"We know that diversity makes us a better university -- better for learning, for teaching, and for conducting research."
(U-M President Mary Sue Coleman)
Share an experience through which you have gained respect for intellectual, social, or cultural differences. Comment on how your personal experiences and achievements would contribute to the diversity of the University of Michigan. (250 words)
"Travel is not about exploring a new place, but seeing with new vision."
Being a Beijing Yatou, I have learned from Peking its tolerance, geniality, and urbanity, as we all in our formative years catch something of the city and the country we live in. To satisfy my natural desire for discovering, I have been traveled with my parents to more than six provinces in China and over 10 countries around the world.
Different customs serves a mirror for me to examine myself in order to have a better self understanding, and also help me to build the eclectic outlook. Brand new stimulus can bring us with new awareness. Being in a new environment let me think about new information subconsciously. Compared those with my original information, I can reach the great satisfaction by reevaluating my former perspective. No matter standing in the prison room of Elimina Castle (where used to keep slaves) while imagining the bloody crimes once committed by human beings, or strolling in the red-light district in Amsterdam, I was encounter matters which astonishingly conflict against the way I value what is the right and wrong as a Chinese. Through the comparisons with foreigners, I know more about my life, my situation and my own significance. For instance, when I see Chinese cuisine all around the world, I feel the sense of identification; when I later learned that Chinese food is far beyond what the foreigners perceive, I would feel unique and pride.
Thus, I believe my experience will bring culture understanding and diversity to the University of Michigan.
The content of this essay is quite strong, except for the conclusion, which is cursory. However, your frequent grammatical errors undercut the strength of the essay. I challenge other forum members -- especially those from China -- to offer specific corrections.
