Undergraduate / "Broken Bow" MIT Challenge Prompt - [4]

Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?(*) (200-250 words)

Taking a deep breath I draw my bow. I can feel my trapezius tense up while my pectorals relax. Tension gradually builds up in my forearms while stresses of IB fade away. I can feel everything, from the slight up-and-down movement of my chest to the blazing sun and the breezy wind. Finally, the long awaited ringing sound of my clicker* arrives, but instead comes the unpleasant "crack".

I jerked forward as this ominous sound pulled me away from my world. I looked down but I could already feel what happened, my bow arm was snapped in half. Tomorrow is my last tournament and there is no way I can participate with a broken bow. I expected this moment to be more dramatic, with tears flowing, theatrical music playing, and weather changing. But everything seems the same. I talked to my coach, asked him if there were any alternatives for tomorrow, and told him "I am sorry".

After I went home tears start to drop as disappointment overwhelmed me. However as I gradually remembered the fun I had when I practiced with my friends, the anxiety I had when I attended my first tournament, and the astonishment I had when I first saw the exorbitant price tag of my favorite bow, tears slowly dried up. I remembered something important: passion. I remembered that medals, honors, and GPA are just the byproduct of chasing my dream. I was smiling.

*A signal that shows that I reached the correct draw length.

How is the essay? Any feedback and revision is much appreciated, and remember the harsher the better

Undergraduate / "Bullying" ; MIT World Prompt/ world you come from [14]

Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?(*) (200-250 words)

"Chino (Chinese in Spanish)" someone shouted across the street. It startled me; this dreaded word stirred up my worst nightmares. I still vividly remembered when I first arrived at my school in El Salvador. It was supposed to be a bright and sunny day until someone called me "Chino Culero". I greeted him with a smile and said "Hola (hello)", but suddenly the whole class burst in laughter, little did I know that "Chino Culero" means "Gay Chinese" in Spanish. Even now I can recall the cold unfeeling eyes staring at me and the evil monotonous laughter ringing in my ears.

Two years later, when I was in a summer camp in Taiwan, a similar scenario unfolded before my eyes. During lunch break three bullies flipped my friend's desk over and threw all his possession over the window. Immediately, I tried to stand up but my lack of strength left me seated when memories of evil laughter starts to resurface. I began sweating profusely and my heart starts beating faster than the snaring drum. I tried to shout out but I was suffocated by my own throat. Helplessly, I watched my friend suffered by the hands of the bullies while my chest starts to tighten. To him, I was just another cold unfeeling eye.

Eight months ago I witness another bullying. But this time I said no. I said no to my fears because of my anguish, my friend's agony, and my anger towards my cowardly self. I stood up.

The same idea guys, please review for any mistakes and harsher the critic the better.

Undergraduate / My Love For puzzles, MIT Personality Essay - Feedback [5]

What attribute of your personality are you most proud of, and how has it impacted your life so far? This could be your creativity, effective leadership, sense of humor, integrity, or anything else you'd like to tell us about. (*) (200-250 words)

Frantically unwrapping my Christmas gift, I saw the box of the newest LONPOS pyramid puzzle. "Yes!" I shouted out of joy and immediately spent hours trying to solve the complex puzzles and filling in the solution booklet.

My love for puzzles had taught me many things. It taught me it is okay to give up for the day. As I am a human and more often than not, frustration will get me. However, tomorrow morning, I have to make sure to pick up the puzzle I threw away from frustration and continue solving it, because no puzzle is ever solved by giving up. My perseverance let me solved MĂŠnage Problem, whose closed form solution eluded mathematicians for over 40 years, using Graph Theory

It taught me to challenge myself, because there is no bigger satisfaction than solving problem I couldn't solve. This desire for challenges let me took on the hardest IB classes the school has to offer: Math HL, Physics HL, and Chemistry HL.

It also taught me to collaborate; sometimes puzzles are just too hard for one person's brain to handle. This let me form the C3L6 chemistry challenge group, where group members enter Skype chat until long past midnight solving the demanding chemistry problem every month.

Last of all it makes me fall in love with science and engineering, because, after all science and engineering are just bigger and harder puzzles waiting to be solved.

Puzzles had impacted me in many ways, however its most important lesson to me is this: have fun.

Hey guys thank you all so much for helping my previous essays, please look at this one too

Undergraduate / Salvadoran's Resourcefulness MIT World Essay [4]

Hi everyone, thank you all for being so helpful recently. Can you all please look at this essay too? Please tell me if the essay is trite or boring, I think many people also want to change the world, however i think my experience is unique.

Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?(*) (200-250 words)

Looking out from the car window, most peoples see babies with their mothers begging for tomorrow's meal, children of my age or younger cleaning windows for spare change, and old man selling mint candy for a "cora" (quarter). They see poverty. However I see plates made out of gourds, tires retreaded for further use, and liquid soap dispenser made out of water bottle. I see wisdom, resiliency against poverty, and resourcefulness.

Gradually I came to admire Salvadorans, especially my archery coach. Despite living in El Salvador, an impoverished country, he never resigned to poverty and gave up on the archery, a very expensive sport. Instead he changed his fate using the tiny resource around him. He created dozens of essential archery accessories using broken or recycled materials, from making clicker* out of broken VHS cassette to making quivers out of PVC tubes. He used conventional materials in an unconventional way to create something needed. He showed me the essence of innovation.

