GIRL WALKS INTO CONVENIENCE STORE. WHAT SHE DISCOVERS WHEN SHE OPENS THE FRIDGE WILL LEAVE YOU SPEECHLESS.

Now that I have your attention, I would like to correct the statements above. The girl (me, obviously) did not “discover” what she discovered the first time she opened the fridge. Like most difficult problems, this took a couple more tries. Allow me to backtrack. Ever since Coca-Cola released the “Share A Coke With _______” cokes, I had been checking for my name every time I came across them. You see, I believe that I have a name that is pretty common. I’ve never had trouble finding key chains, bracelets, necklaces, etc. with my name on it. So, naturally, I thought that I would be able to find my name amongst the dozens of coke bottles lining the fridges of any convenience store. I was visiting colleges so I went to a convenience store at least once a day. After searching the fridges of about the 10th store, I became frustrated. Skimming the names on the coke bottles, reading the words “Share a Coke With ________” over and over again, it finally hit me. I realized I had become so enclosed within myself that I missed the fact that the purpose of the campaign was to encourage people to “give a coke to someone else rather than keeping it yourself,”(Moye 2). (http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/share-a-coke-how-the-groundbreaking-campaign-got-its-start-down-under). 

I find it difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when I started to become enclosed within myself; I believe that the process was gradual. All I know is that I started becoming less inclined to interact with others and would rather just keep to myself. This was facilitated by technology. Why talk to the person waiting in line in front of you when you could just go on your phone and watch funny cat videos? This mentality soon seeped into my closer relationships as well. While with friends I would prefer to be watching those cat videos instead of talking to them. I was in my own glass bubble and that bubble was solid until my realization made the first crack. I know that I am not the only one in this predicament and that there is a way to make a change.

I remember when I was younger—the archaic pre-smartphone years of my life. I loved to meet new people and I still do now. When I was visiting a school, and was waiting for the person who I was going to “shadow” and follow around to sit in on classes, I sat with a group of 8 other people (give or take). It was perhaps the most awkward silence I had ever encountered. We were at a standoff, everyone glancing at others and the tiny information pamphlets that they had probably already read before. I decided that I would not sit in awkward silence for the next half hour so I started talking to the girl sitting next to me on the couch. She was clearly shocked that I was talking to her as she dropped her pamphlet on the ground and widened her eyes. After the initial shock, she turned out to be really nice and after talking to her for a bit, I started integrating more people into our conversation. Before long, everyone in the waiting room was in our conversation and some people had even broken off to their own smaller conversations. By the time I left with my guide, everyone else in the waiting room was in lively chatter and completely comfortable with each other.

Thinking back to moments like those, I know that there are solutions to this problem. Although they may not be solutions that are efficient and effective like a vaccine that people can take, they will still make a difference. Changing the mindset of millions of people is not an easy task and the changes will be gradual. But one thing that I can do easily in everyday life is to bring people together like I did that day in the waiting room. This can help others realize how wonderful it is to interact with others again. By doing this, I will be able to create little ripples that spread as those people that I helped, continue to help others. These small moments can add up and create a big change over time. I enjoy working with other people and interacting with other people so this problem is very dear to me. Becoming enclosed within myself is something that I have experienced and I am still working on opening up to others. I want to see a change in people. I want to see them “sharing” instead of keeping things for themselves. So next time I go to a convenience store, I’m not going to pay that much attention to the names on the bottles. Who knows? Maybe I’ll meet someone new whose name is on my coke bottle because of it. 

Alice, you chose a very important topic and your writing is strong!  Let us continue generating more ideas.  For the next revision, please write more about your understanding of the consequences of this prevalent social problem of being enclosed,  what we can do about it and what you are doing to help.  Alice came back with the second version. 

It’s crazy how easy it is to miss warning signs when you’re not thinking about them. People that are seemingly fine on the outside could be breaking down on the inside. Last March, a family friend of mine who I had known since I was a baby committed suicide. Four days prior, I had talked to him at a Forensics tournament and he had invited my family and I to come visit soon. His decision came as a complete shock to me as I believed him to be happy with his life. It had been the second semester of his senior year, what should have been a relaxing time in his life. He had gotten into his dream school and was talking to others and laughing the last time I saw him. After I found out about his death I felt helpless and shocked. Later I felt regret. I regretted that I had not moved to his town and stayed close to him. I regretted not talking to him when I had feelings that things were a bit off with him. I regretted that I was not able to save him from himself. Logically I know that this wasn’t my fault but I felt so emotionally drained that I blamed myself for not being able to help him. 

I believe that a big problem today is that everyone is so enclosed within himself or herself that they fail to notice much about others.

I have always been a caring, considerate friend. When my friends needed me, I was there for them. I would never deny any friend when they needed to talk something out with me. Yet throughout the years I had become more enclosed within myself. I would miss obvious signs of distress because I was too wrapped up in myself. In a world where all social media can be used to promote yourself, it was pretty easy to fall into that lifestyle. Although I would still be available to talk when my friends needed it, those talks would usually not occur unless the friend initiated it. 

