Undergraduate / "my summer vacation" - common app [4]

PLEASE HELP! any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I was eight years old when my parents left me at my grandparents' house for my summer vacation before the fourth grade. Any other child would have been excited to visit their grandparents and be spoiled by them but I was not. I would have been except for the fact that I was staying with them for two months and in Mexico, which was very different from where I lived.

The only other time I had gone to Mexico was when I was two, which I could not remember. Therefore, my second visit was more like a first. Here we can go to the nearest grocery store and buy packaged foods or get in our cars to go to work everyday. In the small town that my grandparents lived everyone made their meals from fresh groceries and ride horses to work in the fields everyday.

It was a big culture shock for me and things only got more interesting the longer I stayed there. The men got up early at five in the morning to milk the cows and feed the other animals on the farm. The women started breakfast for when the men got back from their work. After I became familiar with the town, I was sent on errands to get the groceries and tortilla dough at the mill that would be used for lunch and dinner.

After a while, I got used to the routine and different way of life, but occasionally I would get a small surprise. My mother had cooked traditional Mexican food, such as mole and enchiladas, but for the most part, she cooked American food. When my grandmother introduced me to menudo, I was definitely taken aback. Menudo consisted of pancita, or tripe, and pig's feet. Yum, right? I am sure you could understand my apprehension, especially as an eight year old. My mother had obviously taught me manners and not wanting to offend my grandmother, I tentively lifted a spoonful to my mouth.

Now would be the time where I say that despite my reservations I actually enjoyed it, but that would be a lie. The pancita had a slimy, spongy texture and the pig's feet-well; I don't even want to think about it. Once I tried that, I figured that I could try almost anything-almost. By the end of my visit, I had experienced a completely new life and felt a little out of place when I returned home. That summer I became closer with my culture and found that I enjoyed it. I loved getting in touch with my humble roots and would encourage everyone to do the same.

*what category should this essay go under?

Undergraduate / Not Just another Fish in the Ocean. My classmates as an influence. [2]

Not Just another Fish in the Ocean

I have never thought of he influence people may have had on my life until this very moment. Now that I think about it, it is not one person that has had a significant influence on me but a group of people - my hgih school classmates. Most of them have been with me for three, going on four, years. All of them are unique in their own ways. They have each had a hand in helping me come out of my shell and grow as a person.

Diadromous fish, such as the sockeye salmon, are born in the same fresh water system as their parents with other salmon spawn. once they mature, they travel into the ocean where they amalgamate with other species of marine life. All through out my elementary education I was just another salmon spawn in a stream of salmon spawn. Everyone was a lot alike in culture and beliefs. Not until I matured and Migrated to the ocean, or high school, did I realize that there were all types of fish. students from different districts came to study at my high school and as a result, I was able to familiarize myself with a variety of people. That would never have happened had I stayed at my own district high school.

When I began ninth grade I was introverted and kept myself occupied with boks. (Not that there is anything wong with reading a good book once in a while.) Even though it took me a while to let them in, they helped me change. I became more outgoing and was able to loose up without letting my grades suffer. they accepted my quirks and I accepted theirs. I came to the realization that I could maintain a good academic record and still have a life outside of school.

My classmates also affected my music preference. Before I met them, all I really listened to was Spanish music, which makes sense since I am Mexican. they helped me discover new genres, such as rock, hip-hop, and r&b. Now I enjoy an ecelctic selection of music. Although I maintained most of my personality traits, such as my determination to do well in everything I start, my classmates helped me better others.

Undergraduate / "Never pass up new experiences. They enrich the mind." New experiences essay [3]

Prompt: use a quote from a book you've read and us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world.

"Never pass up new experiences, [Scarlett]. They enrich the mind."
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Our lives are full of experiences, big and small, that we can either pass up or capitalize on. My first big experience occurred to me as an eight year old when my parents left me at my grandparents' house for my summer vacation before the fourth grade. Any other child would have been excited to visit his or her grandparents and be spoiled by them, but I was the exception. I would have been except for the fact that I was staying with them for two months in Mexico, which was very different from where I lived. The only other time I had gone to Mexico was when I was two, which I could not remember. Therefore, my second visit was more like a first.

Living in New Jersey my whole life, I was used to going to the nearest grocery store and buying packaged foods or getting in a car to go just about anywhere. In my grandparents small town everyone always made their meals from fresh groceries and rode horses to work in the fields. It was a big culture shock for me and things only got more interesting the longer I resided there. The men got up early, five in the morning, to milk the cows and feed the other animals on the farm. The women started breakfast for when the men returned from their work. After I became familiar with the town, which only took a few days because it was so small, I was sent on errands to get the groceries and tortilla dough at the mill that would be used for lunch and dinner.

After a while, I got used to the routine and different way of life, but occasionally I would get a small surprise. My mother had cooked traditional Mexican food, such as mole and enchiladas, but for the most part, she cooked American food. When my grandmother introduced me to menudo, I was definitely taken aback. Menudo consisted of pancita, or tripe, and pig's feet. Yum, right? I am sure you could understand my apprehension, especially as an eight-year old. My mother had obviously taught me manners and not wanting to offend my grandmother, I tentatively lifted a spoonful to my mouth.

Now would be the time where I say that despite my reservations I actually enjoyed it, but that would be a lie. The pancita had a slimy, spongy texture and the pig's feet - well, I don't even want to think about it. Once I tried that, I figured I could try almost anything - almost. Through out my stay in Mexico I took advantage of the many experiences that were set in front of me. I tried the different fare that was offered, no matter the contents, and I even learned how to milk a cow.

I now watch the travel channel and observe as Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain go to remote places around the world and partake in the most bizarre customs a culture may have to offer. What I have started to learn since my vacation is that allowing ourselves new encounters with the world helps us broaden our minds and become more accepting of what we do not know. In addition to that, I hope someday to be open-minded enough to travel and experience different cultures just as Zimmern and Bourdain do.

If it says about 500 words does that mean minimum or maximum?
It is now 557 words without the quote