Undergraduate / What would you design, having money for your idea? [4]

something that would make an everyday life better

If you were given funding for a small engineering project that would make everyday life better for one friend or family member, what would you design?

Would appreciate some criticism and feedback on this essay for UVA Engineering. The word limit is 300.

My cousin is left-handed, although not by choice. His right hand suffers from permanent paralysis; a defect that has been with him since he was born. Because of this, he has trouble using many tools that we take for granted on the daily. One of these tools is the keyboard and mouse.

If I were to design my own engineering project, I would create a mouse that is controlled by the feet. That way, people who are limited to one hand can use their free hand to type on the keyboard and their feet to navigate the mouse. The mouse would be separated into two parts: an area for clicking and an area for moving the mouse icon. The area for clicking would contain two pedals for the right and left mouse click. The pedals would be similar to those on a piano, requiring only a little force to activate them. The area for moving the mouse would be a 2ft x 2ft touchpad that is sensitive to the movement of the user's foot. Each foot will control one part of the mouse. This may be an awkward approach to using a computer at first due to the limited range of motion for ankles, but I'm sure that after a couple of times, people will get used to the mouse.

This project would help my cousin feel more comfortable when playing computer games and browsing the Internet while also helping me enhance my knowledge in computer hardware.

Undergraduate / Supplement Essay for UVA - What is your quirk? [3]

We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are.

Need help proofreading and editing this 250 word essay for UVA. Any criticism is welcome!

addicted to soy sauce with white rice

My favorite dish is soy sauce with white rice. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I have it at least three times a week for lunch, dinner and sometimes as a snack right after I come home from school.
When I was five, I would find myself downing spoonfuls of soy sauce covered rice at the dinner table before being scolded by my mother telling me to add some meat and vegetables onto my bowl. In school, I would take out anything that wasn't rice from my Thermos and eat the rice by itself(made even better if it had soy sauce). Because of my strange addiction, my friends and family would always tease me, claiming that my taste buds hadn't matured yet, but I enjoyed the dish too much to care about what they thought.

Before high school, my favorite part of the dish was its taste. I loved how the salty, umami taste of the soy sauce blended in perfectly with the soft, grainy texture of the rice; the way the two ingredients effortlessly combined together without compromising each other's strengths. But now, I admire it for something else: its simplicity. Soy sauce with rice adds an element of austerity and predictability into my increasingly complex and volatile life. It is a constant standing out within an ocean of variables. My senior year has provided me with many uncertainties: college applications, AP exams, and strains on friendships. These will all come to change different parts of my identity, but one thing will never change: my love for soy sauce with white rice.