Personally, I have begun to reach out to friends when I feel that they are distressed to help them talk through their problems. I have become more conscious of those around me, even reaching out to people I don’t really know well so they know that they are not alone and have someone to talk to if they need to. 

Because this problem pertains to the mindset of an entire generation, I do not believe that there is a global solution that I can propose. One thing that I know I can do is keep helping those around me and teaching those who I help to help others. This past year I took a Psychology course in school and I learned a lot about why people act certain ways. I can now use what I’ve learned and apply it to situations that those around me are in and help them. Hopefully they will be able to learn by example and start being more conscious about others around them as well. I believe that I will be able to create a ripple effect and help spread this new mindset of being aware of those around me.

Alice, good job! The essay is shaping up rapidly.  Here are some more thoughts.

In the second paragraph of the first draft, you analyzed why people are a bit enclosed nowadays. That is a strong paragraph. Bring that into this version. 

Please add some concrete examples about how you reach out to help people. Don’t worry about the word count for now. You can easily edit down later.

Can you give an example or two about how you have applied psychology knowledge that you learned from the Psychology AP class to help others. The more concrete, the better.

Add back the paragraph in the first draft where you wrote how you help break the silence in the group.

It’s crazy how easy it is to miss warning signs when you’re not thinking about them. People that are seemingly fine on the outside could be breaking down on the inside. Last March, a family friend of mine who I had known since I was a baby committed suicide. Four days prior, I had talked to him at a Forensics tournament and he had invited my family and me to visit soon. His decision came as a complete shock to me as I believed him to be happy with his life. It had been the second semester of his senior year, what should have been a relaxing time. He had gotten into his dream school and was talking to others and laughing the last time I saw him. After I found out about his death I felt helpless and shocked. Later, I felt regret. A couple of months before, he had come over to my house for dinner. He opened up to me about some internal conflicts he was having and we talked them through a bit. It seemed like he had resolved some of them by the time he left and every time I saw him after he seemed happy and not conflicted.  What I regret is not following up on our talk and continuing to try to help him through his internal struggles. Logically, I know that this wasn’t my fault but I knew that I could have paid more attention to him. I was too enclosed within myself to even notice what was going on around me.

I find it difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when I started to become enclosed within myself; I believe that the process was gradual. All I know is that I started becoming less inclined to interact with others and would rather just keep to myself. This was facilitated by technology. Why talk to the person waiting in line in front of you when you could just go on your phone and watch funny cat videos? This mentality soon seeped into my closer relationships as well. While with friends I would prefer to be watching those cat videos instead of talking to them. I was in my own little world. I believe that this is a big problem today; that everyone is so enclosed within himself or herself that they fail to notice much about others. People are so isolated within their own worlds that they don’t feel the need to interact with others as much.

Personally, to try to solve this problem, I have begun to reach out to friends when I feel that they are distressed to help them talk through their problems. I had always been willing to help others and be a listening ear but usually this only happened when others approached me first. Now, I have become more conscious of those around me, even reaching out to people I don’t really know well so they know that they are not alone and have someone to talk to. My neighbor and I had always been friendly but it wasn’t until recently that we became very close. I had noticed that she had become very distant and asked her what was bothering her. She shared a personal problem with me and I was able to help her through her confusion about it. I still go on walks with her regularly to talk about things she is dealing with along with typical teenage girl chatter. By stepping outside my own world, I was able to become closer to a friend and help her. I’ve also learned a lot in my Psychology class about why people act certain ways and how they are affected by different situations. While I know that I’ve only scratched the surface, I believe that if I keep studying psychology, I will be able to further understand people and help them with their problems.

Another way I can help lessen this problem is by bringing people together. When I was visiting a school, I sat with a group of people in a waiting room. We were at a standoff, everyone glancing at others and the tiny information pamphlets that they had probably already read before. I decided that I would not sit in awkward silence for the next half hour so I started talking to the girl sitting next to me on the couch. After talking to her for a bit, I started integrating more people into our conversation. Before long, everyone in the waiting room was in our conversation and some people had even broken off to their own smaller conversations.

By helping others and bringing them together, hopefully they will be able to learn by example and start being more conscious about others around them as well. I believe that I will be able to create a ripple effect and help spread this new mindset of being aware of those around me. 

Alice, this copy contains many concrete elements - you taking psychology class, you helping neighbors, and you initiated the conversations to break the silence in the waiting room.  Here are some more suggestions.  

1) The coke bottle story in the first version is very vivid and should be brought back. 

2) Add a bit more of the Forensics Speaking experience in the essay. That could make the scale of the actions a bit bigger.  

3) Think of a metaphor to end the story. 

