icyli
Nov 11, 2009
Undergraduate / "Small gestures in Japanese Culture" - Common app prompt [6]
Hey, thank you to everyone who will help me critique this. This is my first draft so corrections and tips are greatly appreciated! This is for the common app, topic #6 (topic of your choice).
The bustling of the streamlined security line, the smell of the airplane cabin, the excitement that brims over my heart, and the exhilaration of experiencing new cultures. This may all seem to be a stereotypical trip to somewhere more exciting than where I live but traveling to me is different. Instead of getting caught up in the usual tourist traps and glitzy gift shops that follow; I like to cherish the minute pieces of culture that I encounter and incorporate it into my own life.
The tapestry of culture in the world is majestic; it consists of many bits of fabric that make up the world. Holding together those fabrics are the small stitches that bind everything together. In my perspective, different cultures are those important stitches. For me, a certain stitch impacted me the most, the Japanese culture of gift-giving and small gestures.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to go abroad to Japan for a month. I was able to interact, learn, and build new friendships with a whole new race of people. Above all, I wanted to experience the small, underappreciated aspects of Japanese culture. Of course I cherished the hospitality of my host parents and admired the warm generosity of friendly strangers that pointed me in the right direction when I was lost. Yet apart from these experiences, I learned that gift- giving in Japan is small but very traditional practice. It allows foreigners to connect with my without any words. I learned this first-hand from my host parents.
As token of my gratitude for their generosity, I gave my host parents souvenirs from Vermont, my hometown. From the colorful glossy pictures to a little bottle of maple syrup, my host parents were ecstatic at these gifts. Yet in their perspective, it wasn't the value of the gift that was important but was the action of giving itself. From that moment, I realized that it was the small gestures that were important in Japanese culture. This struck me profoundly. Such small gestures represented a country's unique culture. After that encounter, I began to see this cultural practice in everyday life in Japan. Everywhere, practices of gift giving and small gestures of kindness threaded the country, bounding together this country's people. When I returned to the U.S., I was determined to weave this cultural practice into my everyday life.
To practice this, I began to do simple tasks or acts of kindness. Seemingly inconsequential actions such as holding a door or making a one-of-a-kind birthday cards for my friends became my way of applying Japanese culture. The true satisfaction was in the end, receiving the grateful smiles from my host parents' faces on that last day before I left. Their smiles represented the close bond that we shared during my stay where we exchanged handmade pottery, unique chopstick holders, and origami. Each gift symbolized the cherished moment of being together and creating memories. From, I realized that gift giving and small gestures serves as the basis for building friendships. The gifts that we exchange will be memories of each other's time spent together.
Hey, thank you to everyone who will help me critique this. This is my first draft so corrections and tips are greatly appreciated! This is for the common app, topic #6 (topic of your choice).
The bustling of the streamlined security line, the smell of the airplane cabin, the excitement that brims over my heart, and the exhilaration of experiencing new cultures. This may all seem to be a stereotypical trip to somewhere more exciting than where I live but traveling to me is different. Instead of getting caught up in the usual tourist traps and glitzy gift shops that follow; I like to cherish the minute pieces of culture that I encounter and incorporate it into my own life.
The tapestry of culture in the world is majestic; it consists of many bits of fabric that make up the world. Holding together those fabrics are the small stitches that bind everything together. In my perspective, different cultures are those important stitches. For me, a certain stitch impacted me the most, the Japanese culture of gift-giving and small gestures.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to go abroad to Japan for a month. I was able to interact, learn, and build new friendships with a whole new race of people. Above all, I wanted to experience the small, underappreciated aspects of Japanese culture. Of course I cherished the hospitality of my host parents and admired the warm generosity of friendly strangers that pointed me in the right direction when I was lost. Yet apart from these experiences, I learned that gift- giving in Japan is small but very traditional practice. It allows foreigners to connect with my without any words. I learned this first-hand from my host parents.
As token of my gratitude for their generosity, I gave my host parents souvenirs from Vermont, my hometown. From the colorful glossy pictures to a little bottle of maple syrup, my host parents were ecstatic at these gifts. Yet in their perspective, it wasn't the value of the gift that was important but was the action of giving itself. From that moment, I realized that it was the small gestures that were important in Japanese culture. This struck me profoundly. Such small gestures represented a country's unique culture. After that encounter, I began to see this cultural practice in everyday life in Japan. Everywhere, practices of gift giving and small gestures of kindness threaded the country, bounding together this country's people. When I returned to the U.S., I was determined to weave this cultural practice into my everyday life.
To practice this, I began to do simple tasks or acts of kindness. Seemingly inconsequential actions such as holding a door or making a one-of-a-kind birthday cards for my friends became my way of applying Japanese culture. The true satisfaction was in the end, receiving the grateful smiles from my host parents' faces on that last day before I left. Their smiles represented the close bond that we shared during my stay where we exchanged handmade pottery, unique chopstick holders, and origami. Each gift symbolized the cherished moment of being together and creating memories. From, I realized that gift giving and small gestures serves as the basis for building friendships. The gifts that we exchange will be memories of each other's time spent together.