Undergraduate / UC; "Never say Never," really is more than just a title of a James Bond movie [2]

Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

"Never say Never," really is more than just a title of a James Bond movie. I NEVER used to think that there was such a thing as good stress. Life at home is typical, with all the pressures of school, AP tests, SAT's and not to mention my overly tenacious parents, who seem to have nothing to do but to badger me all day. Everything felt like a demand, which turned into some monotonous, mundane mission that led me to the next level of life. Unfortunately, growing up is defined by increased responsibility and in parallel; stress began to stack itself with me as a host. I had already developed a negative schema, so when my parents suggested that I help out with children, I dreaded the whole week.

The thought of taking care of kids on my weekends totally deflated me, and I carried that defeated attitude with me. To my surprise, I missed the fact that the program took care of Autistic kids, which initially scared me because I was afraid of that responsibility. As I expected, the whole facility was chaotic. Kids were running around, some were yelling, others crying and more playing, honestly I was worried. However, my first encounter was with a young boy who was overjoyed to meet a stranger and took my hand to introduce me to the others. I met all the others, who amazingly were just as elated to see a stranger. My thoughts began to shift, but I was still attentive. The day was scheduled out and through each activity, their attitudes never diminished, though they did occasionally still run, scream and cry. Gradually, they started to grow on me and quickly I became a part of this group. By the end of the day, I was used to it and more importantly, I felt completely alive.

Since that first day, I have never missed a chance to meet with the children. I have come to the realization that I need them more than they needed me. They give me an outlet from my own terribly standard life, a greater purpose to live than following orders hoping for progress. Their liveliness permeates and allows me to have a window away from this sad reality. Through them, I discovered that I want to dedicate myself to the facilitation of children. To learn and research about diseases and illnesses that affect my children.

Undergraduate / 'life of grandfather in rural South Korea' - UT prompt 1 [2]

Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.\

No doubt that reaching the college level is an outstanding achievement, especially when high school is the first American experience that is exposed; my uncle was the first one in our family to reach this level and is the only one so far to successfully finish. My uncle was born and raised, for the first 16 years of his life in rural South Korea along with three older sisters. He was burdened with cultural issues due to being the only son of the family and therefore having to carry on the family legacy. So, from early on he established his role and took responsibility. Though, in search of a better life, the whole family moved to the United States, and he was the only one left to continue some sort of academic life. His hardest struggle was the language barrier, which took him years to overcome. Gradually he got more comfortable and opened himself up to the American culture; joining all sorts of activities and even making it on the varsity sports teams. Once he got into college, he worked even harder and managed to graduate with outstanding scores. Proceeding from then, he has chosen his preferred line of work and lives a happy life. However, my uncle is more than just an inspirational paradigm to me, but more of a teacher. He does not give false hope or clichĂŠ advice; rather, he takes his knowledge from his own experiences and teaches the definite truths of reality. Ever since middle school, he has mentored me and has facilitated my growth.

Growing up, I never thought that I would go through the "rebellious" stage, but ironically I think that I have been the most. The fact that my parents are immigrants, I know that they will not understand my problems and will try to fix everything in their own fashion. Their advice to everything is "STUDY! STUDY! STUDY!," which is not even relevant most of the time. Even though my uncle spent most of his adolescence in Korea, he still comprehends the everyday struggles of an American teenager. I can tell from how he interacts with my grandparents that he went through similar things here and has overcome such cultural behaviors, so I trust and take his assistance when it comes to my own problems; which he loves to weigh in on. He usually takes time out of his busy job schedule to take my cousin and me out for lunch, just to check on how our progress in school has been and what thought for our own futures. He would not try to dig or tell us what to do, but would find our interests and would nurture us around them. For example, he takes my enjoyment of biology and likes to quiz me on everything and anything.

While he is not much of a motivator or one with special speeches for any certain moment, I think his boldness is the best contribution. My uncle goes straight to the critiques with all my tasks and reviews each process with me, of course still telling me when I did well. He really is a mentor to me, in a way Socrates was to Plato, valuing anything I thought and would say. Due to my uncle, I am able to push my boundaries and explore to understand life better in general. I believe that the best advice I have ever gotten from him was "There's no need to be scared of failure, it's just life." Though the sentence was simple and subtle, it has had a tremendous effect on how I view existence, and I take his advice into my next step, which is college.