Salvadorans like my coach greatly inspired me. I realize that that I don't need to engineer the next-world-changing material to change the world. I can start small. I can start with making finger sling* out of polyester string and ź" plastic tube, with constructing business show stands cheaply with Gaylord boxes (seriously, who came up with this name?), and with building personal gym using 3 liter soda bottles and sand.

However as I grow older, my ambition grow. Now I dream of studying in MIT so one day I can make a greater impact in the world.

Undergraduate / Housework; MIT App /Pleasure Activity [5]

Hi guys, I have two essay prepared for the MIT pleasure Essay. Can you please tell me which essay is better?

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do for the pleasure of it. (*)(100 words or fewer)

First one:

Doing housework is definitely not pleasurable, but I enjoy it. Watching my parent's tired back and gloomy face, I know that managing a business is hard. However every time my father came home he would always squeeze out a little smile and reassure me: "everything will be alright". I love my parents and I yearn to help. However they want me to focus on my studies, so I decided to do what I can: housework. Now, when I see my parents' joy as they return to a cleaned home, I can't help but enjoy this boring and never ending work.

*This was during High School. I start working after graduation.

Second one:

Running the X-Acto knife meticulously down the center of the cutting line and waiting patiently until the glue between two small pieces of paper dried, I came to love this craft. This is a craft of creation, where every incision and gluing give life to an idea. This is a craft of great dedication, where a simple error of deviating 1mm from the cutting line could affect the integrity of the work. This is also a craft of mathematics, where geometric equation is your best friend when dissecting the complex polygon. This is Pepakura*.

*Papercraft in Japanese

thank you all so very much

Undergraduate / Effect of my Tricultural Background - HKU Personal Statement [7]

Hi Everyone, the essay is due TOMORROW, so please help me.

HKU Personal Statement

I believe that diversity is not a state of being demographically varied, but rather, a state of thinking in a different and unique way. Just as René Descartes, a famous French philosopher, once said, "I think therefore I am", our existence is defined by our thinking. So if our thinking defines our existence, wouldn't our particular ways of thinking define our diversity? Born in Taiwan, lived in El Salvador, and studied in a British school, I was raised in a tri-cultural background. This background I was raised in, along with the different economic situation I encountered and my ability to converse in three languages has shaped my way of thinking in a unique way.

Experiencing different cultures has broadened my perspective. From the more family oriented Taiwan, I understood the importance of family and the responsibility being part of one entails; while going to a British school taught me to be more independent from my family and think for my own good. From the cram school filled Taiwan, I learned the importance of studying hard and good habit for studying; while my school showed me the importance of working hard not for competitions or awards, but for my passions and for the fun of learning. This led me to follow my passion in Archery, where I won a bronze medal in Junior Competition, and Papercrafting, where I create my own papercrafts*. Finally from the patriarchal Asian society, I learned the responsibility and obligations of being a male, such as being accountable and reliable when needed; while from the more gender equal Salvadoran Society I understood the importance of equality and the incorrect perception I had towards women. Due to the frequent conflict and apparent contradiction between my three cultural backgrounds, I was able to question my old assumptions and to embrace newer perspective.

Living in different countries with diverse economic settings has also shaped who I have become. First of all El Salvador's rampant crimes and unstable political stance has made me value the importance of living the moment and appreciating what I have; while Taiwan's recent conversion to democracy let me remember the struggle and the cost of attaining such freedom, such as the Kaohsiung Incident: where death and imprisonment of many important activist eventually led to democracy in Taiwan. Besides that, El Salvador's poverty had taught me to be thrift and economical and inspired me to help change the world. This is why I raised $5000 to help renovate a children's hospital in El Salvador; while the more economically prosper in Taiwan have demonstrated usefulness of money in many occasions. Lastly, the many opportunities offered by the British School gave me many chances to improve myself; however the lack of opportunities in El Salvador has taught me to take advantage of the opportunities offered by my school and appreciate even the smallest help. The great dissimilarity between the developing and developed world has not only let me see the problem of poverty and inspired me to help but also let me appreciate my privileges.

Finally, I firmly believe American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf's notion that languages have a profound effect on thinking, and my ability to converse fluently in Mandarin, English, and Spanish has allowed me to first handedly experience this effect. To start with, my understanding of Chengyu, Chinese Idiomatic Expressions, helps me to understand the subtle meaning of Mandarin speech and in the same time helps me to think more like a Chinese. Besides that my expertise in Salvadoran slang gave me a sense of belonging and compels me to see from a Salvadoran's perspective. Finally my frequent acquaintances with British humour had let me stomach even the harshest jokes and laugh from the bottom of my heart.

Even though the apparent paradoxical effect on me from three apparently contradicting society had made me became, initially, confused of my own identity, I came to realize that the intertwining of the three culture is actually my identity. This several conflicting perspective is my perspective. Instead of seeing the world from one view, I see it from three. I think not just like a Taiwanese, but also like a Salvadoran and a British. I believe this gave me a bigger and broader perspective that shaped my unique ways of thinking. This is the reason why I want to study at HKU. I believe that by studying in HKU I would further broaden my perspective and incorporate the culture, language and economic situation of Hong Kong into my life. Besides, I believe that my particular ways of thinking will not only add to the diversity in HKU, but also contribute to the culture of HKU.

* This is the video of papercraft designed by me: youtube.com/watch?v=UxrElUT2SpE