Undergraduate / Keep smiling there will be a happy, person who has had a significant influence on you [4]

hey guys,
i'm kind of stressing out because of my essay...so would be great if you could give me some feedback. feel free to tear it apart :D (i'm not a native speaker)

Keep smiling there will be a happy end!

"Happiness is the only thing which doubles, if one shares it" (Albert Einstein)
That has always been my favorite quote.
Many students probably write that their parents, relatives or perhaps a Nobel Prize winner has influenced them most. Yet, I would like to know about my dear friend Gully. Gully and I have been friends since 5th grade and to me she has always been one of the most optimistic people I have ever known. Her constant smiling face can always light up my day.

As I have been class president since 7th grade, I considered myself a mature, independent and optimistic person. It never crossed my mind that sometimes I was a foolish child. Due to my leadership role in class, my teachers have treated me like an adult at a very young age on. Yet, Gully would prove me wrong. In fact until the end of 9th grade, I was still a whiny little girl.

As I mentioned, ever since I have known Gully, she has always told me to embrace the moment and not solely look at the dark side of life. Every time I started to whine about some unfortunate events, she would carefully listen to me and tell me to not look back but take every mistake or problem as an experience for the future. "Keep smiling, there will be a happy end", she always told me. Secretly, I envied her because in my mind she led a perfect life without any worries. Since I thought no one could always look at the bright side of life. However, my assumption would prove itself completely wrong.

Starting in 9th grade Gully frequently missed classes. Whenever I asked her about it, she solely told me she had a cold or fever and I did not ask any further question until she disappeared from school for over two months. Since I was curious and cared about her well-being, I decided to visit her. At her house, I found a very weak Gully whose shoulder was wrapped. When I asked her what happened, she told me she just had a surgery in which a tumor was removed from her right shoulder. I could not believe it. Apparently, Gully had suffered under the pain of the tumor all that time; she was still able to keep up her smile. I truly felt embarrassed that I complained about so many small things while she actually had bigger problems. Although the new gained knowledge shocked me, I was happy that she was fine, but this was my second false assumption.

A couple months after her surgery, Gully started to complain about severe headaches. Both of us knew a possible reason for the headache but I did not want to believe it. After Gully came back from the doctor she told me the truth which I did not want to believe: her tumor had moved to her brain. Considering the fact that she was the one who suffered she was way stronger than me. After all, I was the one who cried for her. I asked God why her? She was just a 15 years girl, she should not carry such a heavy burden with her! Again, it was Gully who comforted me, saying the exact same words again: "Keep smiling, there will be a happy end". I had never cried that hard ever in my life, I could not help her nor share her pain. Furthermore, she has not even lived her life! Looking back, I know that although my tears showed Gully my affection for her,they were probably also the reason why she had not told me about her sickness before: she was worried that her problems would break my heart.

During the middle of 10th grade, she left my school in order to treat her disease. Still today, I admire her courage and her unstoppable effort to make the best out of her life under the circumstances.

Nowadays Gully still thanks me for being such a good friend during her sickness. (She was already back at school when I returned from my year in the States.) However, she has not realized that I actually learned way more and received much more support than she from me. Through her sickness, I had the time to think over my life. Suddenly, I understood what she has always tried to teach me. It is true that we only live once - at least in this body- .

Through Gully, not only did I start to appreciate every single moment of my life but also, she taught me that no obstacle should come between one's happiness and dreams. Therefore, no matter what happens, I will keep up my smile, because with every problem, there will be a solution. I know that sometimes I still complain about trivia, but every single day I learn to appreciate and be grateful for my life a little more. I do not only want to enjoy my life myself, I would like to bring happiness and a small joy to other people. Hence, it is always the highlight in my week when I visit the elderly in the nursing home. It feels great to see how happy I can make them just by reading aloud to them.

Yet, one thing I taught Gully is that it is true that happiness doubles when one shares it but burden will also be halved if you share it with your friends.

Therefore I would now extend my favorite quote to: Happiness is the only thing which doubles, I one shares it. Though, burdens will be halved if one shares them with one's friends. And don't forget to keep smiling, because there will be a happy end.

Undergraduate / "To change the world; starving African babies" UPenn supplement [10]

ok i have written on this part wa too long and still i feel like something is miss or something is off!
i would be sooooo thankful if could help me out !!! thanks!

Considering both the specific undergraduate school or program to which you are applying and the broader University of Pennsylvania community, what academic, research, and/or extracurricular paths do you see yourself exploring at Penn

Back in the days when I was about six years old, I always proclaimed that I would like to change the world. I remember sobbing in front of the television, when I was first confronted with starving African babies. After asking my mother why the baby was starving, she answered that sadly some people are less fortunate than we are, but she also told me that I could help them. As long as I give my best, she believed that one day I could help the little babies.