Undergraduate / 'When Kim Jong Il passed away' - UWashington topic 1 [5]

Describe an experience of cultural difference or insensitivity you have had or observed. What did you learn from it?

The tension inside of my grandmother's living room was all too palpable. All three generations of my family were filled in that one room, with all eyes stuck to the TV screen and ears wide open. No cheers or celebrations occurred, though that was what I expected for this very specific moment, but there were almost tears in everyone's eyes. My younger cousin and I stared at each other, not sure of what the appropriate action would be. The day that Kim Jong Il passed away was a totally perplexing day for me.

From school, and anywhere outside of my family, it was almost a trend to make fun of Kim Jong Il and spit hateful terms in regard. Just because I was Korean and Asian, people, even my friends would call me "Kim Jong Il" or "Kim Jr.". I started to grow used to these jokes and even began to accept the nicknames; even coming up with jokes myself. My only knowledge of the actual situation was very limited; I only knew that North Korea was not a great place to be and that it is run by some sort of communist ideology. It happens to be that I myself am part North Korean (though I do not like to define the North from the South). My grandfather had escaped North Korea at the start of the Korean War and joined the South as a translator for the American soldiers. The thing that my grandfather hides very well is the deep regret he feels for leaving the rest of his family behind in the new communist nation.

The tears and "weird" reactions that I witnessed on that day were feelings of redemption, especially for my grandfather. It was more than just the death of a "horrible" dictator, to my family it was change for the ones that they "abandoned". For me, I was astonished at my ignorance of even my own culture. I am ashamed that I did not comprehend the situation before I started to speak of it. This incident has provided me with first hand experience of cultural insensitivity, and I have discovered that there are different aspects than what one may perceive. In the future, I will try to comprehend the full scope of something, before adding in my own input.

Undergraduate / 'into a natural high' - UC Prompt 1 [5]

Im not sure if this essay is appropriate or if it makes a bad impression

I was never much of a believer before this, more importantly, not even much of a person. I used to absolutely hate being around people other than my very select few group of friends. I was that kid who only wanted to be locked up in his room alone, isolated to his own thoughts. I was terrified of people and their opinions; judgment has always been my mortal enemy. Though, against my wishes, my mother had signed me up for some sort of church retreat; her answer is always church. I dreaded the idea that I would be stuck with a bunch of strangers for a week, especially being forced to discuss the ideologies of Christianity, but I decided that I would appease my mother to save myself from argument.

I packed lightly, not sure of what exactly happens at these things. I had adrenaline running through veins even before we left, most likely from the anticipation of the fear to come. We drove far into the mountains, to the point where our ears popped; I closed my eyes, trying to envision exactly how the week would be, only to run into hypothetical dead ends. The pull in was the most horrifying part, opening my eyes and seeing hundreds of faces outside the window. Fear seized me and I sought comfort in my friends, but to no avail, they were too excited to notice my insecurity. As we walked out to check in, I felt like all these strangers were mugging me; in my head it was like they were targeting me. Despite how I felt, we got settled and sorted into our arbitrary groups. The first meeting was awkward, with group leaders asking miscellaneous questions, trying to force the ice to break. I wanted to seclude myself, but somewhere down the road I had joined the in-depth conversation of who the best character on "Lord of the Rings" was. At that point, I had realized that there was no turning back, but at the same time discovered that people were not wild animals that were out to get me. Quickly after that night, I had gone on a frenzy to meet every person on that mountain; it had turned into a natural high. With each new person I met, a little bit of my anxiety went away. Gradually, those scary strangers became my family and I was not afraid to express myself in front of them. That new comfortable atmosphere allowed me to actually concentrate on what we were all there for, and I ended up enjoying those intense sermons about love and fellowship. Nothing had felt better than to be truly apart of something, particularly because I had not felt it often.

Saying goodbye was not easy, especially when I had just found this new feeling, but the good had to end. Upon getting into our own vans, I spent time in serious self introspection. I realized that I had been inhibiting myself from great experiences, not to mention new friendships. I thought myself foolish for being earnestly scared of other human beings. More than anything, I had discovered that I did not need to force myself to be anything that I am not. From my behavior in camp, I learned that I had the potential to be more than cordial and the ability to actually make relationships. Amazingly, my radical transformation started with a simple discussion on a totally random topic, which is a testament to me that I can be more open to other people as well as myself.