Undergraduate / 'Hong-Kong and Toronto' - Common App short answer - activities [11]

Here is my slightly edited version for UIUC's activities prompt. Could somebody please take a look at it and tell me what they think? Thanks!

"Choose one extracurricular activity, work experience or community service project from the list you provided on the application and explain why you initially chose it, why you continued with it, and how you benefited from it."

High school basketball is just one of the aspects of high school life that I will remember forever. For five of the seven years I lived in Hong Kong I was on my school's basketball team. As a lifelong sports fan, I immediately pounced on the opportunity early in middle school to join a sports team that I truly had a passion for. Hailing from the Great White North of Canada, I had a love for hockey but being in Hong Kong completely ruled out its existence.

When our very first practices were held, nobody even knew how to shoot a basketball properly, but we have come a long way since then. It was a long, arduous journey, but last year we finally earned the title of regional champions. Everyone exploded with emotion at the sound of the final buzzer as we noisily celebrated our victory. We realized that hard work does eventually pay its dividends; our determination and perseverance had brought us success. As a team we had no one else to thank but each other and perhaps most importantly, our coach. It was not an obligation for him to coach our team yet he had not once given up on us. No matter the score, we were to treat every game as a learning experience. Most importantly, we learned to distinguish between playing to fight and playing to win. That day, we played to win.

For my teammates, the journey would not end there, but for me it would. Two months after our victory, my family relocated back to Toronto and it was then that I reflected on the friendships and bonds I had formed with my teammates. It's amazing how, simply by playing basketball together, these friendships have transformed into relationships that will forever have their own reserved place in my heart.

Undergraduate / Additional Info - explaining extenuating circumstances [4]

There's a section on the Common App that asks you to explain/attach a document if you have/will graduate early/late, have/will change schools, etc etc.

Both of those sort of apply to me (one definitely does) so I've written a single page letter for clarification and explanation purposes. I know this isn't really an essay but it still needs proof reading, right? Plus it's good if complete strangers read it because that's who my target audience is anyway.

So here it is:

December 12, 2008

Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances Affecting Academic History

Dear Sir or Madam,

With this letter I hope to clarify and further explain my unique, extenuating circumstances which, I believe, have affected my academic record; specifically the current academic year in progress.

I have attended two different secondary schools in different continents over the past three years. My family relocated to Hong Kong in the year 2001 after I completed Grade 4 in the Gifted Program at a Toronto public school. Prior to this relocation I had skipped a grade early on in elementary school so throughout Grades 1 and 4 I was a year younger than the rest of my classmates. When I arrived in Hong Kong, my parents had attempted to enroll me in the grade above my age level but the school's administrators informed us that there were no openings in Grade 5 and they could only put me back into Grade 4. I subsequently completed the equivalents to Grades 4 through 10 at various international schools in Hong Kong that followed a British curriculum. During Grades 9 and 10 I studied a two-year I/GCSE course and completed standardized examinations in 10 different subject areas in June 2008.

My family then decided that it would be best to permanently return to Toronto that summer for various reasons; my elder sister would be a freshman at an American university in the fall thus financial issues were involved and a close relative had also recently passed away. As a result, I have had to readjust in many ways to both my school and personal life. Upon returning to Toronto, I was granted permission to enroll in Grade 12 instead of Grade 11 due to my status prior to my relocation to Hong Kong 7 years earlier. The adjustments have proven to be quite challenging for me as I have had to adjust from a British to a Canadian education system as well as from a weekly, triple term timetable to a two-semester block schedule. Academically, I have experienced the most difficulty in my Advanced Functions and Physics classes, which has shone through on my midterm report. Previously, in Hong Kong, both my math and science courses were combined - with no specific concentration. In math we covered all topics including geometry, algebra, functions and statistics and in science we studied all three of biology, chemistry and physics over the course of two years. I believe the broad based IGCSE curriculum was very beneficial in providing a good foundation of knowledge, however, the math and science courses in the Ontario curriculum are very different in the sense that they are more focused on specific topic areas. As a result of the IGCSE curriculum's broad-based nature, specific areas of study (such as functions) are not studied in as much detail as they may have been in the Grade 10 or 11 course equivalent in Ontario.

