This is my essay for the 250-500 word essay for the Common Application.
As you may know, there isn't really a set topic to this essay. So here goes:
"How are you?"
For me, this used to be one of the most difficult questions to answer. Small talk is impulsive. It's something that comes naturally to native speakers. Consequently, most people who are faced with the question answer it easily and quickly, usually just with an "I'm good" or a "Same old". I, on the other hand, couldn't do this until a couple of years ago.
Due to my upbringing in Korea, I was unfamiliar with the day-to-day cultural and habitual differences between Koreans and Americans. In Korea, when you encounter someone, all you need to do is briefly acknowledge the person. Depending on the person, a short "Annyeonghaseyo" with a bow, or even just an "Annyeong" will suffice. The small talk is neither anticipated nor normal.
Contrary to that, in the States, small talk is something that is expected and deemed polite in every short encounter between two or more people. Until I started attending my current high school, Flintridge Prep, I was unable to meet this expectation. Prior to Prep, I was always surrounded by fellow Koreans, so I was not even aware of this anticipation. However, at Prep, pretty much everyone is very familiar with the American culture. As a result, the question "How are you?" was relentlessly thrown my way, and I could never come up with a proper answer on the spot. Sometimes I hesitated before mumbling something unintelligible. Other times, the person would walk past me before I had a chance to even mumble, and I just ended up unintentionally ignoring him. My intentions were never to be rude; I just couldn't spit something comprehensible out in that brief moment. The question always caught me off guard.
One day, I witnessed the president of my class talking to the dean of students, the intimidating teacher that every student at school fears. Nonchalantly, he struck up a casual conversation with a "Hi, how are you?" Suddenly, I got the urge to do the same. I wanted to feel comfortable interacting with anyone I wished to. From that day on, I constantly kept the phrase "I'm good" in my head; in the halls, during lunch, before and after school. I promised myself that I would establish an impetuous reaction to the question I dreaded, regardless of how I actually felt at the moment. Soon enough, I found myself replying "I'm good" whenever someone asked me how I was. No more awkward moments and stares! However, I then wanted to go a step further. Believing that honesty is important even in small talk, I wanted to reply truthfully. Instead of claiming "I'm good" all the time, I decided I would express my true feelings. In time, I was able to comfortably face the previously feared question, from whomever, whenever. Nowadays, I can even ask the question back, "and you?"
Thanks in advance!!
First off, I believe that the essay was well crafted with a fine choice of words. The one thing, however, was I had a hard time trying to grasp what the general message of the essay was. What are you trying to say about yourself? I feel if you evaluated more on how you changed would make things clearer. To me, it seems a little too like a narrated story.
