Undergraduate / "Half The Sky" is an inspiring and eye-opening novel; Columbia Sup/ "MEANINGFUL" [3]

HEY GUYS! This is my first post (Yahoooo). however i'm running of time. (It's due on 30 of dec) Anything Helps! Thank You !

Please tell us what you found meaningful about one of the above mentioned books, publications or cultural events.

Born and raised in a community where women and men both enjoy somewhat equal rights without any major discrimination, I was ignorant about the discrimination faced by women in some part of the world. "Half The Sky" is an inspiring and eye-opening novel written by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The book brought me face to face with the harsh reality of suffering that many women in this world have been going through. The book is about the stories of real women who had endured discrimination and suffering, but despite all the adversity, they kept hope and struggled for their rights and freedom. They are the women who were brutally discriminated and mistreated, but still never gave up their hope and aspiration. I admire their courage, and found inspirations from these real stories. Though I was greatly disturbed and saddened to find such injustice against women even in this modern century, I was equally inspired to fight and stand for their cause. The book further strengthened my passion to work for underserved and discriminated community in this world.

Undergraduate / A swift breeze greets me ; Stanford/What matters to you, and why?( [NEW]

please be strict and point anything that seems put of place! english learner here. :)

What matters to you, and why?(2000)

A swift breeze greets me as I open the door of my apartment. I walk back right in to grab my umbrella as I realize that the light drizzle of last night sill hasn't stopped. Its amazing how a light drizzle lasts a whole day without any break where as a strong rain lasts much less

As I walk down the stairs, I open my umbrella and shield my bag from the rain. The snails and the worms also make their appearance with the rain , thus I decide to transfer my attention towards my feet to avoid any unfortunate accident. With my head down, concentrating on every spot I step, I don't see the car driving towards me until I hear the screeching noise of the tires. I quickly step back and make a slight bow(A habit I obtained after I lived in japan) towards the man in the car. As I wait for an opportunity to pass across the road, I am reminded of a similar accident I had back in India. Watching the car pass by one by one, I am reminded of the time when a herd of sheep blocked my way as I was running to catch my school bus. The feeling of the moist air, the sound of the whip the farmer used to whip the sheep, the cries of the sheep and the mountain of frustration building up as I watched each sheep blocking me with the fear of missing the bus which meant a 5 mile walk to school. I remember walking these miles only to be greeted by a strict teacher who made me kneel down onto the rough and uneven floor with our hands up high. The exception from it was to come up with an appropriate reason explaining the tardiness and being blocked my a herd of sheep wasn't one of it. As students come with most generic appropriate reasons "I'm sick" and " my dog died" one by one, I started contemplating mine. Until I hear my friend respond with an honest reply of " I fell asleep" She wasn't excused but her honestly inspired me and with the sudden rush of confidence I remember giving my reason " I was blocked my sheep" . I wasn't excused either but kneeling on the rough road with hands in hair suddenly seemed like a sweet reward for my honesty. I was filled with respect for my friend and importantly for myself.

"pamp pamp" the sharp sound of horn I am suddenly back on other side of road , waiting to cross over. I start to walk across as a car finally stops to let me pass. I glance towards the women in the car and bow slightly as I jump over the puddles, walk without steeping over any snails i realize how important my past was. Despite the absence of the candy trees and latest technology, it has embedded in me the various lessons of life, the importance of companionship, the power of honesty, the sweet results of hard work and the confidence to uphold each one of them proudly. It was given me the reasons to love ,respect and accept myself.