Undergraduate / A Frog Among the Fish; Supplement about being Brazilian [10]

I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANY IDEAS FOR A CONCLUSION!!! and of course any other advice, help, or editing. Thank you!

A Frog Among the Fish

While admiring the beauty of my beta fish, an interesting thought dawned upon me. Fish do not realize that they are in water, until they are exposed to air. Much like fish, people are not fully aware of what makes up the environment in which they live. Many people take a look outside their aquarium, by watching a television program about deforestation in Haiti or reading a novel like Things Fall Apart. However, in order to fully recognize while lies on the other side of the glass wall, one must leave the aquarium. At such a time, when infinite questions about our world and its people are still ambiguous, I reflect on myself to explore what it means to me to be a frog. I am not a fish in water, I am a frog, bouncing between water and air and exploring the differences in-between.

My water is one of the most Caucasian, upper-class neighborhoods in Colorado Springs where I attend a high school where minorities may be less than a handful of the 1,200 students. The students and teachers call the school's ambiance the "Cheyenne Bubble" due to the students' exclusion from what is known as the "real world". The "Cheyenne Bubble" is neighborhood where adversity is almost nonexistent. This is what I call the fish in a fishbowl.

My air is Brazil, where I am freed from conformism and where I gain different perspectives. Being half Brazilian and knowing this culture intimately allows me to experience the culture as a native by observing its values and noticing differences. The first memorable experience in Brazil was when I was six because I had many extraordinary encounters and realizations. It was December 1st 2001 when I left the snowy mountains and grey scenery of Colorado and arrived in the humid, green rainforest of Brazil. Like many lengthy visits, my mother and I stayed there for three months, obliging me to go to school in the small town. I arrived at seven and patiently waited at my desk while the teacher scurries around the playground to collect her students for class. During class students speak without raising their hands and talk over the teacher. The school day was over at eleven, in time for lunch. I noticed how despite the disorder and brief school day, the children receive the same education as American children. In an elementary school of a hundred students, I soon became renowned for being the international, pale, blond student. Although I was the odd one out, I had the same school experience as every other child. I attended class where we would write Portuguese in cursive and learned the history of Brazil. It may be difficult for a foreigner to understand what it means to grow up in a developing country and trying to get a quality education. By going to school in Brazil, I was able to compare the education in America and Brazil.

Brazil is a rare combination of a primitive and utopian lifestyle, which I experienced during a visit to my aunt and uncle's ranch. There they live with no electricity, telephone, or gas. In such a simple lifestyle, everything was homemade and used wisely. Coffee came from the nearby coffee tree and sugar came from their sugar cane plants. But in the absence of what we consider everyday comforts, my family found happiness in the little things in life. My cousins spend hours outside entertained by a soccer ball, some friends, and an unpaved road to play. Others climb trees or ride horses like I did. At six, I had the most fun swimming in natural lake with pure water. After swimming I would lie down on the grass and take a nap lulled by song birds. I drifted off while gazing at the green cornucopia perfected with the sky blue and sunshine yellow, united as the national colors of Brazil.

Unlike the fish confined in a pond or aquarium, I am able to hop from ponds to lily pads to trees. Ribbit.

Undergraduate / How being Brazilian has given me a different perspective [5]

Prompt: 1. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

At such a historical time, when infinite questions about inclusion, diversity, and equality are still ambiguous, I reflect on myself to explore what it means to me to live in such a time. I was raised in one of the whitest, most upper-class neighborhoods in Colorado Springs and attend the high school where minorities may be less than a hand full of the 1,200 students. The students and teachers call the school's atmosphere and culture the "Cheyenne Bubble" due to the students' exclusion from what is known as the "real world". Life is practical, but much of what I have learned in high school is theoretical. Therefore, in order to fully prepare myself for the real world, I have gathered practical knowledge and different perspectives from my experiences in Brazil.

My first birthday was celebrated in Brazil, as well as my fourth, eighth, and sixteenth, among my fifteen visits. My most recent trip to Brazil was just in time for my sixteenth birthday. Within a few hours, I left the dry, snowy mountains of Colorado and arrived at the humid, green rainforest of Brazil. My mother and I were greeted by family members eagerly waiting for our arrival. We packed our enormous suitcases into the van and begin our two-hour drive to my mother's small hometown, Baldim. As the van jiggled atop the unpaved, rocky streets I embraced the beautiful scenery. Everything was green, as far as I could see, with a splash of the sky blue and glowing yellow, combined to make the national colors of Brazil. I have always loved observing the people walking in the streets instead of being cooped up inside. When we finally arrived at my grandmother's colorfully painted house, aunts, uncles, and cousins emerge to greet us. Although there are many culture shocks I have when I arriving in Brazil, the one that has impacted my life most is

Although I was raised in a restrictive, white neighborhood my experiences in Brazil have led me to realize and find happiness in the small things. When I am in Brazil I notice how the people are so friendly and happy. Their cars may be 30 years old, their house may be infected with bugs, they might have been wearing the same plastic sandals for three years, and their food might be the exact same every day; but despite all of this these people are still happy. Their happiness is not based material objects, it comes from their family, friends, and the most simplistic things in life. Seeing this really makes me reflect on my happiness. When I am unhappy, I always think to myself, somewhere there is someone with a worse situation than me and they are happy.

This is what I have so far...I would greatly appreciate any editing or advice!! Thanks!

