What's the difference between bullets and firecrackers - both are equally common here", said Shah Arusha, one of the five students selected for Voices from the Valley,as we stood inside Srinagar's Jamia Masjid while Eid celebrations continued outside .(This might be confusing for someone not for your country. Also I would only use a quote to start a paragraph if it was the first paragraph. Starting with a quote makes this paragraph unclear) Her words echoed the sentiments of pain, loss and outrage that I heard from over a hundred students in three different schools across the region. Theirs was a tale of democracy denied, for in Kashmir the civil liberties I'd learned to take for granted were severely constrained by militancy and counter-insurgency. For instance, in Baramullah, it was only the guise of a tourist that allowed me to get past an Army checkpoint to reach the interiors of Kashmir but restrictions on the freedom of the press prevented me from reporting the stories which I heard there - like those of the old man from Patan who showed me scars left behind by alleged third degree torture.

Everyone has something that makes him or her extraordinary.For me, I also have a myriad of things that distinguish me from others, from my personal background to my obsession over organization, but .However, none of them alone can provide a satisfying description of who I really am.

I can easily say I'm unique because of my personal background. Although I lived in the United States for almost eight years, I grew up in Korea with my grandmother for eleven years. During my childhood, I learned about traditional rituals and ceremonies such as ,that people at my age wouldn't possibly learn from their parents. Influenced by the two different cultures that seem quite different , my perspective encompasses the uniqueness of them and allow me to view the world with more magnanimity.

I could also say I'm unique because I have a delicate heart that can't reject a favor. It's truly hard for me to reject people's request for help, sometimes to a fault. I've been raised to always help others and contribute my talent to people those are in need. I find satisfaction and pride in helping others and sometimes I look around to see if I can get involved and help others.this paragraph seems very repetitive and you don't give any specific examples of how you help others

I also could call myself idiosyncratic because of my obsession over organization when it comes to my room, my only private place in the world that I can truly show my uniqueness. Decorated with different paints and a myriad of colorful post-its, my room represents the way I view the world around me. The way I organize my room always clashes with my mother's standards, but we learned to accept that everyone has the right to express his or her identity in their room.

I could call myself colorful because I've traveled toquite a lot ofmany countries and learned to value the different cultures. I've been to Japan, China, Mexico, Philippines, and France and learned each country's important values and traditions. At first I thought people in the world are like me and my family, that they all have the same values and cultures they consider most important. After travelling I learned I was completely blinded and each country was extraordinary in its own way. The discovery I made during the travel helped me to interact with others in the school and community because I could connect to others from different countries without any prejudice.

Finally, I can say I'm unique because I have a special leadership that comes out when people are organizing events. I try to actively participate in planning events and often times I take control of it, guiding others to successfully organize an event.

These all can describe who I am and how different I am from everyone, but each one of the characteristics can't truly express my uniqueness. Anyone can be from a different country. Anyone can have a heart to help others and take a role as a leader. Anyone can travel to different countries. It's the combination of these values that truly defines me as unique and distinctive individual. Without looking at the whole picture, it's hard to find who I am.

I know that my opinion goes unnoticed by most, but when a teacher cares about their students and wants to see them succeed, it is one of the most important things in my life and I am grateful to have some if not the best teachers who understand how important it is to ask for my opinion and get me involved in the communication in the classroom since I am such a quiet person.

It is to me feel important,