week long festival in the Nevada desert. It is a very strong community that is very special. It is special because there is no judgement there, everybody is free to express themselves in whichever way possible (art, music, outfits, art cars). Here is a few examples of the art that was there http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/1294940769_fd173c0e56.jpg?, http://www.bobpaltrow.com/images/DancingWoman.jpg, http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/09/04/article-2033540-0DB0E87B00000578-442_964x574.jpg,http://towleroad.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c730253ef014e8b50bd82970d-800wi. The event had a tremendous positive impact on my life. It improved my social skills tremendously and now able to form genuine connections with people. Burning Man is gifting society, which made me truly believe that all your good deeds will come back to you. This event made be want to be a doctor even more because of the unselfishness I witnessed there. It was astounding how much people sacrifice to please complete strangers. Over 7 years I have contributed a lot of blood and sweat towards this community. I helped put together quite a few installations for no reason other than to contribute to people enjoyment. I very proud of the labor that I have done and I feel I should talk about some it on these applications.

Anyway, a lot questions ask about unique perspectives and how my life experiences will enhance this Medical School's community. Here comes my tear, I feel that the values this event instilled in me will genuinely enhance the community that will surround me in Medical School. However, Burning Man is stereotyped as hippie drug-infested orgy in the middle of the desert. My fear is that this stereotype will prevent the readers from truly reading what I have to say and will be dismissed as some flowery hippie speak.

Thank you for reading my rant and please provide your input on this situation.

What do you mean by gifting society? I thought Burning Man was more the old-fashioned barter system. You can pay in any type of currency.

but to answer your question, while you may get the occasional person who likes your pitch, medicine is a pretty conservative field and you might a few of these from people reading your story. Maybe don't mention Burning Man specifically, but you could talk about your experience at an art festival and how it strengthened your passion for community service.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

Have you served as one of the medics, rangers, or other leadership roles? That could be relevant. If you worked hard on some collaborative art installations or something, that could also be a unique addition to the activities section. If BRC just made you feel warm and fuzzy about humanity, that's nice but I wouldn't put it in the app. I would definitely not say that your desire to pursue medicine came in an epiphany you had while meditating at the temple at 3 am

PS how is it these days? I went from 2004-2006 and haven't been back since.

 

[RedArmyof1]

What do you mean by gifting society? I thought Burning Man was more the old-fashioned barter system. You can pay in any type of currency.

but to answer your question, while you may get the occasional person who likes your pitch, medicine is a pretty conservative field and you might a few of these from people reading your story. Maybe don't mention Burning Man specifically, but you could talk about your experience at an art festival and how it strengthened your passion for community service.

You don't barter in the sense of "I'll give you this for that". People just bring stuff to give away booze, food, outfits, necklaces etc. You don't expect to get anything in return unless the recipient of your gift also brought something to give away. That's what I mean by a gifting society.

Thank you for the input. I think art festival sounds a little more official and cultured.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

You don't barter in the sense of "I'll give you this for that". People just bring stuff to give away booze, food, outfits, necklaces etc. You don't expect to get anything in return unless the recipient of your gift also brought something to give away. That's what I mean by a gifting society.

Thank you for the input. I think art festival sounds a little more official and cultured.

You have to walk a thin line with the app process and think like a politician. You don't want to stray too far to any side and risk not identifying with or offending whoever is reading your app. You want mass appeal. Like you said, some people will think of you as a flowery drug taking hippy, but I think you could describe the same ideas without even talking about burning man. Just talk about the community/village aspect of the art festival.

 

[RedArmyof1]

Have you served as one of the medics, rangers, or other leadership roles? That could be relevant. If you worked hard on some collaborative art installations or something, that could also be a unique addition to the activities section. If BRC just made you feel warm and fuzzy about humanity, that's nice but I wouldn't put it in the app. I would definitely not say that your desire to pursue medicine came in an epiphany you had while meditating at the temple at 3 am

PS how is it these days? I went from 2004-2006 and haven't been back since.

Unfortunately I didn't know serve as medic, which is huge missed opportunity. I have worked on some major projects. I've been in early every year, the most labor intensive stints were 4 days setting up Root Society and 4 days setting up Opulent Temple(didn't camp there, just helped out). My buddy and I built a 24-foot dome from scratch and brought it out for 4 years, which served as a dust storm shelter for the neighborhood multiple times. We also ran a bar on the the 9 o'clock plaza one year. Most certainly not going to disclose full details of my adventures to the admissions committee. I have done quite a bit work out there. It feels really good to contribute to the community and that's the feeling I would like to express.

As to your how is it these days question, I'll give you my personal take on it. 2006 was my first year and there has been a steady decline in the vibe over the years. More frat boys showing up. DubStep took for a while, which was God awful hearing those wub wubs from every corner of the playa. Although last year DubStep was non existent because there was huge backlash against it. Plug-and-play camps are becoming more frequent. I'll give you an example of a plug-and-play camp that was set up right behind my camp this year. A crew shows up on Saturday before the gates open and grabs pretty much an entire block between C and D, 6:30 to 7:00. Then has a couple of people drive RV's in (10-12, don't remember exactly) place them on this massive land grab. They also set-up 10-12 tents all with air-conditioning. Bring in 2 big diesel generators the kind you tow and private portapoties. Then the rich people that paid for all this, show on Monday and enjoy a camp that was set up for them. I'm pretty sure the guy who was running the show was making some serious money on this. However, art cars have really stepped up their game. Last few temples were really impressive. Art has been hit or miss, last year had a lot of cool art and the year before seemed a little underwhelming. Overall I don't like that there is influx of people that only take and don't give anything back. Doesn't feel the same, but still is an amazing time with awesome people(except for the ones I mentioned).

