alexjones98
Dec 29, 2015
Undergraduate / My karate instructor and my grandfather -- Rice Perspective Essay [2]
Prompt:
The quality of Rice's academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective do you feel that you will contribute to life at Rice?
Hi!, I decided to write about some of my experiences. Let me know what you guys think! Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
"Lower your stance!"
"I'm not going to tell you again; chamber your hands."
"I said lower your stance."
"Kick faster, stronger."
On a typical day, this is what I hear as I train. My instructor wants nothing less than perfection from his students and he pushes us to our limits and beyond.
I admire my instructor. I admire the fact that he takes time from his busy day as a high school teacher to teach us Tang Soo Do. However, the quality that I admire the most about him is his precision. I only have to opportunity to train alongside him as fellow students about once every two to three months. When I am in his presence as we train, I become captivated by his fluid and beautiful techniques. When I am in his presence, I want to achieve perfection, and so I push myself to train harder, to become better, to achieve the perfection my instructor has shown me not only as student in my dojang but also as an instructor in my studio, as a student in school, and as the president of NHS.
As an instructor, I push them past their limits, like my instructor does to me. I constantly nag about miniscule details to condition them in being precise. When I train alongside them, I show them how I expect a technique to look so that they know what my expectations are. I tell my students to mess up with confidence because only then can they acknowledge the mistake and correct it. As the president of NHS, I take the utmost care to ensure that every member is well informed of future events. I meet on a weekly basis with the adult coordinator to discuss and take notes on what we are going to talk about in meetings and take those notes and hand them out to each individual member so that each member knows as well.
However, I have also gained insight from my grandfather. I have watched my grandfather turn from a sharp and smart gentleman to a person who can no longer remember who anyone is. His Alzheimer's has gotten so bad that he can no longer speak words. Watching my grandfather deteriorate to that state has made me reevaluate my life. There are many things that I do not appreciate as much as I should. There are times during a test when I am frustrated for not remembering a formula, yet my grandfather cannot even remember his own son. Many times I am annoyed with my family members, but the only family that visits my grandfather is my father, mother, sister, and me. When I reflect on my grandfather, I come to realize that even the most miniscule details must be appreciated. He has shown me that life is unpredictable, and that any moment, every possession, tangible and intangible, can be taken away in a moment. My appreciation for life has magnified, even for the most trivial things, by watching my grandfather.
Prompt:
The quality of Rice's academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective do you feel that you will contribute to life at Rice?
Hi!, I decided to write about some of my experiences. Let me know what you guys think! Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
"Lower your stance!"
"I'm not going to tell you again; chamber your hands."
"I said lower your stance."
"Kick faster, stronger."
On a typical day, this is what I hear as I train. My instructor wants nothing less than perfection from his students and he pushes us to our limits and beyond.
I admire my instructor. I admire the fact that he takes time from his busy day as a high school teacher to teach us Tang Soo Do. However, the quality that I admire the most about him is his precision. I only have to opportunity to train alongside him as fellow students about once every two to three months. When I am in his presence as we train, I become captivated by his fluid and beautiful techniques. When I am in his presence, I want to achieve perfection, and so I push myself to train harder, to become better, to achieve the perfection my instructor has shown me not only as student in my dojang but also as an instructor in my studio, as a student in school, and as the president of NHS.
As an instructor, I push them past their limits, like my instructor does to me. I constantly nag about miniscule details to condition them in being precise. When I train alongside them, I show them how I expect a technique to look so that they know what my expectations are. I tell my students to mess up with confidence because only then can they acknowledge the mistake and correct it. As the president of NHS, I take the utmost care to ensure that every member is well informed of future events. I meet on a weekly basis with the adult coordinator to discuss and take notes on what we are going to talk about in meetings and take those notes and hand them out to each individual member so that each member knows as well.
However, I have also gained insight from my grandfather. I have watched my grandfather turn from a sharp and smart gentleman to a person who can no longer remember who anyone is. His Alzheimer's has gotten so bad that he can no longer speak words. Watching my grandfather deteriorate to that state has made me reevaluate my life. There are many things that I do not appreciate as much as I should. There are times during a test when I am frustrated for not remembering a formula, yet my grandfather cannot even remember his own son. Many times I am annoyed with my family members, but the only family that visits my grandfather is my father, mother, sister, and me. When I reflect on my grandfather, I come to realize that even the most miniscule details must be appreciated. He has shown me that life is unpredictable, and that any moment, every possession, tangible and intangible, can be taken away in a moment. My appreciation for life has magnified, even for the most trivial things, by watching my grandfather.
