Directions
Choose one of the following two topics and write a short essay. (Maximum length 300 words)
The University of Washington seeks to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. How would you contribute to this community?
Describe an experience of cultural difference, positive or negative, you have had or observed. What did you learn from it?
Tip
You may define culture broadly in Topic 2. For example, it may include ethnicity, customs, values, and ideas, all of which contribute to experiences that students can share with others in college. As you reply to this question, reflect on what you have learned -- about yourself and society -- from an experience of cultural difference.
I was born inside the Chinese community in Italy, and growing up made me aware of the differences between different nationalities. Italy is a country that has a large population of immigrants, coming from each part of the world to work here, where opportunities for jobs were ample. My parents always told me to be aware of foreigners, they told me that foreigners hate and despise us, but I learned to think differently.
I have to thank to my educational background that I was able to accept different culture and different nationalities, as I was not placed in schools saturated with Chinese people. Therefore, I had to learn to socialize with my other classmates, which all shared different viewpoints from different cultures. With them, I learned Italian customs and all their cultural diversities from the Chinese one and was able to incorporate both inside my lifestyle. This ability made my transition to the international school easier, as I was able to find friends immediately on the first day. Here, I was able to find a greater array of people from different nationality to understand and learn.
However, because of my openness, I always experience a clash and contrast from the "purer" Chinese people, as they were raised with the same mentality of my parents. But, even today I strive to let them understand that the difference in culture is not really a limiting factor, but they should use that opportunity to find a way to acknowledge other people and approach them, instead of clustering themselves and limiting their understanding of the world.
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I went to an International school after I finished elementary school, which I already stated in my application process and educational background
Andrea, you need to explain the kind of mentality that your parents were trying to make you develop. What made them say that foreigners hate the Chinese people? How did you come to realize that what they told you was not the case when you started school? Develop that discussion in order to show your experience with various cultures and the positive and/or negative impact that it had upon you. Then reflect on those experience. Share what you learned with us, maybe explain how it helped you shaped your point of view about the international community that we all find ourselves interacting in more frequently these days. Then answer the all important prompt question about how those experiences you had will help you better the international community of the University of Washington.
