Writing Feedback / Life in symmetry - Essay. [2]

Well this is just one of my random pieces. Not for any use. I just want it to be read and discussed if anyone is interested. Any creative criticism or argument regarding my views are welcomed!

Life in symmetry

Today, I spend almost two hours trimming the hedges and doing other gardening stuff. After I finished, I liked the change I noticed in my garden. But then I wondered what I really did to please my fastidious eyes. The plants were same as before, exactly at the same place. The only change in them was that they had a kind of distinct pattern, rows of hedges neatly trimmed to give the desired look. What really pleased me was the symmetry I noticed in my little garden.

Human beings have a peculiar affinity for symmetry. In everything they see they search for a kind of symmetry. And at times, they call it beauty. They call a person beautiful if he has all the desired bodily features perfectly in place; if his one eye is a bit large than the other, his beauty gets scarred. And the same applies to his life. If he gets a good job, earns enough money, marries an attractive woman, gives birth to bright children and earns some respect in the society, his life is termed successful. In other words, that much-desired success is a kind of desire for symmetry itself. I don't know how I can explain our love for symmetry. Maybe it is because our body itself is perfectly symmetrical; two eyes, two nostrils, two nipples, a set of limbs and even two nuts, everything in two so that when our body is split from the middle, the symmetry is perfectly maintained. The ones in singular count, belly button or penis, are kept exactly in the middle so that they won't dare to disrupt the symmetry.

I know our hearts do not follow the symmetry; that I learned in A-level Biology. What I truly wish to know is whether our souls are symmetrical. What do you say?

Undergraduate / My view on diversity...DePauw supplement... [10]

This is my response to the Depauw prompt. Since the deadline is Feb 1st, I really need some help. I ll try to return the favor.

Describe a personal experience or a circumstance that has moved you towards a greater understanding of the value of diversity.

"Do you speak English?" a French man, who visited our family as my dad's guest, asked me once. In response, I wagged my head sideways. "Sorry, is that a 'yes' or a 'no'?", he seemed genuinely confused while I was taken aback. I thought it was a common gesture throughout the world. "Yes, I do speak a little bit of English", I replied. "Oh! Your sideways head-wag is same as the forward nod then. I have noticed other Nepalese do that as well." he said. "It's the Nepalese way, a bit of our unique style you see!" with a subtle sense of pride, I replied when a British friend of mine asked me the same question during my stay at Bhakunde.

A few months earlier, I had gone to a remote Nepalese village called Bhakunde where I worked as a volunteer to construct a "Child Care Home" along with five British volunteers from the University of Oxford. During our six weeks stay at Bhakunde, we worked as full-time manual laborers. We ate the same food those people with one-dollar-per-day income would eat and did the same work they did. We, I and my British friends, belonged to the complete different worlds from that of those villagers. For the Britons, skin color was just one the hundred obvious differences. For me, the language of that village itself was different to the Nepali I spoke back at home. Yet, just after a month's stay, we felt like we too belonged to that village. We loved the jokes those villagers enjoyed sharing repeatedly with us. We displayed superb skills at their local games and learned almost all the steps of their folk dance. We loved their local wine even more than they did. For my British counterparts, language was no more a trouble for they could interact well with the villagers even with their limited Nepalese vocabulary and elaborate hand gestures. Slowly, our distinction was marred and all that truly remained was our mutual love and respect.

At Bhakunde, I understood that diversity is nothing to be tolerated or adjusted for. It is rather something to embrace and appreciate. The more openly one embraces the differences in others, the better will he notice the beauty hidden in every subtle difference. Every variation, be it a cultural or an individual difference, makes the world all the more interesting.

After my return from Bhakunde, when I took an Australian friend of mine for a drive around Kathmandu valley, he asked me a question, "I have seen many guys in Kathmandu holding hands together. Are they all gay?" With a smile on my face, I promptly replied "No that is just a Nepalese way of displaying friendly affection. Besides, doesn't that make our culture even more fascinating?"