I sincerely hope I have helped create a clearer picture and possibly cleared up any possible confusion on my circumstances. I am not seeking an excuse for my poor midterm marks, but hope that you will take my circumstances into account when evaluating my application. If any future clarification is necessary, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or telephone at [email address] or [phone number].

Thank you for your understanding.

Yours truly,

Priscilla Leung

Please read it and tell me if it's clear and easy to understand. I've tried to make it sound as simple as possible (it was hard) so that I don't have admissions officers scrunching up their foreheads trying to decipher this. Also, I'm not too sure if I need the last sentence - would the admissions office really need to contact me about this?

Point out any grammatical mistakes you might see as well or any suggestions for improvements for certain areas. Is the format okay? Is the middle paragraph too long? I'm currently sitting at a little over a page (everything after the last sentence is on the 2nd page) so I either need to cut it a few sentences shorter or fix the margins...

Thanks in advance!

Undergraduate / "Why Rice?" Essay [5]

Could someone please check this for grammar, etc? Also, does it help to be more specific when writing to "Why _____?" essays so that you're not generic and simply regurgitating things from the brochure? Do you think my essay is too generic?

What motivated you to apply to Rice University? Please be specific and limit your response to 200 words.

In all honesty, a mere twelve months ago I was almost unaware of Rice University. It wasn't until a friend of mine brought up her aspirations to study in the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program that I began looking into Rice as a future possibility for myself.

I was reading masses of information about many other schools but nothing had created as strong an image as the Rice's values of tradition, small class sizes and unique residential college experience. As a lifelong sports fan, I could almost immediately imagine myself playing powder puff football with other members of my residential college. As someone whose life is empty without a slight dose of humor, I began picturing myself participating in one of the many Rice pranks. I was drawn to the fact that traditions could be so light hearted and comical at such a prestigious, renowned academic institution like Rice.

Academically, throughout high school, I have often taken accelerated courses with smaller class sizes and I strongly believe that a small class provides the best possible learning environment for students primarily through close contact with the teacher and insightful class discussions. I had found the missing pieces of my college search puzzle in Rice as it was able to offer me unique experiences both inside and outside of the classroom.

Word Count: 218

Undergraduate / "Why architecture?" essay - Rice [3]

Please read and give any feedback - good or bad. All criticism is welcome but please be constructive and tell me why you think that way. Thanks!

One thing to bear in mind whilst reading - do you think I transition between my travel experiences and the home stay well?

What aspirations, experiences, or relationships have motivated you to pursue the study of architecture?

The 360 degree panorama I took in of Melbourne's Federation Square was the single most defining moment of my recently developed architectural craze. The unusual geometry of the sandstone and metal structure was captivating. From afar, Federation Square stuck out like a thorn amongst Victorian-style buildings in Downtown Melbourne. I pondered how rewarding it must be to have your own structure recognized as a tourist destination with people coming from afar just to snap a picture of it.

Eighteen months later, in Dubai, the same feeling resonated inside of me. People wonder why Dubai has become the world's most recent architecture spotlight, but once you are physically there you wonder no more. You have to see the incomplete Burj Dubai already towering over its neighbors in order to genuinely grasp how tall it will be once completed. Then you have to ride an abra (a traditional wooden boat) along Dubai Creek, admire the buildings lining the water and visit the door step of the famous 'sailboat' that is the Burj Al Arab Hotel. Lastly you take a look around you and see construction sites everywhere you turn. It is only then that you will come to believe that this is just the beginning of Dubai's reign as the world's architecture capital. My extensive travel experiences left me with an intense desire to be a part of something great; I wanted to be able to show all my family and friends with pride what I had accomplished.

But everything changed after spending a week with a local family in Malaysian Borneo. Myself and a small group of friends participated in a home stay program as part of a school trip. We were from the big bustling city of Hong Kong; wherever we travelled we stayed in hotels and resorts so the prospect of living in a complete stranger's house filled us with both excitement and anxiety. Thankfully, our host family was very friendly and welcoming. Throughout the week they treated us like their own family - they woke us up in the morning and told us to sleep at night so we wouldn't be tired the next day. I was in great admiration of their hospitality simply because their house was no mansion yet they still happily volunteered to accommodate five teenage city girls they did not know.

