Undergraduate /
Common App Personal Essay ("calculus problem") [10]
Prompt:
A topic of your choice (Personal Statement)Sweat dripped down from my face as I stared into my opponent's face. She was not the typical opponent that one would expect to face. She stared right back at me, yet I could not find her eyes. She smirked at me, yet I could not detect her mouth. The monster disguised herself in the most elegant form. The beauty she possessed enchanted anyone who looked at her. I stared hopelessly at a calculus problem that asked for the derivative of an obscure trigonometry function.
I focused hard on my opponent. The memories of my first trigonometry lesson ran through my mind like an unstable oscillating wave.
"What's the sine of pi over six?" my impatient sister interrogated me.
"Uh... ˝?" I replied uncertainly after a few seconds. I had just learned the unit circle twenty minutes ago.
"What took you so long? You should be able to answer the question in an instant" she snapped her fingers in my face.
My flashback stopped there because recalling further into the two hours of continuous noise will negatively affect my quiz grade.
Yes, my first and only exposure to trigonometry before I took calculus I at a summer university program was a two-hour screech provided by my sister. I originally planned to take Introduction to Calculus, but it was unsatisfying. After I attended two lectures and took one quiz, I realized that it was going to be a relatively easy class. I quickly flipped through the book and recognized one-third of the materials in the book. This did not satisfy me, however. Quickly after reaching this realization, I changed my class to Calculus I, an action deemed many deemed "crazy".
And yet my timing could not have been better. They had just finished reviewing pre-calculus topics after I transferred into the class. The first day of class, I listened attentively. The words that came out of the professor's mouth entered my ear as if he was speaking a foreign language. I was able to make out all the symbols he used on the chalkboard: delta, epsilon, greater than, less than, but they did not provide me with any insight into the cryptic message hidden within the hieroglyphics. I was happy. The fast pace and intellectual challenges the class provided were satisfying. Thankfully, after three hours of self-study, I learned all the limit materials but I still had to take on trigonometry. I studied trig during the night, not willing to lose any moment of the university campus experience.
The two nights that I had to study before the quiz did not prove to be adequate for that problem. I still had time to change my classes back. A locked piece of memory that fuels part of my ambition and determination suddenly appeared in my mind. I saw an innocent child who climbed into the water that was filled with white dandruff and dead cells and bathed. The child was me and the residues were from my parents' skin after a day's work in a family operated take-out Chinese restaurant. I have come a long way since then and there was no way I was going to turn back. I had also fallen in love. The mathematical beauty of the limit and the derivative had already captured my heart. I wrote my attempted solution and put it on a stack of other students' quizzes.
This is my third year taking calculus, due to school policies and restricted class offerings. My understanding of trigonometry could not have been better even if I had taken a formal class. Even though calculus remains as intriguing to me as it ever was, I've taken on a new secret love affair: linear algebra. Through MIT's Open Course Ware, I can obtain the course notes and watch video lectures on this fascinating application of matrices. I cannot wait to see how this course of study evolves without any formal guidance.
Common App Short ResponseIn the space provided below, please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience)(150 words or fewer)
The first complaint I received from a customer while working at my parent's restaurant was "There is a string of hair in my food". Not knowing what to do, I became concerned and called my dad, who is never there when I'm working, for advice. He told me "Just apologize and give him a 10% discount" and hung up. Not believing the plan will work, I nervously executed his orders. To my surprise the customer was satisfied and even said "The food was good". Since then, I have learned how to make executive decisions and many leadership skills. Today I am able to handle customer and worker complaints, emergency situations, and inspection officers easily. When a new problem comes up, I no longer call my dad for advice. Instead I use my own discretion to determine how I should handle the situation.
Please point out my grammatical errors. Also comment on the content please. Thank you so much!
