Undergraduate / Stereotyping is a common thought process ; Amherst sup [4]

Stereotyping is a common thought process adopted by people knowingly or unknowingly; and people fall victim to it willingly or unwillingly. We harbour the unjust belief that a community's traits can be determined by the behaviour of its few members; like Asians ace math, Muslims are related to Osama and the French eat nothing but snails . Sadly, these beliefs are self-fulfilling prophecies for behaviour.

I am an Indian and a girl. For me, these details are just facts but for the society I live in, these tags govern my Do's and Do Not's. A prevalent stereotype in my region is that women are weaker than men. For their own protection, they should not be given the liberty to use public transport unaccompanied, step out in the night or indulge in activities that require rigourous physical labour or public interaction. I have never shared this opinion and tried my best to defy it, but I could not help falling prey to this typecasting. The bias of everyone around me started to adulterate my psyche and I, originally a strong believer of gender-equality, spent my pre-teens questioning my abilities and shying away from competing with boys.

It took me a few years to realize where I had landed and to shake these labels off my head . Today, I am a confident young girl who makes her own decisions and does not fear commuting by buses, attending late-night parties and standing up to anyone who undermines my capabilities. My outlook towards the world has also changed. I have learnt not to categorize people. A person's ethnicity or gender will never control my perception of him or her. I will meet people with an open mind and base my relationships on truths rather than on prejudiced notions.

Undergraduate / "Culture refines us"; Princeton essay- Role of Culture!! [3]

Using the quotation below as a starting point, reflect on the role that culture plays in your life. "Culture is what presents us with the kinds of valuable things that can fill a life. And insofar as we can recognize the value in those things and make them part of our lives, our lives are meaningful." (500 words)

Culture refines us. It is the varnish that adds sheen to our personality. Our social norms, clothing, housing and food habits are majorly governed by our culture. I hail from India, a country blessed with myriad cultures that are distinct from each other but amalgamate at certain junctions in a subtle manner. It seems rather outrageous to question why I touch the feet of my elders or eat a spice-enriched curry but I have always harboured the idea that these activities are not without purpose.

My aunt had been (posted) in Indianapolis for a short period and had established a strong relationship with her senior American colleague, Pat. A few years ago, my aunt invited Pat to India to attend her marriage and as I was fluent in English, I accompanied her at all times. One of the common features of India is the existence of joint families in which 2-3 generations live together. I had never considered this aspect as atypical but she was surprised to see our house jostling with relatives who undertook every task from sweeping the floor to serving meals. She marvelled at the smooth functioning of the household despite the large number of members. For the ceremony, my mother lent her a traditional sari and matching jewels and helped her dress. In all the rituals that followed, she was made to participate as a mother-figure. She was so emotionally stirred by the love and attention showered on her by everybody that she kept shedding tears of joy and thanking everyone profusely. She told me that she had never experienced such hospitality anywhere and would always remember us as her own. She left the country with an exuberant smile.

Her happiness demonstrated the significance of the quote we have been taught from our childhood-" the guest is God". I also understood why we live in a joint family when she appreciated this uncommon concept: the older generations raise the younger ones with selfless love and the latter repay their sacrifices with care in their old-age. It teaches us to adjust to various kinds of people and to embrace the new people we encounter. I realized the role of culture in my life: it moulds me into a better human being. It presents some lessons of life which otherwise would have taken a long time to be discovered.

Every country has its own culture, which adds a unique flavour to each of its citizens. A culture cannot be successful if it remains exclusive. It should evolve with the times, adopting the positive attributes of other cultures and eliminating the negative ones of its own. I know the worth of my culture and have accepted it as an essential guiding element of my life. It is a little difficult to decipher the purpose of every belief and practice of my region but a universal truth prevails- culture lights up the path filled wonderful aspects of life and if we choose to tread this path, our lives will become all the more meaningful.

-Do i do jujstice to he prompt??
-Is this essay good enough for the ivies??

Undergraduate / Be Born Every day; COMMON APP/ Person who had Significant Influence [6]

Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

Be Born Every day

There are two types of people in this world: ones who plan to do one thing for their whole life and others, who plan to do multitudinous things in one life. The (word-use of/ benefit of/ correctness of) of belonging to the latter is controversial but I inevitably identify myself with the second group. Just like salt formation is an intrinsic property of halogens (yes, I like to flaunt my limited knowledge of chemistry); ambivalence is mine. When I was a young girl, I was pretty sure of my goals: I wanted to be a teacher; the authority associated with marking papers in red ink was just too overwhelming to resist. A decade has passed since then and today when my parents pose the same query-"What do you want to become?", I am at an absolute loss of words.

Everyday I wake up with a new ambition in mind: yesterday I wanted to be a bakery owner so that I could devour the cakes while sample-testing, today I want to be an unbiased journalist for the local newspaper and maybe tomorrow I would want to be a business manager, the multipurpose go-to person of a company. My perception of life and my aims alters periodically. Some of my decisions involve profound thought while others are influenced by latest trends/trending opinions. Deciding upon a career and a suitable major were nightmares to me until recently as choosing one meant loosing the other.

When in doubt, (rush to/consult) your mother, so I approached her with my dilemma. She is gifted with the supreme knowledge of the ways of the world and exceptional decision-making powers. Rather than helping me settle with a subject after discerning my dilemma, she narrated the story of her life. She had always liked Science and completed her post graduation in Botany after which she undertook extensive research-work (in it). Her propensity for research (dwindled/diminished/declined) and she decided to join the civil services. She cleared the civil services examination which required her to (thoroughly) study Humanities. But before (she could join the job/her recruitment letter came), I was born and she, a career-oriented woman, voluntarily stayed at home for the next ten years to raise me and my brother. Today she is a contented Sales Tax Officer, working in a field she would never have opted when she was getting ready for college.

Through the vivid description of her choices in life, my mother taught me that there exist no limits, unless they are self-imposed. My filling the "intended major" column could not affect who I would become. I can still be someone else each time I looked into the mirror, shocking my own reflection. If I have faith in my (likings/) and my caliber, I can easily achieve whatever I aspire (to). My mother taught me that (uncertainty/ambivalence) is (normal/natural), in fact, it is great because it means that I can be born every day, ready to convert the vigor of having an oven-fresh goal into toil for achieving it. I need to put in my best effort in whatever I'm doing (now/currently). I need to focus onmy current tasks even though I may not succeed in every intended (domain/field/area), but at least the hunger in my inner soul for novel role-plays would be satiated. And isn't that the actual target of life, to listen to your heart and to fulfill its desires?