As the week progressed, I became increasingly aware of this family's poor living conditions compared to ours back in Hong Kong as well as the sacrifices they have made in order to continually accommodate strangers like us. Things like hot water to shower with and a four burner stove to cook on are staples in the city, but in Malaysia they are a luxury. No matter the season or time of day, this family took cold showers. Every single day of the year, the mother cooked dinner for four people on a single stove because the second one was broken and they couldn't find a repairman nearby. Each time our host family has guests, they give up three of their four rooms to accommodate them and all four members of their family must squeeze into their tiny master bedroom which was the size of my own bedroom. And at the end of it all, when their guests leave, they receive nothing in return besides a meager financial compensation from the organization in charge of the program.

This experience in Malaysian Borneo completely reversed my opinions of architecture as I realized that there is much more to architecture than what meets the eye. It's not all about the pride and fame of designing an innovative structure because after all, not every architect becomes rich and famous like Frank Gehry or I.M. Pei. Surely there is pride in constructing the world's next tallest building, but there is also pride in helping those whom you know deserve and need your help. Families like my host family deserve to be rewarded with more than just a wad of cash. Welcoming strangers into their home has been like a hobby for them yet they are contemplating quitting the program simply because their house isn't big enough for it. If only someone could rebuild a larger house with several guest rooms, a proper kitchen and hot water, this family could continue inspiring the lives of others with their generosity. And that is exactly what I have the ambition to achieve one day, as a token of my appreciation for their inspiration and continual selflessness. The world is a very big place but contributions to society don't have to be on a global scale but if I could just help out this one family, at least I've secured myself a pretty good stepping stone.

Undergraduate / Rice Architecture Supplement - enjoy most outside of academics [5]

Prompt: Outside of academics, what do you enjoy most or find most challenging?

Life is just one continuous lesson that spans eighty (or more, if you're lucky) years. You are born one day and in no time you learn to cry, talk, and then walk. Eventually you learn how to tie your shoelaces. Every single day there is something new to learn; small or big, useful or not. Be it how to finally cook without setting off the smoke alarm, how to spell onomatopoeia or a strange fact about Brad Pitt, it's something you didn't know the day before.

The human brain can be fed with a plethora of things so, technically speaking, it should never be hungry. However, just like 'Survivor' competitors who can't seem to catch any fish in the sea, my brain seems to always be hungry. It all began early in my childhood when I was bored by elementary school and needed something to occupy me after school. My mother was busy with her household duties and rarely had time to keep me entertained so I took matters into my own hands. What began with a pile of picture books eventually evolved into an almost detrimental fondness for music, technology and sports.

With technology constantly advancing, it is almost impossible to keep up with every evolution. I found myself reading about various brands and products in my spare time as I became caught in the eye of the storm of portable electronics like laptops, cell phones and mp3 players. The Internet has no limits and there is something new to discover every day. I progressed from teenager-friendly gadgets to computer software then to digital cameras and photography. At the dinner table I would ramble about gigabytes, mega pixels and Apple. In the blink of an eye, I established myself as the go-to tech guru within my family and circle of friends - I give advice on which computers, cameras and mp3 players to buy to ensure people got the best bang for their buck. One of the most important things I do though is to translate all the tech speak you see in a product's specifications into human speak so that it is comprehensible for an Average Joe. I was once an Average Joe myself so I understand how mind boggling it is when a salesperson answers a simple "What features does it have?" question by reciting a three minute verse about bytes, bits, mega this and giga that. Money was hard earned and I simply wanted to ensure that the people around me were spending it well.

One day, the YouTube storm struck. Generally speaking, amongst most parents and adults, YouTube generates an abundance of negative connotations. I won't deny that it is the ultimate source of procrastination for many teenagers including myself, but it is also a little known fact that YouTube can be a great educational tool as well. Not all of the millions of videos are utterly pointless and sometimes, believe it or not, there are even benefits to our procrastination. I purchased an acoustic guitar with a mission to learn to play it without taking proper lessons but my only problem was I had absolutely no idea where to begin. That is where YouTube fits into my picture of productive procrastination. Everything I have learned about the acoustic guitar was taken straight from YouTube videos and when I mean everything, I literally mean everything - from how to hold a pick to how to play simple songs like 'Wonderwall'.

