Topic: Describe the world you come from, for example your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (500 Word Limit)
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I am a physics anomaly. A single event resulting from the discarding of fundamental principles which govern this universe. Space shifted as two worlds merged into one tangible object. What was the final product of this crunch of the space-time continuum? Me.
I am the product of two entirely different communities: Bangladesh and America. My parents, unaware of the mathematical phenomenom they would create, were both born in Bangladesh. They grew up in a nation considered one of the most poorest in the world. My father was the youngest of ten siblings, and they relied on themselves after my grandfather died when my father was only eight years old. While my father was more of the adventurous, troublemaking sort, my mother was a gifted student. She was the top ranked female in the country on her matriculation exams and entered an engineering college. Both my parents were instilled with traditional Bengali ideals in their childhood. These same values of hard work, frugality, and respect were in turn instilled into me as I grew up.
Yet, my childhood did not take place in the impoverished streets of Dhaka. I was born on the other side of the planet, Raleigh, North Carolina. It is no doubt an unlikely location for a scientific juxtaposition of unlike entities. Rustic North Carolina was the opposite of Bangladesh. North Carolina is a laid-back, live-by-the-day, sit-in-a-rocking-chair-on-my-porch, kind of place. I went to public schools, nothing special. I fit in where I could and found my own place in the Tar Heel State. My motherland is Bangladesh, but my home is in North Carolina.
The cataclysmic clash was inevitable, and the battle lines were drawn.. My existence was the volatile synthesis of two different lifestyles. I spoke Bangla at home and English at school. I ate barbeque sandwiches and tater tots for lunch and "Daal aar Bhath" (Rice and Lentils) for dinner. I celebrated Eid-al-Fitr while Christmas lights shined across the street. In essence, I lived the best parts of both worlds but belonged entirely to neither; I was a hybrid, not entirely American nor Bangladeshi.
From my experiences as an amalgam, I have a unique third perspective. I have seen the importance of moderation and of having fun. I know perserverance is vital, but sometimes one needs to step back and take a deep breath. And from my ordeals, I have gained new ambitions. I want to go beyond my background's standards and create my own future. I want to exceed the expectations others have of me, whether those others are my Bangladeshi family or my American peers. I want to pursue my own interest, Biology, in a place where I know new ideas are created, where people are constantly breaking down old notions of science, and where even the anomalies are accepted. A place like MIT.
Bangladesh and America are two different places. They are two separate communities with separate ideals and ways of life. Yet, undeniably, I am the living embodiment of their fusion.
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I mainly need people to check for grammer mistakes, but I would also appreciate general comments on the essay. I believe the word count was 496 when I last checked, so it's right under the limit. Thank you in advance!
Overall, a very well-written essay. Just one thing -- you mention that "The cataclysmic clash was inevitable," a theme you refer back to throughout your essay, but nothing in any of the examples you describe can reasonably be described as "cataclysmic." Interesting, educational, diverse, any or all of these things, perhaps, but "cataclysmic" not so much. There is nothing particularly violent in the dual life you describe, or destructive. Nor do you describe any real change arising from this. Slow development, yes; sudden, drastic, fundamental change, no.