Undergraduate / Electric & Sporadic/ Bed time stories;Common App - Reading Habits&Experience/ Books [3]

The prompt is below. This is just what I have so far, I still need to add my reading experience in high school, a book that is significant to me, and a conclusion, so if you have any ideas for a book or any of those things please let me know! Thanks!!

2. Respond to both parts: (a) Describe your reading habits and your experience with books. (b) Choose some book that has been important in shaping your thoughts and discuss a single aspect of it (not the book as a whole) that is particularly significant to you. (2-3pgs double spaced)

There is something special about entering an alternate reality, let alone being able to so in such a simple, antediluvian manner. In a room with just a lamp, a soft blanket, and a beloved book in hand, I can be passed from my world into one that is either unimaginable or relatable. When cracking the spine of a new book I am walking through the doorway into a different world. By reading I am given the wondrous opportunity to let go of my worries, desires, and stresses. Reading is my beloved escape from reality.

Printed words has captivated me before I could understand it's significance. When I was three, my mom ordered a collection of children's books for me to learn to read. When the package arrived, I picked up a book and started to read. This may or may not be a surprise considering our house was adorned with my father's books. Because of this, I grew up with more books then toys. My bedtime stories consisted of passages from the Odyssey and a Mid-Summer Night's Dream. My love for reading developed to a new level, the library. I was bewildered by how the combination of the assortment of books, the coziness of its armchairs, and the serene surroundings created the perfect reading environment. I read until the moment we had to leave and checked out stacks of books at a time. My passion for reading developed into a skill and in elementary school I was tested to read at a high school reading level.

In high school, reading is taught through bubbles of multiple choice tests and of course an essay.
As I grew older, my passion for books spread, and not in the way or increasing. But my love for reading changed. I read eclectically and sporadically. I love to pick up a book that will fill my mind with new information or imagination.

Undergraduate / My life as a Brasilian and how diversity is crucial to me [3]

I am answering the prompt below:
1. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

I am stuck with what to talk about next and how. I have so many experiences in brasil but i dont know which would really captivate a reader.

At such a historical time, when infinite questions about inclusion, diversity, and equality are still ambiguous, I consult myself to explore what it means to me to be a woman of color. When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a skin so white and transparent that I can see the blue blood vessels underneath my skin. My hair is a dull light brown and my eyes, a deep dark brown. However in my opinion, contrary to common belief, a person of color is not one with a different skin color. A person of color is one with a unique ethnic background who is not distinguished from their skin color, but from their choice of interests, different perspectives, and life experiences. Granted, my façade is nothing unique, and causes confusion when I introduce my Brasilian background.

My first birthday was celebrated in Brazil, as well as my fourth, eighth, and sixteenth. However, I haven't been only four times; I've been to visit my enormous family in Brasil at least fifteen times. One day I can wake up in a 14,000 foot house and the next I'm waking up less than 2,000 square feet, but with seven times more family members sitting on the veranda. Within a few hours, I leave the dry, snowy mountains and arrive at the humid, green rainforest of Brasil. After a long flight, there is nothing better than to step out into the warm, humid, air of Brasil. My mother and her sisters and brothers chat the entire two hour drive to our small town, Baldim. I always keep quite in the back, partly to enjoy the culture shock and party because I am embarrassed of my Portuguese.

Undergraduate / Explanation of what affected my academic record my jr year of high school [2]

Im answering both prompts below:
1. Discuss any events or special circumstances that have affected your academic record, as well as any adversities you have overcome.
2. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you
I would really appreciate any advice or help!!

"The growing child must derive a vitalizing sense of reality from the awareness that his individual way of mastering experience is a successful variant of a group identity and is in accord with its space-time and life plan." Identity versus confusion is the fifth stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. According to German psychologist Erikson, this is a vital process to forming an identity and a sense of direction for one's life. This stage is when adolescents develop a sense of self and personal identity. To do this many adolescents seek a place in the world by "trying on" different roles, activities, and behaviors.

The one role I tried on my junior year of high school turned out to be one of the most significant experiences of my life so far. As I began to lose friend by friend, due to a complicated drama, I began to fall into an unhealthy lifestyle. I had lost all my friends, and felt the need to change to fit in and make new friends. To summarize the series of unfortunate events junior year, my personality deteriorated every day. I did not respect my friends, family, or myself. I began to believe that this is who I had become and who I would be, and there would be no changing it. My old friends remember this time of my life and describe it as, "literally the worst thing that ever happened to you. You went from being the nice funny girl that I'd been friends with since the eighth grade to becoming this selfish, awful person that I couldn't even recognize. You suddenly just started acting so crazy. I couldn't keep up," or "I think you were going through a time in your life where you didn't know who was yours and weren't seeing your future as something positive. You weren't looking at how what you were doing was going to affect how colleges saw your and more importantly what your friends saw you as."

The semester continued, and deep down I knew that this is not the person I wanted to be. I began to see a therapist and I started taking anti-depression pills. But the best medication I got was going to Brazil for winter break. I did not tell anyone I was going to Brazil, I disappeared. When I got there, I was surrounded by my large family who loved me and supported me. After being in Brazil for a month, I almost returned to my normal self again.

Unlike many other teenagers, I was able to make the conscious decision to change who I was completely and the path I was on while in Brazil. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a success, not a failure, and the lifestyle I was in was not going to lead me in that direction. I fought to regain confidence, get myself back on track, improve my grades, and be myself again. It was not easy to completely change who I was but I never gave up. I knew that was always a choice, and I made the choice and effort to be the hardworking, determined, and self-confident young woman I am today. The responsibility I took for myself and my failures provided me the power to change my life.