The possibilities on YouTube are endless and soon enough I was sitting at home on weekends browsing the video sharing site for more than just online guitar lessons. I took the occasional skateboarding or beat boxing "lesson", but eventually found my niche with Photoshop tutorials. I may not be the best guitarist or artist or most knowledgeable tech guru, but if there is one thing I think I do better than most people it is my consisten motivation to find ways of learning new techniques to further expand my knowledge and improve my skills - even if it may bottle down to watching a low quality online video captured by a total stranger.

Do you think this portrays me in a negative light with my constant presence on Youtube? Also, should I somehow (I have no idea how I would do it) draw a tighter link with architecture?

Any feedback welcome, thanks!

Undergraduate / The Rice School of Architecture essay to present my reasons for choose this university [3]

This is for the Rice School of Architecture. Please comment & any feedback/critique is welcome. I'm not a huge fan of my ending/last paragraph but I can't think right now (huge migraine ><) so I'm completely open to all suggestions. Thanks!

With the understanding that the choice of academic school you indicated is not binding, explain why you are applying to that particular school of study.

Rice - "why this college?" essay

When my sister played with Barbie dolls and held tea parties, I sat on the same carpet playing with Lego. It's impossible to say that I'm an instant match for architecture simply because I grew up playing with Lego instead of dolls, but I hold Lego responsible for fostering my fascination for creating and building things. What can you do with Barbie dolls anyway? They stare you with the same facial expression and blonde hair every day. With Lego I was creating my own unique shapes each time I poured the pieces out of the box.

In my very first design technology class in middle school I clearly remember the excitement that bubbled inside me as I found out that we would be designing and making our own "products". My juvenile fascination was an academic subject! I thrived in my design and technology classes through middle and high school, mostly due to the nature of the class. It is one of those classes in school that lets your imagination run wild, but unlike English or Drama, it was the only class where the fruits of your imagination were concrete. It also happened to be the only class that did not involve consistent, feverish note taking; instead it was practical and hands-on. By managing our own unique design projects, everyone played an active role in their learning and any mistakes or setbacks were simply another lesson to be learnt. As a student, this brought me great success as I achieved the finest balance between enjoyment and motivation in design technology; I became living proof that one of the key factors to success is having a strong interest in the topic. Naturally, as human psychology dictates, an interest will indicate enjoyment which will then fuel motivation and we all know that success and motivation go hand in hand.

Architecture certainly does not mimic high school design technology classes but through it I will be able to pursue my fascination for building things in an academic context. Constructing models is only a small portion of architecture, but my keen interest will drive my motivation towards successfully acquiring all the skills necessary of a professional architect. Someday, I hope to eventually turn my childhood fascination for Lego into an immaculate structure which will serve as my microscopic mark on the world and Rice School of Architecture is where I see it all begin.

Undergraduate / USC essay #3, "our 24-hour journey" [5]

The deadline is tomorrow but I've had so much work this week I haven't had much time to improve my essays off the Common App.

Here's what I used for the Common App's "significant experience" prompt, USC's is slightly different:
Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force. Tell us about an external influence (a person, an event, etc.) that affected you and how it caused you to change direction.

It's a little on the long side but I'm not sure what to cut out. I'm thinking I don't need the 1st prgh but it's my favorite prgh of the whole essay, lol.

Any suggestions?

Hundreds of seat belts were buckled simultaneously as the engines revved loudly outside. Slowly we lurched forward, waiting our turn to depart and before I could even say "I love Hong Kong" I felt my back being pressed hard against the seat as a result of the airplane's steep incline. Several thousand feet below me was the urban canvas I had called home for seven years; its characteristic hills, beaming skyscrapers and roads conquered by little red taxi ants. Who knew when I would next bear witness to this canvas?

When I was nine years old, my family made the trip of a lifetime by moving halfway around the world. I was extremely reluctant to move but what did my opinion matter; I was the baby of the family. Throughout our 24-hour journey I ensured my voice was heard loud and clear - "But it's hot in Hong Kong and it doesn't snow! And they don't have hockey on TV..." I would whine. But looking back, I wonder if I had thought any deeper than white powdery precipitation and that national sport all Canadians have come to love - I probably should have.

