Undergraduate / UC Prompt 1: He's My Nephew; '75% percent deaf in both ears' [6]

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.

Please critique in every way possible, I will read your essay if you read mine (:

He's My Nephew
I remember the day when my sisters and I had gone to Peter Piper Pizza with their kids to play in the arcade. The loud sounds of different games were going off as children were running from left to right. The smell of pizza and wings and freshly made bread sticks filled the arcade. The embarrassment I felt when a woman almost three times my age yelled at me because Alex bit her son and I didn't have an explanation as to why he would do such a thing. I didn't realize until after this incident that he wasn't considered "normal". I never knew such an explanation to his lifestyle would be an impacting factor on mine.

On October 9, 2002, my oldest nephew, Alexander Xavier Stephens, was born. Alex was born 75% percent deaf in both ears due to fluid build up. He was also genetically born with a bipolar disorder that eventually lead to his diagnostics of A.D.D., autism, and schizophrenia. His life is a continuous movie, everything that happens is directed by him. If he hurts someone, it's okay because they get better, just like in all other movies. He can't tell what's real or not. It's difficult enough communicating with children to begin with, but with Alex, his thoughts are never complete, which makes understanding him ten times harder.

When I was about the age of nine, I finally understood what this all meant. The way we saw the world was completely different from his. I didn't quite fully understand what urged me to respond to all of his actions, but I always wanted to be near Alex. To take care of him, to understand him, to show him that he wasn't alone was what I wanted to give him. I felt the necessity to educate him to the best of my ability, because I knew others would not take the time to do so. I no longer became frustrated when I had to explain in every little possible detail what an elephant was before showing it to him. Through his disabilities we developed a special bond. I became patient by teaching him on a daily basis. It takes Alex up to several days before he understands simple phrases such as "Hitting people is bad, it hurts them.", which most kids his age would understand immediately.

Everywhere I take him, we get looks and sneers because he "acts" like a big brat or baby. But he can't help it; it's just the way he is. They will never understand how life is through his eyes. By taking care of him, I enhance one's ability to understand his disabilities, or what I consider, his lifestyle. Through him, I've realized that I want to help so many other children that are just like him. To help them grow and understand that it's okay to be themselves and not hide from the rest of the world just because they are different. Although Alex does not know it yet, he is the reason I want to become a pediatric specialist in autism. When the time comes, I will teach him how he has shaped my dreams and aspirations, even if it takes a lifetime.

Undergraduate / 'our journey is on divorce' - UT AustinTopic A & UC Prompt 1 [12]

I've decided to use the same essay for both, I need to condense the UC one a little down due to word limit. I know the prompts are slightly different, but I'm going to change them up for each application. Please be critical! I will read and analyze any body who does the same. This was written fairly quickly, not my best.

ApplyTexas: 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.

UC: 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.

"Your mother has six months to live. I'm sorry sweetheart," was all the doctor had said when I was waiting in the vast white, glass lobby. I was thirteen at the time. My whole world was shattered in a matter of seconds like a snow globe that hit the floor. I didn't know what to do and I was petrified.

It was the summer of 2009, the year before my freshman year of high school, that I flew to South Korea with my father to see my mother. She flew out a couple of months before us, before I graduated from middle school. I ended up graduating a few weeks early, but that was no big deal since I skipped seventh grade anyways. The real "big deal" was that my mother had several peptic ulcers and chronic kidney disease. She had been hospitalized and was slowly dying. Before she had left, the only memories I had of her in the states were her screaming in agony and always passing out shortly afterwards. I had to take leave from school some days to take care of her, but I was only of so much help. Seeing her on what I thought was her deathbed was torture. The start of all her diseases one may ask? My father.

Growing up in a rural part of Jeong-Ju, South Korea, my mother had a horrible life. She had six other siblings, only had one outfit for an entire year, and had to eat bugs and plants and some days when she was lucky, maybe up to ten grains of rice. When my mom had the opportunity to come to America with her first husband, she used it as a start to a better life. She started her own business and was on the road to success, but she had gotten a divorce with her first husband, and met my father. At first, he seemed to be the epitome of a perfect husband, but turned out to be the complete opposite. He physically and emotionally abused and tormented her. All her stress rooted from his hands. When I was in kindergarten, we went into serious debt and my mom and I were living on the streets, eating a loaf of bread per week. He had left and took all of my mother's savings to his first wife and son. My mother was devastated and didn't realize that her body was giving up on her.

My father eventually came back to my mom, and with a forgiving heart she accepted him back, later to find out that he would bring her more stress and that seventy percent of her kidneys would die on her. We didn't realize how serious her sicknesses were becoming until she passed out all the time. The doctors in El Paso, Texas, could not help her case because we did and still don't have insurance, so we had to fly her out to Los Angeles, California, or South Korea.

My mom had fought hard, although she wasn't fighting cancer, she was still fighting death itself. Having to research all the things that could help her become healthier, made me realize I also wanted to become a doctor and hopefully help others in need like my mom. She's the strongest woman I know, and she has given me so much of my own strength. She taught me to be brave and go for anything. If I really set my mind on something, I can accomplish anything. She always pushed me to do better, and always told me there's room for improvement. Till this day she is still fighting all her pains, but what's important is that she's alive.

Our journey has taken us down many roads, but right now our journey is on divorce. As we are sitting down in her lawyer's office, I 'm writing this letter to my mom to show her that she's the strongest woman I know and that she has never let me down. I intend to do the same for her on my next journey.

Undergraduate / USC Viterbi School of Engineering supplements - fashion and makeup; don't have nerd look [2]

USC Viterbi School of Engineering

Prompts:
1) How do you plan to use your engineering degree to benefit society?

2) Some people categorize engineers as geeks or nerds. Are you a geek, nerd, or neither? Why?

1) I plan to benefit society using my chemical engineering degree in the world of fashion and makeup. Makeup is a great way of expressing one's self. There are millions upon millions of makeup products that women use on a daily basis, but many of these products are extremely useless or of inconvenience. To take a strong hobby of mine and turn it into my own career seems absolutely perfect. There's nothing more I would want to do, but bring the same joy and happiness I bring to myself to other people with the same interests. To provide them with clean, safe, effective products would be a joy in itself. Chemical engineering is such a broad and vast field of engineering that I could study so many different aspects of it. I also love food, so if I were to go into chemical engineering with food or drugs, it would be helpful not only to my own health and liking, but also to others.

2) A nerd describes one as intelligent and studious, yet lacking in social skills. I believe that this is an absurd correlation and the entire statement is false. Media has shaped our outlook on what we picture as "nerds". When I use to hear the word "nerd", I would think of someone wearing high-waisted khakis with a hideous, button up plaid shirt, giant backpack, some dorky tennis shoes or penny loafers, and of course the oversized 3-D glasses. Now, I think of myself. I am a nerd for several reasons. I am intelligent and studious in various ways and aspects, but I definitely do not lack social skills. I honestly do not believe anyone lacks social skills, but I feel they haven't found their social skill yet. We all develop at different times and those, such as myself, who excel in intelligence, tend to forget about the other necessities because we are so focused on our distinct penchants. We always tend to over think every little thing about our every day lives, that when it comes to communication with others, it's a new process for us, a new object to speculate. At my school, we're very competitive and it's a challenge to be in the top 10%. We're all nerds in our own ways because it defines our personalities and who we are and how we do things. I am proud to be a nerd and always proud to express it wherever I go.

Not even my 1st choice major, but I'm still required to write these! Any help?(: