Undergraduate / Being Chinese and Venezuelan. My two cultures which defined me. Common App essay - Prompt 1 [3]

Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

exposure to different neigborhoods

As an Asian Latin American, I have the privilege to say that I was exposed to two cultures. In the same place and at the same time. I didn't even have to live in two different countries. In fact, it takes me only thirty minutes to change from one world to another.

My parents met in the 90s soon after they emigrated from small and poor towns in China. Then, they got married and bought the restaurant that would be our home and family business for the next fourteen years. Because both of them had demanding jobs, with long hours that went from early in the morning to midnight, they needed someone to look after my brother and me. Therefore, they hired a Venezuelan woman who would soon become my nanny. She taught me everything I know about her culture, while my mom did the same with her own culture, offering me with two different life perspective from which I took many traits to shape my character.

My cultures taught me to be comfortable with being different. Despite growing up so closely to both cultures, I never felt that I was fully part of any of them. Among Venezuelans my looks always set me apart, it didn't matter that I spoke Spanish fluently or that I was a citizen, for everyone else I wasn't just a simple girl, I was the Chinese girl. On the other hand, I was the only Chinese that barely knew how to speak the language due to the lack of time from my parents to teach me. I was the only one who had been in China just once in her life, making me the phenomenon on the family reunions or Chinese parties. Eventually I realized that it was fine to not fit in and instead started to embrace what both worlds could offer me.

My cultures taught me to be respectful. Because of my peculiar background, I got to live diverse aspects of the Chinese and Latino culture, one of them being religion. At home, my mom would make the whole family pray to the gods on Chinese New Year. While with my nanny who is catholic, I would go to mass on Sunday and try my best to imitate other people. I became aware of the many differences in customs and developed the open-mind that characterizes me nowadays.

My cultures allowed me to be an independent mind. Being a person who practically grew up between two families, there was never a mandatory rule of what I should believe or how I should act. I was always reminded of the importance of my freedom and was allowed to express my beliefs aloud, making it possible for me to be a feminist and to support non-discrimination movements.

Throughout all my childhood, I would travel thirty minutes by car every night from our restaurant to my nanny´s house. The switch between families, traditions and lifestyle made me wonder countless of times who I really was. However, I never felt as if I was losing something every time I left one of my two houses. Instead, I was constantly involved in a cluster of small adventures - at home I would listen to my father sing "Guang Hui Sui Yue" as if he were in a concert or go to the Chinese market to buy white rabbit candies. At my nanny´s house we would play bingo at night and eat "arepas" every breakfast.

To this day, I feel proud of being a mix of cultures. It might not make me a better person or a special one. But my cultures taught me the lessons that defined me, with their many advantages and disadvantages. I realized that I can choose whoever I want to be and I choose to be Chinese and Venezuelan - not just one, but both of them combined in a complex human being.

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Thank you in advance!

Undergraduate / UBC - Tell us more about one or two activities [4]

Tell us more about one or two actvities listed above that are most important to you. Please explain the role you played and what you learned in the process. (350max)

mun and Christmas party team member

When I decided to become a member of the Model United Nations, I didn't know what to expect nor had any experience. However, while listening to our advisor saying "you have eight minutes to write a speech and share it with the class", feeling completely excited, I knew I took the right decision.

Through my period as a delegate, I obtained a vast amount of knowledge about many global and diplomatic situations. I learned from several countries´ policies in order to represent them and most importantly, the role of dialogues on solving disputes and defining the future of a nation.

I had to demonstrate outstanding communication and leadership skills, persuasive debating speeches and an adequate knowledge of the topic in discussion to convince other delegates and the committee chair about my ideas, while overcoming my fear of public speaking.

Although I experienced many failures and insecurities. My excitement and passion never faded away and kept me going during this great experience that allowed me to live some of the most overwhelming and yet amazing moments.

Another activity of importance for me started when I was invited to be part of the organization team of the Christmas party made each year for the children of the orphanage "Casa Hogar San Antonio".

We began recollecting donations in the form of clothes, books and toys and planning some activities for entertainment. I put into practice my leadership and set my goal to make everything a success.

When the day arrived it all went as a rush - from putting balloons all over the place to choosing the right music. I collaborated in anything that required my help. Serving drinks and food, playing with the kids, painting nails and faces, dancing and laughing.

It wasn´t easy to take care of over twenty children, however, I learned that with a positive attitude and motivation we could make anything work and give those kids a memorable Christmas.

At that special moment, there was no such thing as unfortunate and privilege people. For a moment, we were just a huge family celebrating Christmas and that´s what mattered.

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English in not my first language so if you could help me with my grammar I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

Undergraduate / Being Indifferent - Tell us about who you are. UBC [4]

Tell us about who you are. How would your family, friends, and/or members of your community describe you? If possible, please include something about yourself that you are most proud of.

I am proud of being different

Growing up, I always hated taking the bus, not because it was extremely crowded and uncomfortable, but because there, I was some sort of bright extraterrestrial that attracted everyone's attention.

As an Asian Latin American being "different" was part of my daily basis, luckily enough I was always taught to be whoever I wanted to be independently of my background, and so I did.

I am often described as a smart and curious girl that likes to know about every topic from science to literature and history. Sometimes a hardheaded mind that despite being quite tolerant still likes to win every discussion. A girl that works hard on her goals no matter how impossible they seem to be.

Among my friends and family, I am known as the one with the strong personality and soft heart, a nonstop talker that cries from every movie she sees and is definitely a living meme. My teachers think of me as a responsible student who enjoys participating in class and knows how to successfully approach every task she is given.

For me, I am a person that is proud of her little accomplishment - from the simple fact of graduating High School and the IB Diploma without having much support, to the friends I made although being a reserved person.

I will probably always be a phenomenon on the bus, however, I am proud of being different, Chinese and Venezuelan, insecure of many things and still a confident, loud, cheerful and independent teenager.

Undergraduate / What is important to you? My freedom. [4]

Prompt: What is important to you? And why? (maximum 250 words)

My freedom matters to me

"Ethics for Amador" is not my favorite book. Definitely not a reading that I would like to repeat. Now, from all of its statements there is one remarkable sentence stuck in my head "We are not free to choose what happens to us, but free to respond to what happens to us in this or that way".

As an infant, my parents always emphasized the importance of freedom. Of course, I didn't get to choose my family, my nationality or even my name. Decisions that for sure have a great impact in my life -from the why I don't celebrate Christmas as everyone else does to the reason why my name is not Chinese.

However, I was always encouraged to do the things I enjoyed. I never had the need to fulfil other people expectations but my own. Having the privilege to decide my passions and dreams, what to believe and how to act.

In a world where plenty of people lives to please what society demands, I grew up as a product of my own choices, which constantly convince me that freedom is the most important we can have.

My freedom allows to reach my goals, to believe and defend my opinion upon topics such as non-discrimination and to never give up on my passion for both science and art. It matters to me because it grants me control over my life and it's a reminder that regardless of the circumstances, I can choose whoever I want to become.