As a naïve young child, I settled into life in Hong Kong with many prejudices, stereotypes and assumptions. I was extremely judgmental reassured myself that I would come and go with the same feeling of loathing and dislike, all before I set foot in the city with the 852 area code. In my mind, Hong Kong was constantly shrouded with pollution and there were too many people crammed into one tiny area. For some reason, I also thought that Hong Kong consisted purely of black-haired Chinese people who could not speak a word of English. Funnily enough, I had black hair and my Chinese skills matched those of a tourist reading a phrasebook. The language barrier was going to make life somewhat difficult as I realized I couldn't order a McNuggets meal without pointing at three different pictures on the menu and speaking to two cashiers. The humid climate skyrocketed its way to the top of my 'Cities with the World's Worst Weather' list as I continually wondered: "how on Earth could I end up liking this place?" But as things turned out, I was wrong.

Living in Hong Kong has been my giant portal to the world. It has opened my eyes to the world's mosaic and allowed me to experience the true meaning of internationalism. Initially, I was completely unaware that there were - what I now know are called expatriates - in Hong Kong and I was amazed to see that there were people with blonde hair and blue eyes walking on the streets. I attended an international school at which the definition of "international" was seen through the student body. In any class I could be in the same room as people from up to ten different countries like Germany, Holland, India, Scotland, and the Philippines. At the same school I met a Welsh teacher and Indian students who could speak better Chinese than half the school's Chinese population and, slowly, I began to recognize how inaccurate my assumptions and stereotypes were.

Over the years, I also watched Hong Kong grow into its position as "Asia's World City", as the Hong Kong Tourism Board has coined it. Schemes were introduced to teach the workforce basic English and I noticed very slight decline in the number of people who stared at you on the train if English phrases spewed from your mouth instead of Cantonese ones. Whilst millions of people were learning my native language, English, I was mastering theirs. Cantonese was relatively easy to pick up since I was engulfed by it, and I learned Mandarin as a foreign language in school. Slowly but surely I was overcoming the language barrier I lived behind for several years. I could order a McDonalds meal without pointing at pictures and I even began translating simple phrases for my Caucasian friends. More than a year after completing my GCSE Mandarin course, I took on the challenge of the SAT Subject Test for Chinese. I didn't end up with a perfect 800, but my family and friends were proud of my 750 points considering how I started from scratch only a few years ago. Hong Kong was no longer a place where communication was impossible and it only led me to rethink my silly assumptions as a nine-year old.

Gliding through the air on board AC016, I reminisced on the many experiences and opportunities that have come my way in the last seven years - many of which would not have been possible had I stayed in Canada. I would not have picked up the Chinese language nearly as quickly and I definitely would not have met a Chinese-speaking Welsh woman. As a person, I came to realize how detrimental it is to be narrow-minded and judgmental. In a sense you're like a dog wearing an Elizabethan cone; the world you see is only a tiny fraction of the big picture, it is one pixel of the entire photograph. This was the greatest lesson I learned from my experience as well as realizing that stereotypes are a useless part of society. The world is not black and white; in between there are millions of shades of gray and not everyone fits into one specific category. Sometimes there's that one needle in a haystack that completely defies all stereotypes, but most other times, every other strand of hay looks similar on the surface, but has its own unique characteristics beneath it all.

Thanks!

Undergraduate / USC short answer - "my sister played with Barbie" [5]

Describe your academic interests and how you plan to pursue them at USC.

When my sister played with Barbie dolls and held tea parties, I sat on the same carpet playing with Lego. Lego fostered my fascination for building things, which led me to almost instantly fall in love with my design technology course.

Architecture certainly doesn't mimic middle or high school design technology classes, nor is it the same as Lego, but through it I will be able to pursue my fascination for building things in an academic context. I may not be the best at everything required of an architecture student, but the whole point of education is to learn, to develop and to expand your horizons.

In my opinion, you learn something new every day; small or big, useful or not. Whether it is learning how to cook without setting off the smoke alarm, learning how to spell onomatopoeia or simply coming across a strange fact about Brad Pitt, it's something you didn't know the day before. I strongly believe that the wealth of resources that will be available to me at USC can only cultivate my eagerness to learn. Through the 21 libraries with millions of books and other media or through the large variety of classes conducted by an enormous faculty, related to architecture or not; there will never be a dull day for me at USC. The wide array of courses available in the architecture department alone is astonishing, and I look forward to improving my design skills in ARCH 102, whilst also learning about how technology has impacted architecture in courses like ARCH207 Computer Applications in Architecture and ARCH 213 Building Structure and Seismic Design. The sheer breadth and diversity at USC is truly one of a kind, couple that with an infamous alumni network and, to me, the end result is the perfect environment for an eager learner like me.

