Undergraduate / I finally became the "American" - Michigan-Describe a setback Essay [3]

Topic: Describe a setback that you have faced. How did you resolve it? How did the outcome affect you? If something similar happened in the future, how would you react?

Leaving my country was not easy for me and my family. Thinking about living in a new country, adapting to a new culture, and learning a new language was just a big stress for us. My family moved to Los Angeles from South Korea in 2001 and I entered 4th grade. I could not understand a thing, and I was expecting that, but it had influenced my social life. My friends were talking about LA Lakers, Dodgers, and Usher, but I had no idea because I was unfamiliar with them, which alienated me from their social groups. To overcome my stress, I decided to learn the language first.

I only knew alphabets, a few words and phrases, and a few grammar rules, so my classmates thought I was stupid. They treated me differently from everyone else. That is when I decided to learn the language. To learn English faster, I joined a big Christian club called AWANA for a year. At AWANA, I memorized verses from the bible in English, which helped me a lot in writing, in reading, and in speaking English. Also, I memorized 30 or more vocabularies at home every day and studied grammar with my cousin who was fluent in English. After about a year or so, I started to get comfortable with the language, and started to get some friends. But I still continued to memorize vocabularies and studied grammar to make my English perfect.

I also struggled adjusting to the new culture because Korean and American lifestyles and religions are completely different. Korea's food, games, and traditional clothes were rare in America. The good thing was that I was able to eat American fast foods such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. The bad thing was that in America, I was not allowed to play with BB guns that I used to play with in Korea with my friends. Because of that, I put my interest in sports especially in basketball, which helped me learn American sports and helped me get taller. I was happy when I found out that I was actually doing well adapting to the new culture. On holidays like on a New Year, Koreans wear traditional clothes. When I spent my first New Year in LA, I was tempted to wear the traditional clothes, but I refrained myself from wearing it to take another step toward the American culture. The religion was also whole new to me. In Korea, Buddhist temples are all over the nation, but I was not able to see one in America, so I started to attend a church in LA downtown with my family. After a year or so, I finally became the "American" and I was very proud of myself.

This was certainly not easy. Learning in a new country without any knowledge of the language and the culture would be hard for everyone. If I immigrate to a new country or study abroad in the future, I would solve the problem the same way. I will learn the new language first and then start adapting to the new culture.

Undergraduate / A volunteer service; Georgia Tech Essay-What would you do? [2]

Topic: If you were to delay going to college by one year, what would you do with that time? And, what would you hope to gain from that experience?Limit to 5000 characters.

I would want to do something that would change my whole life: a volunteer service. Out of all the volunteer services, I would choose to volunteer at a hospital. People would think, "How can a volunteer service really impact someone's life?" By gaining leadership experiences and a lesson will change anyone's life through a hospital volunteer service. I believe that those two are the most essential part in my life because they have changed the way I am today.

Hospital volunteer was the first and the longest extracurricular activity I have ever done in my high school career. I was a snack bar assistant for a year and a half and my job was to make food, clean, and take orders. I started this volunteer service because my cousin was urging me to do so. At first, I was lazy and hated going to the volunteer service, but after a few months, I started to like it; I was suddenly experiencing the sense of purpose that comes from helping the sick. It had taught me a lesson: the chance you are given to help the patients is the gift from the angels. When you know that you are helping someone, be thankful that you are healthy enough to actually help the sick. This activity was so precious and valuable to me that it became my favorite extracurricular activity in my high school career.

If I get a chance to volunteer at a hospital again, I would choose a position that I would be able to help the patients more physically such as the patient floor volunteers that assist patients. I would push the wheelchairs, help them walk, deliver food, and even feed them if they are not able to do it by themselves. If I take that position, I would do my best to comfort them and satisfy them. I would volunteer everyday to express my feelings and passions.

Leadership experience is something that I want to gain through this activity because I believe that it is one of the most essential experiences in our lives. Leadership plays a big role in our society. It is crucial in our jobs, in our activities, and in our everyday lives. You do not need to be in a high position or become a leader to gain leadership experience. You can gain leadership experience if you become an influential person because that is the definition of a leader. Patient floor volunteers are definitely influential. Patient's mood, health, and conditions are all depended on the volunteers. If volunteers take care of the patients very well, they will be in a good mood leading to a better health and conditions, but if they do not do an adequate job, patients will not be in a good mood, worsening their health and conditions. That is how influential they really are, so this volunteer position can certainly expand my leadership experience.

I also want to gain life lessons from the experience. Life lessons are essential to me because they have shaped me the way I am today. "The chance you are given to help the patients is the gift from the angels." This is the lesson I learned through volunteer service that changed my life. I turned from a very lazy and narcissistic person to a generous and unselfish person. I would like to learn a new lesson that would change my life once again, a lesson that would turn my weaknesses to strengths. I need them to make myself a better person and to become an influential and a great person.

Leadership experiences and lessons make leaders great and powerful because they have the tendency to change their lives. Without them, leaders cannot do an adequate job because they do not have what it takes to become a great leader. I am currently dreaming of becoming a great leader in the future, so I would volunteer at a hospital to take the first step toward my dream.