Entry 4: Tables Turned

In the near future you will be writing short essays in the effort to convince a college admissions officer to accept your application. Put yourself in his or her position. Think about the kind of person you would want to have at your institution. What qualities are you looking for? What warning signs are you looking for in people to turn down? Using specific details describe the perfect applicant, then give reasons why those details are important.

• The people who are mostly likely wanted at an institution of a job would have the following qualities. First, they should be somewhat intelligent. Having the knowledge to do a certain task, or having the knowledge for problem solving and critical thinking is very important. The second quality is that the person has to be responsible. Responsibility would allow trust relationships to be formed. The third quality is that a person has to be sensitive. And when talking about sensitive, it is not in the sense that a person cannot receive constructive criticism. Instead, the sensitive mentioned here means that the person has the ability to deal with different incidents, act accordingly under different circumstances, and adapt to new situations. The fourth quality, one that most people would want from their superiors and peers, is respect. Respecting other people earns you trust, as well as friendship. The last quality, I believe, is creativity. People should be able to think outside of the box to be successful.
• Warning sign that tell us that we should turn down people include arrogance, disrespect, and cowardliness. When people are arrogant and disrespectful, they make people dislike them and unassociate with them. Also, if people are afraid and are cowards, then they can't take up a leadership role.

Entry 3: No Big Thing

You are always being asked to write in superlatives: what was the most significant experience in your life or who was the most influential person. What about thinking the other way? Do you ever try to minimize the importance of people or events in your life? Under what circumstances do you try to "inflate" things, and in what circumstances do you try to minimize them? Why? Choose a recent event in your life and try first to make it seem more important than it was, and then less important. Which was easier?

• I have sometimes unconsciously tried to minimize the importance of an event. Two reasons to explain why I would do that would be because I don't want to feel embarrassed or because I don't want to make other people feel bad about something. Anyways,  I am going to use the previous mentioned topic of going to St. Petersburg, Russia again for this entry. The first narrative is an "inflation" of the essay, while the other minimizes the essay.
• The journey to St. Petersburg can be said as a "spiritual" one, quoting Vivien. The place was extremely beautiful, with all the whiteness of the snow and the brilliant colors of the buildings. St. Petersburg is a city full of culture and history. This should be an extremely appreciated trip because this is a very rare life experience. 
• The first thing I felt was the coldness in the air. I had to pull my coat closer to keep the warmth in. The flight from Taiwan to St. Petersburg was not a comfortable one, and all the elevation and air pressure is creating a giant headache and making my ears ache. My hair was all oily, sticking on my face. The conference was not very ordered. In fact, it was one of the most chaotic conferences I have ever been through. Another thing I disliked about the trip was that even though the food was good, it was never enough. And to be honest, they do not make cup noodles as delicious as the ones we brought there.

Entry 2: First Time for Everything

There is an old saying: "There's a first time for everything." Write down as many "firsts" that you have experienced in your life that you can remember. For example, first time riding a bicycle, first time going to a new school, etc. From that list, choose one first and describe it in as much detail as you can. Remember to use your five senses and active verbs and descriptive nouns. Also, make sure you describe your thoughts and feelings before,during, and after the event.

• First MUN experience
• First time at PAS
• First time I went to Russia

•  My family was very excited as we started to pack for the trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. The various meetings at school told and prepared us for the MUN meeting, and also what we had to bring on the trip. The flight to our destination took approximately two days: first from Taiwan to Singapore, then from Singapore to Moscow. When we arrived at Moscow, we had to take another short flight to St. Petersburg. The flight, though exciting, made me extremely uncomfortable. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were oily and cold. St. Petersburg was covered in snow, and we were greeted by the colorful and majestic monuments from the past as we went on a tour the next day. Before the three day conference, we spent a day touring around the historical city. Cathedrals and churches can be found quite commonly, and generally, we had a great time. However, the air was constantly filled will the smell of smoke, since the people in Russia love to smoke and drink a lot. It smelled extremely uncomfortable as the smoke mixed with the humid air. The part of the trip I enjoyed the most was the train ride from St. Petersburg back to Moscow. The scenery was green and white as trees and snow fly past my vision. My cellphone was able to catch two beautiful images with the sun setting and illuminating the snow. The first feeling I felt when I came back to Taiwan was the heat and hot, humid air...

Entry 1: What Happened to Me

Write a narrative about any event in your life that you remember clearly, but be sure to describe it as it affected you. Talk about how you perceived the event--sight, sound, taste, feel, smell--and what your intellectual and emotional reactions were to it. The event itself is not important--it can be boring or exciting. What is important is how you tell the story. You are practicing inserting yourself into the narrative, so be sure to be the focal part of the story and not just a passive witness. At this time don't worry about how the event changed your life (or didn't), just practice telling what happened in as much detail as you can.

•  As I stood by the side of the building, I saw the bypassing people throwing curious glances at me. For once, I understand what is was like, standing alone and not doing anything. The sun was shining brightly, and despite the fact that I was standing in the shade, I could feel the dry and humid feeling on my tongue and down my throat. I started to grow anxious. Pressing myself to the wall and feeling the coldness of the stone run up my spine, I took out my cellphone and pretended to be busy. I heard the sound of a car honking another car blocking in front. Looking up from my cellphone, I shifted towards the glass walls of Starbucks. The automatic doors slided open silently. The aroma of coffee and bread hit my nose as the sound of employees shouting orders entered my ear. I entered the shop and realizes that two of my teachers were sitting on the table, talking to a person who used to be a teacher in my school. I left out a breath I greeted and talked to them, feeling a wave of relief and familiarity. Minutes later, I walked out along with them and waved them goodbye. Again came the feeling of anxiousness. I glanced at the watch. It has already been 15 minutes since I left the cozy feeling of my mother's car. Finally, after waiting for a total of 17 minutes, I heard my name called out by a sweet voice, accompanied by my friend's face. I smiled.