My hope never vanished. As I grew older, I thought a lot about it. First, I wanted to become a doctor. Sadly, I am not able to see blood. Due to my passion to take up responsibility and leadership roles, I realized the best way to help them is to study management and finance. It does sound weird since people tend to believe that all business school students are money-mad, but this is wrong. To me economic success ties in with social responsibility. Only a true successful manager understands his role in society and his great possibility to help the ones in need. With the knowledge of management and finance I would not only be able to support the people in need financially, but also to build up their economy with the hope that one day there will be no starving babies.

Further, not only social responsibility but also cultural understanding is needed in order to work toward a better future for our world. Many conflicts have evolved through a lack of understanding between cultures. Therefore, I would love to continue my work to engage more fellow peers into cultural exchange by joining the cultural exchange club or establishing a similar club. Cultural exchange should not be a tedious topic; I would love to share my experience from my several school exchanges to Japan, France, the US and Great Britain and tell about the cultures not verbally but in action. I picture my friends and peers and I cooking together on dorm an international dinner, watching love movies from France or maybe horror movies from Japan and most importantly; having fun.

As sport connects all people throughout the world (the Soccer world cup for instance), it also plays a huge role in my life. It has always helped me balance myself even in the worst and most stressful situations; therefore I would love to join sport clubs. Secretly, I hope to join the tennis team. I started playing tennis at an age of 10 and I deeply fell in love with this sport. Sadly, after I returned from the US I was not able to continue to play in my local tennis team since my school schedule interfered with the match dates. Still, I just love to go out on the court and hit some balls with my friends. To me it is not only a great alternative to bust out stress but a great way to meet new people.

Undergraduate / "The essential is only visible to the heart " supplement essay [3]

hope you all had a wonderful christmas!
I am thankful for all advices feedback and grammar corrections!! dont take it easy on me!

What book has influenced you most

"Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye" (The Little Prince)

Unlike any other books I have read the Little Prince countless times. However, every single time I understand the book a bit different.
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Undergraduate / "Every dream is as valuable as the other" - What is x? - University of Chicago [2]

its the last day so hope to receive feedbacks and maybe some grammatic corrections
thx in advance! btw let me know i will also help with your essay!!

„What is X?" I asked myself after reading the extended essay topics question. Unknown whether I missed a hint or some basic knowledge about x, as boring as it sounds I looked it up on Wikipedia. As expected x is defined as the 24th letter of the alphabet, a cross, ten in the Roman numerals, a missing variable in math, the katakana "me" in the Japanese alphabet, the Chinese word "yi" (to govern, manage, control), name of human chromosomes and the list could go on and on. Seeing the whole list I realized that x could be everything, depending how we define it. Therefore, in order to find x I need to define my own x.

But what is x for me? Over thinking the question, I asked myself what I wish for in my life. Of course as many people I hope to attend the University of Chicago, receive good grades, make many friends, find true love, success and etc. Yet, these answers seemed too superficial because is it not what everyone wishes for? Digging deeper into my soul I realized that happiness is maybe my x. However, for me in order to be truly happy is to know that my family, friends and surrounding are happy too. Therefore, maybe bringing joy to others is my happiness.

Recalling my childhood when I was roughly six year old, I proclaimed that "I would like to change the world". I remember crying in front of the television, when I first saw the misery in Africa. I could not understand why the world was so unfair. After asking my mother why, she answered that "sadly some people are less fortunate than we are" but she also told me that I could help them. As long as I give my best, she believes, that one day I bring change. Well, I never gave up on this aim. So maybe my x is than change, the change I would like to bring to our world.

Another idea of my x would be to find and sustain the child inside me. As we grow older, the responsibility we carry also grows. We will never be as innocent and free as during our childhood when our parents took the responsibility for us. Yet, a book called The Little Prince taught me, that being "childish" does not mean not to take responsibility, but being open-minded, kind, imaginative, be aware of the beauty of our world and cherish life. Studying far from my home will make me more independent. Despite, I will symbolically end my childhood by leaving my parent's protection and shelter. Although, I cannot stop me growing up I will keep hold to the innocence, honesty, fantasy and purity of a child.

As I continue to think about the prompt, the list could go on and on. Therefore, as Wikipedia already showed me I realized that there is not only one x in our life. Because everyone's character is complex, we always have more than one goal. Therefore, x is just x. If we would define x closer, it would lose its purpose. If we set x only for one "value", life would be to plain. I do not believe in major and minor life goals. Every dream is as valuable as the other, because they are the reasons why we live, our driving force and our road to happiness.