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

Let's be real. You spent a week in the desert smoking pot.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Let's be real. You spent a week in the desert smoking pot.

lettuce be cereal

 

[pathologyDO]

 

[Arbor Vitae]

 

[RedArmyof1]

Let's be real. You spent a week in the desert smoking pot.

I know I shouldn't feed the trolls, but I'm going to do something I'm not supposed to.

During different years I built this:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3225/2827162344_3f71a2f397_z.jpg
http://youtu.be/HgWPZk0Telw?t=2m50s,
http://youtu.be/TJC1qHntwFY.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

I know I shouldn't feed the trolls, but I'm going to do something I'm not supposed to.

During different years I built this:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3225/2827162344_3f71a2f397_z.jpg
http://youtu.be/HgWPZk0Telw?t=2m50s,
http://youtu.be/TJC1qHntwFY.

I had some really good times at Opulent Temple, but I am not sure if there is a way to spin it for an adcom. Maybe someone else can come up with something better than "Non-clinical volunteering: Built a giant and totally badass rave in the desert."

I helped with a theme camp for a couple years but I made no mention of it when I applied. But then, I also wasn't really part of the burner community anymore when I applied either.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

I know I shouldn't feed the trolls, but I'm going to do something I'm not supposed to.

During different years I built this:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3225/2827162344_3f71a2f397_z.jpg
http://youtu.be/HgWPZk0Telw?t=2m50s,
http://youtu.be/TJC1qHntwFY.

RedArmy's identity is confirmed as Norm Abram.

I've worked construction too, but this experience seems more like "I helped throw a badass party" rather than "I worked in the building trades for a few summers." It's certainly interesting, but I think a lot of people would be scratching their heads after you explain what it is.

 

[RedArmyof1]

Yeah, your points are well taken. Trying to explain what I have done without making myself look like an irresponsible "raver" (hate that word) would be rather difficult. I'll just put this whole idea to rest. I guess I'll just make up some stories about how I spent my time saving kittens from burning buildings.

 

[brrenters]

Would probably be a great thing to bring up in some secondary essays!

 

[Buzz Me]

Honestly? Do NOT mention that. I won't get into the argument of whether or not drugs were involved at that festival (by anyone, not you, specifically), or whether society should legalize drugs or not, etc...but medicine tends to be a pretty conservative field. Describing something like Burning Man, especially if odds are the interviewer/adcom has never been there before, can only serve to make people wonder and worry about you. No applicant ever wants the stigma of any sort of recreational-drug-partaking on their app (substance abuse in medicine is a bad, BAD thing).

Again, not to get into the usual myriad of drug-related debates here. But not much good can come from you talking about this. Trust me. It's just not worth it.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Honestly? Do NOT mention that. I won't get into the argument of whether or not drugs were involved at that festival (by anyone, not you, specifically), or whether society should legalize drugs or not, etc...but medicine tends to be a pretty conservative field. Describing something like Burning Man, especially if odds are the interviewer/adcom has never been there before, can only serve to make people wonder and worry about you. No applicant ever wants the stigma of any sort of recreational-drug-partaking on their app (substance abuse in medicine is a bad, BAD thing).

Again, not to get into the usual myriad of drug-related debates here. But not much good can come from you talking about this. Trust me. It's just not worth it.

I agree.

Having said that, I might think about going there now.... after EDC Vegas and TomorrowWorld.

 

[Buzz Me]

I agree.

Having said that, I might think about going there now.... after EDC Vegas and TomorrowWorld.

It's fine to do all these things now. Get it out of your system. Just don't write or talk about it later when applying to med school/residency/etc.

The goal is to stir up as little controversy as possible. Sure there's the occasional rare applicant who can talk about his arrest in Thailand for being a drug-smuggling mule and somehow move the interviewer to tears...but this type of person is very, VERY rare (read: it's not you). Save the wild, self-expressive, independent free-spirited schtick for later, when people aren't looking for a reason to throw your app in the "rejected" pile.

Or, to put it another way, if your app goes up against a similar application with a similar app...but he/she doesn't talk in detail about controversial topics (abortion! politics! death penalty! war in Iraq!), who do you think's going to win?

 

[RedArmyof1]

It's fine to do all these things now. Get it out of your system. Just don't write or talk about it later when applying to med school/residency/etc.

The goal is to stir up as little controversy as possible. Sure there's the occasional rare applicant who can talk about his arrest in Thailand for being a drug-smuggling mule and somehow move the interviewer to tears...but this type of person is very, VERY rare (read: it's not you). Save the wild, self-expressive, independent free-spirited schtick for later, when people aren't looking for a reason to throw your app in the "rejected" pile.

Or, to put it another way, if your app goes up against a similar application with a similar app...but he/she doesn't talk in detail about controversial topics (abortion! politics! death penalty! war in Iraq!), who do you think's going to win?

Thank you for the advice. My fear was that talking about this experience will cast me in the wrong light and the comments in this thread fortified that fear. I'll just stay quite about it. As a sidenote it's a little saddening that I can't talk about a major positive influence in my life.

 

[zippyziggy]

adcoms don't want your life story. think about it as a job application rather than a personal history.

mentioning this is almost as bad as the person who wanted to talk about slut-shaming

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Thank you for the advice. My fear was that talking about this experience will cast me in the wrong light and the comments in this thread fortified that fear. I'll just stay quite about it. As a sidenote it's a little saddening that I can't talk about a major positive influence in my life.

You can talk about your positive experiences but honestly those have nothing to do with Burning Man and why do you even want/need to mention Burning Man? Everything you want to get across can be articulated without even bringing up Burning Man.

 

[willen101383]

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/genome-laser-burning-man-2013

Unless you are behind this of course...