This is the first half of my essay. It is the significant experience topic. Please critique! Any suggestions welcomed. Thank you!
NOTE: LSU is short for Louisiana State University and the name has been changed to protect the innocent.
"What are you doing for the summer? You can't just sit at home." These words flowed endlessly from my mom's mouth as sophomore year was winding down. I couldn't deny the truth behind them. For the first time, I had trouble finding a way to spend my summer. Any other break, I would have been visiting relatives in China or sitting in a summer course class at LSU. However, I wasn't doing either. I could count the number of weeks till summer on one hand, but I still had no clue what I would do. Time was running out.
After all my research, I came up with volunteering at the local hospital. However, wanting to help me find more options, my mom did some of her own research. What she dug up was Math Circle, a math-enrichment program, as its name suggests. Not to say math was utterly boring, but the idea of learning and doing math for another summer did not appeal to me. Even if it was just for three weeks, what would I do at Math Circle? Spend hours using the quadratic formula to find the zeros? Or maybe use the shell method repeatedly to find how much water that darn imaginary cup could hold? I was obviously reluctant. I was looking forward to volunteering at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. Ultimately, I conformed to my mother's wishes since I'd still have the chance volunteer afterwards. I participated in Math Circle, never expecting is how much this would influence me.
Finals came and went and June 8th arrived. That day would mark the beginning of either an extremely dull summer or a completely riveting summer. As the first week dragged, my fears felt confirmed. Except for a few activities, Math Circle was boring. I felt as if I was in school again, except the lectures elaborated concepts too complicated for my brain to comprehend. "The conjugate of z-x= y is x = -x-iy. The modulus of z is ..." What does that mean? There were handfuls of new symbols and jargon thrown at me like a barrage of snowballs, melting as they hit my head. I could not catch any and they made no sense. On top of being confused, I couldn't pay attention to these lectures. To keep myself from falling asleep, I copied pages of what seemed like hieroglyphics. How was I going to survive the next two weeks?
Soon I noticed the enthusiasm my friend Luke possessed. He devoured everything in the lectures with eagerness. I couldn't understand how anyone could find these dull lectures fascinating. Somehow he did. He took up new problems with glee and never gave up easily. His face was an emotion projector; anyone could see how much he enjoyed anything we did. I was in awe of how deep his interest expanded. I wanted to experience that same feeling. I decided that I needed to change my attitude: I would be more open-minded. I would follow the cliché "Don't knock it till you try it." Thus I began to pay more attention to lectures and to actually try every problem we receive. I even went back to notes from the first week and tried to understand what I had ignored. No more melting snowballs. I was beginning to catch them. With a new attitude, I realized how that these math concepts were different than the regular school topic, and they were interesting. Once, we had been given a lecture on knots and I loved. I even conquered a problem on my own. I began to want to know more. The feeling was enthralling, even addicting.
My thirst for knowledge did not apply to just math, but all subjects. Math Circle was simply the spark in my love for learning. With this change in attitude, my interests and views transformed. This was evident in my junior year. Before, science did not hold much meaning to me, but I suddenly it all seemed captivating. Especially in chemistry, with every word I read, I was in love.
While Math Circle fulfilled its purpose as a math-enrichment program, it achieved much more for me. It made me grow and mature. It changed the maneuverings of my brains and helped me be more open-minded and eager to take on new ideas. Now I am ready for the next snowball fight. I might even have a few of my own to throw this time.
NOTE: LSU is short for Louisiana State University and the name has been changed to protect the innocent.
"What are you doing for the summer? You can't just sit at home." These words flowed endlessly from my mom's mouth as sophomore year was winding down. I couldn't deny the truth behind them. For the first time, I had trouble finding a way to spend my summer. Any other break, I would have been visiting relatives in China or sitting in a summer course class at LSU. However, I wasn't doing either. I could count the number of weeks till summer on one hand, but I still had no clue what I would do. Time was running out.
After all my research, I came up with volunteering at the local hospital. However, wanting to help me find more options, my mom did some of her own research. What she dug up was Math Circle, a math-enrichment program, as its name suggests. Not to say math was utterly boring, but the idea of learning and doing math for another summer did not appeal to me. Even if it was just for three weeks, what would I do at Math Circle? Spend hours using the quadratic formula to find the zeros? Or maybe use the shell method repeatedly to find how much water that darn imaginary cup could hold? I was obviously reluctant. I was looking forward to volunteering at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. Ultimately, I conformed to my mother's wishes since I'd still have the chance volunteer afterwards. I participated in Math Circle, never expecting is how much this would influence me.
Finals came and went and June 8th arrived. That day would mark the beginning of either an extremely dull summer or a completely riveting summer. As the first week dragged, my fears felt confirmed. Except for a few activities, Math Circle was boring. I felt as if I was in school again, except the lectures elaborated concepts too complicated for my brain to comprehend. "The conjugate of z-x= y is x = -x-iy. The modulus of z is ..." What does that mean? There were handfuls of new symbols and jargon thrown at me like a barrage of snowballs, melting as they hit my head. I could not catch any and they made no sense. On top of being confused, I couldn't pay attention to these lectures. To keep myself from falling asleep, I copied pages of what seemed like hieroglyphics. How was I going to survive the next two weeks?
Soon I noticed the enthusiasm my friend Luke possessed. He devoured everything in the lectures with eagerness. I couldn't understand how anyone could find these dull lectures fascinating. Somehow he did. He took up new problems with glee and never gave up easily. His face was an emotion projector; anyone could see how much he enjoyed anything we did. I was in awe of how deep his interest expanded. I wanted to experience that same feeling. I decided that I needed to change my attitude: I would be more open-minded. I would follow the cliché "Don't knock it till you try it." Thus I began to pay more attention to lectures and to actually try every problem we receive. I even went back to notes from the first week and tried to understand what I had ignored. No more melting snowballs. I was beginning to catch them. With a new attitude, I realized how that these math concepts were different than the regular school topic, and they were interesting. Once, we had been given a lecture on knots and I loved. I even conquered a problem on my own. I began to want to know more. The feeling was enthralling, even addicting.
My thirst for knowledge did not apply to just math, but all subjects. Math Circle was simply the spark in my love for learning. With this change in attitude, my interests and views transformed. This was evident in my junior year. Before, science did not hold much meaning to me, but I suddenly it all seemed captivating. Especially in chemistry, with every word I read, I was in love.
While Math Circle fulfilled its purpose as a math-enrichment program, it achieved much more for me. It made me grow and mature. It changed the maneuverings of my brains and helped me be more open-minded and eager to take on new ideas. Now I am ready for the next snowball fight. I might even have a few of my own to throw this time.
