Undergraduate / My passion for Public Speech; CENTRAL TO IDENTITY [4]

I will appreciate your help and help back:)

Prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

In the summer of 2016,driving on the Golden Gate Bridge, humming my favorite song "When You Believe", watching a stunningly beautiful sunrise through the car window, I am exuberant. I'm going to make a speech for TED①-not as a scientist introducing a 3D-printed jumbo jet or an economist explaining the secret of the financial crisis, but as an inspiring public speaker. I've given speeches about race, gay and gender equality all over the world in hopes that I can illuminate my audiences to value equality for all and inspire them to take positive action for the betterment of humanity.

Of all the images that I've imagined, these stand out as experiences that I most want to have. These images converge and remind me of the first time I had to give an important public speech: it was also sunny, and the warm sunshine shone through the classroom window sending brilliant sunbeams to the ground. Sitting restlessly, I was waiting to report on the spectacular Tides of the Qiantang River. I had never given a formal speech in such a public forum, let alone one attended by many prestigious teachers from all over China. I was announced: "Let's see what our young reporter has brought back to tell us." I struggled to preserve my composure as I walked to take the microphone.

As I talked about the different phases of the Tides, I looked out on the attentive crowd. I knew they were picturing the grand scenery with my words as their guide. From their facial expressions-smiles, nods, a few heads tilted to the side-I could see they were enthralled by the grandeur of nature as I was presenting it, as if I were painting the landscape right in front of them. At that moment, I fell in love with public speaking as an art form-I became an oratorical painter, an artist.

Soon though, I began to understand the power of public speaking and how it could be used for good. Once, in a municipal speech contest, I was showing Kevin Carter's iconic photograph of a skinny Sudanese girl curled up in the dirt, dying of severe malnutrition and starvation, with the foreboding and hungry vulture staring from the background. I called my audience to ponder whether it was reasonable to be discontent with our own lives when half of the global population lives much worse, to complain and be so selfish, ignoring the plight of others around us. After, I saw in the eyes of those before me a kindling of understanding, inspiration and hope for a better future. It was a tremendously important experience for me.

Giving public speeches has become a vital part of my life, like the blood flowing in my veins. I've since competed in countless speech contests and obtained numerous awards, however what has made me most proud are not the honors; seeing people respond to my speeches with love and gratitude, with initiative, with raising money to help Sudanese children-this is what makes me proud and inspires me to keep on.

Undergraduate / Student Diversity and Cultural Fusion;WHY NYU? / Academic intersts [3]

NYU's global network of campuses, schools, colleges, and programs, provides an unrivaled urban university experience to cultivate our students' intellectual curiosity and to help them achieve their future career goals. In evaluating your candidacy for admission, we are interested in making the best match possible with all that NYU has to offer. As a result, we are curious to learn about your academic and personal interests and how those interests relate to what we offer in the idea capitals of the world in which NYU campuses are located.

[i]Please address, in your essay response, the following:
1. Given your NYU campuses of interest - whether they are your primary and alternate home campuses of interest or where you would like to study away while you are a student - where, exactly, would you like to study at NYU - and why?

2. Whether you are undecided or you have a definitive plan of study in mind, what are your academic interests and how do you plan to explore them at NYU?

You may have one or many campuses, schools, colleges, programs, and/or areas of interest, so please elaborate on your interests.

I love NYU in New York City for its student diversity and cultural fusion. Students there may be Hispanic, Asian or even Africans coming from thousand miles away. I probably never heard about their country name or saw the color combination of their beloved country's flag before. Also, I would be very likely to pronounce their name incorrectly and so would they. Thankfully, there exists a community, called NYU, located in the most bustling New York City, gathers us together with the mutual hope to transcend the racial, gender and even religious differences to pursue academic excellence and to acquire a global vision.

Additionally, the beautiful epitomes of American time-honored history, such as Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Metropolitan Museum of Art, drive me to explore more about its fascinating culture formed by ethnic intermingling. There sparks the irresistible beauty of cultural integration and shines the compelling mystery in which different races interweave. Thus for me, to expose myself to new ways of living and thinking is the ultimate goal of studying at NYU.

Studying at NYU, I believe, will also help me implement my tenet in a broader sense since I have a yen to become an invaluable part of the Silver School of Social Work. I am passionate about volunteering and doing community services because the happiness reaped and the inner satisfaction gained are unparalleled. On a sunny day of 2012, I went to visit the mentally-challenged children at an adoption institution in Chengdu, China. There, smiles were the only form of communication that they clearly and fully understood. I smiled at them when they won a round of hopscotch, and they, in return, smiled bigger smiles in gratitude. We smiled together to the sun, to the sky, to the rainbows and to the nature around us. I continuously brought sunshine and light to others through my smile. I hugged each of them when I was leaving, with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face.

I know so well that personal fulfillment comes from making contributions to the world around us. I intend to combine my love for social work and sociology with my passion for justice, and dedicate my lifetime to alleviating the social discrimination and injustice in New York, in China and the larger world. To obtain that goal not only requires passion, but more importantly, it needs knowledge. Therefore, I cannot wait to join Silver School of Social Work at NYU. I aspire to achieve the beauty of humanity through attending your prestigious social work program.

Any general or critical or harsh comments are welcomed!!
And thank you for the time!!:)