As stated, I chose topic 1- evaluating a significant experience.
I'll admit-I'm not exactly a good essay writer, but I'm trying.
I'll take all forms of criticism, as long as it can help.
I'm kind of new to this, so thanks in advance!
It was strange. So strange, to be standing in an airport full of people I didn't know. Curiously, I began to look around, eager to meet and greet, but my mother held me back firmly. I would not be allowed to stray from her in this new and cloudy world. I was in America, where I would spend the rest of my childhood. This experience not only changed my environment, it changed my life.
How bright and new the world seemed! In contrast to the cramped and rushing skyscrapers of Hong Kong, the neighborhoods in Brooklyn give a more urban, welcoming feel. The people were genial and kind. The cultural diversity between Asians and Caucasians was exciting and accepted where I lived. It seemed ridiculous to me how laid-back and easygoing the U.S. was compared to the hustle-and-bustle of Hong Kong.
However, I had my troubles fitting in the world. Ever since I was little, I had a streak for impatience and arrogance, and it ran wild in my classes in Hong Kong. I thought that I was the best since I knew two languages, even though I wasn't. I was always cutting across people's words, scoffing at their lack of knowledge; however, it was in my math class in America that my friend changed that. It was a simple math problem-the contents, I don't remember-and he didn't know how to solve it. I made a "tut" sound to show my exasperation at him, only to receive the retort "Don't scoff at me." The mere bluntness of his reply stopped me; was I really scoffing? Should I use a different tone to show him? Stammering with "well"s and "um"s, I taught him how to finish the problem, careful to sound more objective than condescending. That day then changed and created a new aspect of my personality; I learned to be empathic-thinking and feeling in others' positions and situations-and humble, and this understanding of others allowed me to make new friends and relationships, and furthermore, hold and strengthen them with greater ease.
Unfortunately, our family struggled with economic issues; my mother was a banker, and my father an interior constructionist and both made enough money to support our family in a large living space. But for my education, they left their posts and resorted to clerical positions paying half as much. But they wouldn't give up. Not even when the odds were against them. I once heard my mother crying in her room in our dingy apartment with my father at her side, fearful of what's to come the next day.
The realization of that fear manifested itself over the next few years in the form of their workplace and co-workers. Unlike the educational system, where everyone is accepted, the workplace system hid discrimination. My father was, and still is, the most hardworking person I know, and he strived to earn money in his company with his record-breaking completions of his work. I thought that such a person would receive a promotion, right? But that wasn't the case; even after several years, the only promotion my father got was the increase in workload, and it was obvious what the reason was: he was Asian. In a company of Caucasians, he didn't fit in racially and was barred from hierarchal advancements. Enraged, I had sought-quite childish too-to pursue the company for their unfair treatment. But it couldn't be helped; I was but one little person, and discrimination ran rampant. The only thing I could do was, as my father said "study my books, pursue my dreams, and create a better life for me." This situation gave me the real scoop of the real world outside my little universe called school: it is a harsh desert, and one must be strong to survive it.
And because of this, I swore to not give up, and continue to study no matter how difficult it would be. It is because I came to America that I learned to be independent; that I have to be patient and tolerant of others to survive; and to be hard-working, and not to give up no matter what. On a brighter note, I also learned to interact better with my peers, and together, with my family and friends, I would achieve my goals, and provide a better life to both my parents and myself, as the reward for our hard work in this new world.
