Undergraduate / timid new world - my first year in america [5]

Describe the most difficult adversity you have faced, and describe how you dealt with it.

As I entered my first American class in fifth grade, I didn't realize that would be my biggest challenge yet. I had just moved from India to the United States of America. The world I entered was new - the buildings were tall, the streets were clean, and there were computers in class-rooms. This was new to me. People treated me as if I were an odd-ball. I was peculiar. Little things made me the outcast. I was the only girl with long hair with two braids, I wore a bindhi on my forehead, and I would apply baby oil to my hair. I was made fun of for the things I didn't have in common with these new people. The students in my class made faces at me, made fun of my accent, and even tripped me. I was alone in this new world except for my family at home.

Just when I thought I couldn't go to school anymore, a couple of American girls invited me to do projects with them, the teachers helped me ease through the new school, and my family gave me moral support. With the help that I received, I realized I had to become one of the "fittest" for the world only has room for the strong ones. I stood up for my beliefs, my Indian culture in front of those students. When a girl said, "Um...Is that blood on your forehead?" I would reply, "No, it's a bindhi. It's a tradition for Indian women to wear this. In fact, there are some really pretty ones; I can bring you some tomorrow." After several instances such as the last, those same students who made fun of me started to accept me. In fact, they thought Indian culture was cool.

I was different. Living in a new world required transitions. And that's exactly what I did; I transitioned rather than transformed. I have my Indian traditions--that were the most important to me-and adapted to the American ones that I thought were essential. Now, with these two cultures, I live a balanced life.

Undergraduate / "Gardening the Indian way" - what i do in my spare time [2]

Outside of academics, what do you enjoy doing most?

When my family moved from India, we missed most of the vegetables from back home. So my mom decided to grow Indian vegetables such as sponge gourd, snake gourd, zucchini, and bitter melon. On the days she was busy, she would ask me to water the plants. The first couple of weeks, I completely detested it. I thought I was wasting my time. However, over the next couple of days, a white flower bloomed from a bitter melon. All of a sudden, for the first time in my life, I wanted to spend more time in the garden watering plants or even digging up the soil to plant more seeds.

Plants are like pets - they come with great responsibility. They have to be fed the right type and the right amount of nutrition; watered at the same time of the day every day, and be defended against dangerous organisms lurking around using the right kind of medicine. Although it is difficult to raise plants from seeds, it is much more rewarding when those plants grow healthy vegetables and fruits. The satisfaction of holding a home-grown vegetable is priceless. I used to think my mom was crazy when I saw her talking to plants. But now, I do the same. Even though plants can't talk back to us, they give us signs of their well-being. And it's from these signs that I know those plants are my children.

Gardening requires patience. Some seeds take longer than expected to germinate, and unfortunately, there are some that don't germinate at all. But, once the seeds start growing into plants, the miracle of life is under process. Whether the plant would grow into a beautiful red rose bush or a snake gourd vine, it adds to the beauty of nature. On days it rains, it's admiring to watch plants take on a new look - one that is much greener and much colorful. Plants gave me more than I could ever repay them. They gave me patience, responsibility, and most important of all, my love for nature.

Besides enjoying nature, gardening has also thought me how to share with people. I grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers every summer in a local community garden-on Louisiana State University campus-as well as on my own at home. Over the years as my vegetables grew abundantly, I shared them with my neighbors, and family friends. And years that the produce wasn't so great, those same neighbors and friends gave me some of theirs. Slowly, it became a tradition every year to either give away or trade some of the fruits and vegetables amongst friends and other members of our community. This gave my family and me an opportunity to experience the different tastes of vegetables and fruits that I didn't grow. It's often simple stuff like sharing that keeps healthy relationships with neighbors and friends, and I am glad that my gardening has forged some strong relations with my neighbors.