Undergraduate / UC Prompt 1 - Putting my needs behind. [6]

Any advice, tips, and suggestions is appreciated.

Describe the world you come from for example, your family, community or school and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations

"I'm late! I'm late! These were my thoughts as I jumped off the bus, almost colliding with someone. I sprinted past the school gates, and the bell just rang. I was on time and with a big sigh, I looked for my younger brother. Andrew stood out the most because he was the only one looking around. He was looking for me while other children went home with their parents. When he saw me, he smiled, and we walked home together, telling each other about our day. It was those small, carefree moments that I looked forward to even when things did not go my way.

This was more or less my daily routine on school days. My parents could not afford a babysitter, so Andrew had to wait for me because he was only five years old. At the time, I did not understand why I had to take care of him, and perhaps I did not want to understand. Coming home early, I felt I missed many opportunities at school. I could not socialize with my friends. I always had to decline when they asked me to go to the movies. I missed participating in school events like helping in rallies and skits. I gave up many extracurricular activities, but could not give up badminton. Even then, I had to prepare food and take Andrew to practice. It was embarrassing and hard being the only person with a brother there. During drills, I had to focus on training and divert my attention to see if he was still there.

My brother and I developed a close relationship even though our ages were a decade apart. We accompanied each other and everything was a game to us. We had fun washing rice as he would splash water at me. We had fun taking baths together as he would save me from drowning. He had fun eating as I had to chase him around just for him to take a bite. We had fun sleeping together in a house made of pillows and blankets. We had fun.

My brother has made me more mature and responsible, and has undoubtedly influenced my goals and dreams. As a young adolescent, I frequently argued with my mom instead of listening to her. I was unaware that I was setting a bad example until he started to do the same. He would stall and complain when my mom told him to clean up his toys. Noticing his behavior, I told that he was wrong to act like that, but unconvinced, he said I did it too. Temporarily speechless, I promised him we would stop together. In that single moment, I realized that if he picks up on something so insignificant, then he is likely to mimic other worst examples. One is if I give up on education. He will think it is fine to neglect it and will not make it a priority. I know the consequences, because my parents have honorable, but mediocre jobs with their low education. I hope to be a better example by being the first person in my family to attend college, so that one day, just like how my brother waited for me, I will be waiting for him when he enters college.

Undergraduate / UC Prompt 2 - Drawing myself [4]

I'm very unsure about my conclusion, so any tips and advices are appreciated. Thank you!

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?

I still feel my conclusion is weak... Any tips?

As I bent over my paper intently, it seemed as if nothing else in the world existed. Suddenly, my Calculus teacher sneaks up on me. "Chuong, what are you doing?" Hiding the paper quickly, I said, "I'm just drawing." Without hesitation, she said that I should focus on math instead of doing something so trivial and useless. In fact, I had been drawing to clear my mind. Unintentionally, she had offended me. To her, drawing was trivial, but to me, it had been my life for ten years.

I remember the first time I saw a comic book. I was stunned by the characters and buildings because they were all hand drawn. I stumbled to the nearest pencil and paper, tossing everything in the way so I could mimic them. However, it was my first time drawing, and with little knowledge and experience, my drawings turned out to be mere pencil marks. With a deep breath and an ambitious sigh, I was determined to recreate these images. Patiently, I started to trace them, familiarizing myself with the strokes and hand movements

After weeks of tracing, I wanted to draw by looking at a reference. I was excited and mostly surprised when my drawing resembled Spiderman. My hard work had paid off. My confidence grew with my improvement, but I was dissatisfied because I had only emulated another artist's work. My unique style was engulfed within the artist's style, and I felt as if I was holding another person's hand while drawing. I wanted to draw directly from my imagination.

This is one of the most difficult challenges I have ever encountered. The images in my mind desperately tried to escape, but it was difficult for me to express them on paper. The head would turn out bigger than the body or the hands smaller than the arms. I kept trying, but success eluded me. I knew I was capable of this. I could not give up so easily.

Although I could not directly draw what I imagined, I found another method just as effective. As I looked over the comics, something caught my eyes. An artist had sketched a skeletal form of his characters before he fleshed them out. I studied his process eagerly. At that point, I was an excited little child again, the same child that first discovered drawing.

The artist first drew a circle. Then a line grew downwards from it, forming the body. Then more lines grew left and right, forming the arms and legs. The lines met at smaller circles, forming the circular joints. The body stretched out, became alive, and then was eaten by the flesh. At that moment, I realized that the circle was his seed of imagination. I was determined to plant mine.

Learning to draw on my own is an accomplishment I am proud of. Through trial and error, not only did I learn how to draw, but I learned the importance of patience, hard work, and determination. I have learned that to achieve something I need to persevere no matter what. I always try to remember the feeling I had seeing art for the first time whenever I face obstacles.