Undergraduate / I'M A POST-IT NOTE-BROWN SUP: What question could we gain the most insight into you? [2]

PROMPT: What question could we ask to gain the most insight into you? What is your answer? (2000 characters)

Q: Name an object that you can most relate to. Explain why.
I glared at the Post-it note in front of me: It was nearly 2 A.M. Yet, I had agreed to proofread a friend's paper for MUN, not to mention the Basketball Team video I was halfway through editing; The girl I tutor TOEFL to had just sent me a text begging me to modify her science report, and I have promised that I would finish it before she wakes up. I did a mental calculation- that leaves me, what? Four hours of sleep? I looked back at the tiny yellow rectangle- that precise moment, it dawned to me that I was exactly like it- a Post-it note.

Post-its are known for their usefulness- they may be used to handle anything from being a notepad to a reminder. Anyone may rip one, use it, and then discard it easily after the tasked is finished. Post-its aren't necessarily needed to get a thing done- they only make things easier, hence, they are often disregarded. Most of all, a Post-it never refuses any request.

I have never turned down any request of help, no matter how loaded I am. I am not omnipotent or manipulated by my friends, but my capability had often made me the one people ask for help from. I took everyone's demands seriously as if they were my own, thus, I often bite off more than I can chew. People have told me that I have to learn to refuse and turn some of them down. What do you gain apart from a mumble of "thanks", they would ask?

When I was younger, I accepted the requests out of the fear of being hated by turning someone down. As I grew, I found that I actually enjoyed the tasks. It was always fun to read an interesting book for a class you didn't take, or understand someone's perspective through a book report. I've also realized that I like having people come to me, because it's an approval to my abilities. I believe that my Post-it like quality contributes to my various leadership positions- people believe in me, hence, they give me power to lead their group, and I, in return, satisfy their needs.

Undergraduate / THE WASHROOM WALL --COMMONAPP ESSAY: TELL US ABOUT A CHARACTER DEFINING MOMENT? [4]

At 580 West Nanjing Road, Shanghai, one of the largest counterfeit markets worldwide, a sense of gloom pervaded the atmosphere of the rusty market that harshly displayed the low-quality working conditions of the vendors. As my cousins bargained enthusiastically with a plump lady over a pair of positively fake Converse sneakers that sold for three dollars, I fled for a washroom break.

Stumbling hastily, I grinned as I closed the door behind me in a stall, glad to release the pressure I've been holding in. As I finished and looked for toilet paper, a dazzle of marker scrawled over the stall door caught my eye--bold Chinese characters in different handwriting, possibly scribbled by different women who previously occupied the stall. I examined the words, each strident sentence seemed to be screaming a tragedy--Wu-Shang's husband cheated on her just because she wasn't able to conceive a boy; Ling, merely in her teens, was raped by her stepfather; and there were yet more. There I was, fifteen-years-old and cramped in the tiny stall, hypnotized by the stories inscribed on the toilet door. I perused the writings once, then twice, as a historian would've done with pre-historic cave drawings, each inaudible cry striking me with the realization of my own fortune. Rummaging through my backpack, I found a felt-tip pen, and swiftly added a line to the nearly covered door. The task of toilet paper searching had been long forgotten. I stood up and snapped a picture with my phone so I would never forget.

To me, empathy has always been a formidable feeling--I cannot stand to watch others suffer when I am empowered to succor them, since fate had been kind enough to bless me a life of felicity. I yearn to make a difference to the world, no matter how insignificant it may be.

From being the Taiwanese Children Right's ambassador and participating in annual meetings discussing about needy children, the urge to make people's lives better has stimulated me to fully participate in helping other people, rather than merely raising ideas of "how" to assist those in need. I started small--teaching children who couldn't afford tutors in my community; volunteering at the Taiwanese Rare Disease Foundation every weekend, taking the sick children on field trips, and helping them with art projects to be exhibited in the underground hallways of the mass transit system. It also compels me to spread my love of volunteering by inspiring other teenage girls--I was nominated as the national Formosa Daughter award finalist, a role-model position that gave me the chance to urge other teens to participate in making the world a better place.

Looking back, it seems that I have really been keeping my promises to the women in the washroom. With my pen, I had written, "I hope to change the world for the better." Someday, I will visit that stall again, and I hope that by that time, the world will have become a bit better because of me.

Undergraduate / THE CAKE:Cornell Supplement: How have your interests influenced the major in CALS? [3]

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: (500 words)
How have your interests and related experiences influenced the major you have selected in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences?(communications major)

Physicist Richard Feynman realized his passion through childhood discoveries with his father, and I have realized my passion through weekly Sunday baking sessions with my mother.

Mother insisted on only putting homemade food on the dinner table. Therefore, every Sunday morning, she and I would bake cakes for that week's dessert.

When I was younger, I couldn't understand her insistence on not buying one of those flamboyant supermarket cakes that looked much better than our mono-colored ones. "Of course they'll look and taste better with all the artificial junk on them," Mother would argue. "Yes, but this one says 'free of artificial flavors'," I would explain. Then Mother would declare how she found advertisements those days untrustworthy and that I was the exact kind of gullible child they were trying to target at. I started wondering- has the abundance of false advertising entirely corrupted people's expectations towards media and communications? I wondered if there was something I could do; it was the first time when the idea of majoring in Communications struck me.

Another thing I realized from cakes was that, unlike other pastries, a single cake might consist of several different-flavored layers and frostings, along with a variety of garnishes. As appealing as each of the ingredients might be on their own, together, they create a blended perfection. I will say that communication is the best in its different-flavored layers too. That is why communications, multimedia in particular, amazes me by being able to communicate with all layers of human consciousness and by appealing to all kinds of people simultaneously. They offer us a plethora of art forms blended into one, providing an irresistible mix of literature, theater, music, and action. Hence, for an expressive girl who lives for creativity, media is the ultimate "cake" of my interests.

The way a cake is represented also greatly determines whether it will whet a diner's appetite- through baking sessions with my mother and I have developed skills to perfectly display my product. I have learned that it is more than the mere arrangement of the garnishes that determine a cake's appeal; rather, the diners themselves are the important factors. For example, children tend to love sweeter chocolate, while older people have a taste for darker ones. I have successfully applied this knowledge to the field of communications on several occasions, including speech contests and debate competitions- I would adjust the depth of my speech to the crowd I am addressing. This is another lure that communications hold for me- the challenge to know my audience, and figure out what appeals to them.

As with Cornell's assistant professor, Jeffrey Niederdeppe, who utilizes the communication power in media to change the world for the better, my compassion makes me yearn for a chance to contribute to our world. Cornell University offers a top-rated education in the Communication Major, valuing applicable skills and memorized theories. With "for the benefit of society " as the college's priority, there really isn't more a person who wishes to impact the world could ask from a school.

PS: this is my first thread! thank you guys in advance :)