1. Do you think I answer the prompt well enough? Do I need to be more specific? :S
2. Is it too long? It's supposed to be a short answer but they don't have a word limit or anything..I'm sitting at around 300 words right now.

Thanks! Any comments appreciated!

Undergraduate / Macalester Supplement (experience in Kota Kinabalu) [14]

Describe a situation where you had to work or closely associate with someone from a culture very different from your own. What challenges did you face and how did you resolve them?

Righty for Six Days

If you were an airplane passenger, the thought of thirty teenagers occupying four rows of seats would probably be your worst nightmare. Luckily, we were seated at the very back of the plane where our disturbance would be minimal. We were en-route to Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of the Sabah province in Malaysian Borneo, because we had opted to delve into the lives of a Malaysian family for six days.

Our host families lived in a village in the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu. Weeks before departure, our teachers constantly reiterated the many rules that we should be aware of since Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country and the Sabah province was no exception. There were so many restrictions imposed by Islamic culture, especially for females, that we were each give a list of do's and don'ts. We were visitors to their homes and their country so showing respect was very important. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that their lifestyles would be drastically different from ours. As my eyes quickly skimmed the list, I felt bullet points literally jump out of the page at me, most noticeably: "It is considered rude to use your left hand when eating or greeting someone with a handshake. Please use your right hand on such occasions and as often as possible".

Left-handers make up approximately 10% of the human population, and considered to a certain extent as a non-conformist, I am very proud to be part of this minority. Just like the majority of situations, my left handedness was not going to work to my advantage in Malaysia. We had a small, home cooked buffet as a welcoming meal, and my struggles to achieve a balance between personal comfort and respect immediately surfaced. I realized that eating was not going to be an easy task as I stabbed at vegetables multiple times and pushed mushrooms to every edge of the plate until their path probably covered every inch of the green plastic plate. It had been almost eight hours since our last meal so when I thought no one was looking; I quickly switched hands and gobbled down chunks of food. "Don't be disrespectful, Pri!" my friends teased, but I was starving! However, as a representative of our school and in some ways also the city of Hong Kong, it was my duty to be respectful so I did not maintain my left-handed eating ways for long. Throughout the meal my friends watched in amusement long after they finished eating as I switched from left to right and vice versa multiple times. This was only the beginning of the epic saga of our experiences with Malaysian and Islam culture.

Growing up in a Chinese family, healthy eating was preached constantly at the dinner table - "Don't eat so many fried things!", "Eat your vegetables!" my mother would always demand. Her reasons went far beyond the usual of zits and the food pyramid; they delved into the realms of Chinese superstitions that I do not (and never will) understand. Apparently, these arguments hold no merit in Malaysia where, one night, we helped prepare an unusual dish - deep fried cauliflower. Wasn't the whole point of eating vegetables to be healthy? So doesn't deep frying them completely negate this purpose? As guests it was not our place to be critical. It was an unusual dish and I was surprisingly reluctant to try it; I suppose my mother reinforced her rules well.

Throughout the trip, everyone had to take extra precaution with their actions. Handshakes and greetings were only considered polite if done with the right hand and a gesture as simple as pointing had to be done with the right thumb instead of a forefinger. The left hand is considered "dirty" due to its connections with the bathroom. It was obvious that life in rural Malaysia was very different from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, but we were open to the many adaptations and adjustments we had to make. After all, nobody was asking for us to live there forever. The village folk happily welcomed us into their lives and all we could give them in return was our respect. This was their lives and they weren't going to change it just so that we could continue to live our city lifestyles. That also defied the purpose of a home stay program. It was up to us to adapt to their culture and lifestyle as much as possible because as guests it was our responsibility to show the utmost respect to these generous strangers. Most of the time they were extremely understanding, knowing that we were not accustomed to pointing with our thumbs and that I could barely hold a fork with my right hand (there were numerous occasions where I used my left hand first), and soon enough following their cultural practices was unimportant as we realized that it was our differences that brought us so close together.

I'm not sure if I answer the prompt well enough because it wasn't that big of a challenge after all. And there wasn't really a clear resolution...

I wanted to be honest and I really suck at fabricating something realistic so...I went with a true story.

Tell me what you think, thanks!