Extracurricular Short Answer on being a chinese school teaching assistant

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum).

After my first day at ______ Chinese School, I concluded that learning Chinese was stupid. At seven years old, I had no idea why we had to learn about such useless and difficult words. However, after countless Sunday afternoon classes, I warmed up to the place. The encouraging environment made it seem less like a school and more like a second home.

Upon graduation in eighth grade, I applied and was accepted for a teaching assistant position. I had such fond memories there that I wanted give back by helping the students. Over my four years as a TA, I have taught in classrooms ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. My duties include helping the kids with their schoolwork, making sure none of them fall behind, and sometimes even teaching small topics. My focus is to dispel any negative ideas about school like the ones I once had and to provide a learning experience as enjoyable as my own. I believe that the kids can succeed if they come to class with open minds and big smiles.

I feel that my writing lacks emotion here but I can't seem to make it better when it is restricted to only 1000 characters. Any feedback/idea/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Maybe try starting the essay with a clear description of TA-ing a class.. "I had such fond memories there that I wanted give back by helping the students." - inconsistent with the first part of the essay. You could cut the whole first part out and replace it with a specific incident.