In addition to the essay you have written for the Common Application, please write an essay of about 500 words (no more than 650 words and no less than 250 words). Using one of the themes below as a starting point, write about a person, event, or experience that helped you define one of your values or in some way changed how you approach the world. Please do not repeat, in full or in part, the essay you wrote for the Common Application.
4. "Culture is what presents us with the kinds of valuable things that can fill a life. And insofar as we can recognize the value in those things and make them part of our lives, our lives are meaningful." Gideon Rosen, Stuart Professor of Philosophy, chair of the Council of the Humanities and director of the Program in Humanistic Studies, Princeton University.
When I left for United States, my parents snatched away a crucial part of my essence. I was being kidnapped. Literally. For years my grandparents took care of me in a suburban city in southern China, but life there approached a dead end. Suddenly, I lost the idyllic smell of the nearby countryside villages, the taste of the small appetizers served on steamer baskets, and, above all, the Cantonese of my past. I spent forever building up a history and identity, how could anyone take this away?
Like anybody else, the frustration of losing an identity eventually ceased when I adopted a new American lifestyle. Growing up, I was always fearful of being too 'Oriental' in front of my classmates. Not wanting others to label me as 'ABC' or American-born Chinese, I had to classify myself as either Chinese or American, not both. At dinner, I preferred to eat with a big metal spoon, refusing to sacrifice the utensil to the sluggishness of the chopsticks. Sometimes, when my grandparents call me over Skype, I try to ignore them, feeling the shame of not being able to speak Cantonese effectively. I was swept away by an American dream.
In the midst of a fast paced lifestyle, it wasn't until my junior year of high school that I took a long breath to rediscover my past in a different form. Performing at the States Arts Culture Series sponsored by Music Arts International, I entered a realm where music and culture clashed. One of the required piano pieces was not the typical Western style compositions but rather a Chinese folk song: "Reflection on a Lake" by Peixun Chen. The first time, I did not know where to begin as I scanned the notes, completely dumbfounded by the unconventional organization of the pentatonic intervals. Immediately, I took the piece to my piano teacher, and she was able to break it into comprehensible chunks. In practice rooms, she slowly guided me through the piece and its foreign attributes. She talked about placement, how your fingers should touch the keys at the cushion to convey the mood the composer wanted. She talked about pedaling, how your feet should release quickly to catch the first note of each measure. When I finally mastered the touch, I was lost in another musical paradise, yet this time something echoed from the past. The pentatonic scales and Chinese melody now seemed all too familiar, a reminiscent of my background.
Personally, I struggled to recuperate with my old past by following traditional cultural practices, but I somehow felt emotionally stirred by the Chinese melody of the folk song. I guided this emotional force into motivating myself to rebuild the traditional music, language, and practices I once knew. Just this summer, I volunteered for three weeks at a Chinese school summer camp. The experience was enlightening because I realized sharing a culture and teaching Chinese language to little kids could be such a painless act. Not long afterwards, I traveled back to China to reunite with the grandparents who once were my guardians.
I recognize the power music can bring to the ears. Evoking in me the emotions that words and pictures cannot, it invites us to revisit who we truly are. Culture is not just governed by everyday routines such as food, language, and clothing but rather can live inside of us in the form of our senses. Culture blends itself into a different entity like music and follows us wherever we go, waiting for us to open the door so it can enter back into our lives. Culture endures through the most transitional phases in life.
4. "Culture is what presents us with the kinds of valuable things that can fill a life. And insofar as we can recognize the value in those things and make them part of our lives, our lives are meaningful." Gideon Rosen, Stuart Professor of Philosophy, chair of the Council of the Humanities and director of the Program in Humanistic Studies, Princeton University.
When I left for United States, my parents snatched away a crucial part of my essence. I was being kidnapped. Literally. For years my grandparents took care of me in a suburban city in southern China, but life there approached a dead end. Suddenly, I lost the idyllic smell of the nearby countryside villages, the taste of the small appetizers served on steamer baskets, and, above all, the Cantonese of my past. I spent forever building up a history and identity, how could anyone take this away?
Like anybody else, the frustration of losing an identity eventually ceased when I adopted a new American lifestyle. Growing up, I was always fearful of being too 'Oriental' in front of my classmates. Not wanting others to label me as 'ABC' or American-born Chinese, I had to classify myself as either Chinese or American, not both. At dinner, I preferred to eat with a big metal spoon, refusing to sacrifice the utensil to the sluggishness of the chopsticks. Sometimes, when my grandparents call me over Skype, I try to ignore them, feeling the shame of not being able to speak Cantonese effectively. I was swept away by an American dream.
In the midst of a fast paced lifestyle, it wasn't until my junior year of high school that I took a long breath to rediscover my past in a different form. Performing at the States Arts Culture Series sponsored by Music Arts International, I entered a realm where music and culture clashed. One of the required piano pieces was not the typical Western style compositions but rather a Chinese folk song: "Reflection on a Lake" by Peixun Chen. The first time, I did not know where to begin as I scanned the notes, completely dumbfounded by the unconventional organization of the pentatonic intervals. Immediately, I took the piece to my piano teacher, and she was able to break it into comprehensible chunks. In practice rooms, she slowly guided me through the piece and its foreign attributes. She talked about placement, how your fingers should touch the keys at the cushion to convey the mood the composer wanted. She talked about pedaling, how your feet should release quickly to catch the first note of each measure. When I finally mastered the touch, I was lost in another musical paradise, yet this time something echoed from the past. The pentatonic scales and Chinese melody now seemed all too familiar, a reminiscent of my background.
Personally, I struggled to recuperate with my old past by following traditional cultural practices, but I somehow felt emotionally stirred by the Chinese melody of the folk song. I guided this emotional force into motivating myself to rebuild the traditional music, language, and practices I once knew. Just this summer, I volunteered for three weeks at a Chinese school summer camp. The experience was enlightening because I realized sharing a culture and teaching Chinese language to little kids could be such a painless act. Not long afterwards, I traveled back to China to reunite with the grandparents who once were my guardians.
I recognize the power music can bring to the ears. Evoking in me the emotions that words and pictures cannot, it invites us to revisit who we truly are. Culture is not just governed by everyday routines such as food, language, and clothing but rather can live inside of us in the form of our senses. Culture blends itself into a different entity like music and follows us wherever we go, waiting for us to open the door so it can enter back into our lives. Culture endures through the most transitional phases in life.