A bite of a bagel and half a cup of coffee were left on his desk, but no note, no explanation. Last March, Charlie, a close family friend of mine committed suicide. His decision came as a complete shock to me—all I could do was attempt to recall the past, looking for signs. Our last meaningful conversation occurred a couple of months before. He opened up to me about some of his internal conflicts and we talked them through a bit. It seemed like he had resolved some of them by the time he left, because every time I saw him after he appeared happy and carefree. Looking back, one thing I regret is not following up on our talk. 

My shock soon turned into confusion. He had been accepted to his dream school and was blossoming as an artist. I wanted to know what led to his decision. Attempting to understand more, I studied Psychology the following year. This aided me in becoming more aware of myself and of those around me. One day when I was in a convenience store I scanned for my name on a “Share A Coke With __________” bottle per usual, and once again failed to find it. While waiting in line to pay for my Coke, I noticed that everyone in line either stared off into space or checked their phones. At that moment it dawned on me how self-enclosed we all were. I looked for my own name even though the purpose of the campaign was to “Share a Coke” with someone else. We were all standing in the same line yet we were all isolated in our own bubbles. Charlie must have felt isolated in his own bubble too, the outside layer a shield for his true feelings. This isolation could have sent him into deep depression that others may not have noticed. The bubble works both ways: keeping us from being reached by others as well as keeping us from reaching out to others. 

I had always been willing to help others and be a listening ear; now, I have become more mindful of those around me. My neighbor and I had always been friendly. I noticed that she had become very distant so I asked her what was bothering her. She and I began talking frequently and slowly worked through her identity confusion. I still go on walks with her regularly to talk about what she is dealing with along with typical teenage girl chatter. By popping my own bubble, I became closer to a friend and helped her overcome her confusion.

I also make a conscious effort to spread the message. As an active member of the Forensics Speaking team, I used this platform to speak about the danger of technology addicts and the importance of face-to-face contact. I also tried to bring people together whenever I go. For instance, when I was visiting a school last year, I sat with a group of people in a waiting room. Everyone glanced at others and flipped through tiny information pamphlets. I decided that I would not sit in awkward silence for the next half hour. I started talking to the girl sitting next to me on the couch, popping her bubble. After talking to her for a bit, I started integrating more people into our conversation. Before long, everyone in the waiting room was interacting with each other—there were no bubbles between us anymore. 

After leaving my Coke in the car for a while, the drink decarbonized—no longer a fizzy bubbly drink. This flat soda was pure sweetness, without any bubbles separating parts of it. By reaching out to others and encouraging them to do the same, we humans can be like a flat soda too, pure sweetness—with no bubbles separating us.

Life is like a box of chocolate. I couldn’t agree more on this statement when Tom Hanks gave his classic line in the movie Forest Gump. Like Gump, my “box of chocolate” also comes from my family, who furnishes me with the biggest support and inspiration.

I loved eating chocolates as a little girl, but my first piece of chocolate was a bitter one. At the age of five, I became a child in a single parent family with my mother. It was not an easy time: I went slightly cynical and very sensitive to opinions from other people. I used to be very social at school, but then I felt like hiding in a corner and escaping from reality. People described me as “just too shy to speak”, but only I knew being solitary served as a protection, so I did not have to publicize my encounter. Despite our depressing situation, my mother kept faith in life; she never succumbs to difficulties. So I was lucky, I always am. We lived in a small house at that time, but big enough to carry our faith. My mother worked at her greatest effort to keep me in the best kindergarten in our city and maintained good communication with me even when she was exhausted from work. She was determined to support my interest in the Chinese instrument Guzheng by paying for the courses. But unfortunately, we did not have the spare money to buy nice chocolates. After all, she was capable enough to complete her roles as a MBA-program student and an employee. Her inspiring character stimulated my confidence to face challenges in the rest of my life.

My second piece of chocolate was sweeter. In elementary school, we were lucky to form a new family with my current father. His occupation offered us the opportunity for me to study abroad in Malaysia. At first, I could not spell all 26 alphabets, and gained the nickname of “Miss yes or no” because of my scarce vocabulary. I was too unconfident to complete a simple “show and tell” in front of the class. But my parents aided me in English to get me promoted to the regular class from the ESL program in three months. That gained me the strength and confidence to make my school life spark. 

Years later, in my sophomore year, I hesitated on whether to take the grade 12 psychology and two science courses which I am not adept in. Tempted, I tended to take simpler courses, but I felt like having the obsession to make things tougher, because my experience taught me to aim high to gain a promising future. Therefore, I insisted on my intention. Eventually, I managed to earn “A”s for these courses. During vacation, my father also accompanied me to run 4 miles a day no matter how busy he was. So I earned the habit to get up and jog when I started my life at boarding school. That was something my weak body could not withstand at middle school. In our spare time, we organized an “English Saloon” in the community and gained many members.  After writing the planning of the first meeting, I accepted my mother’s proposal for me to be the speaker. However, my heart beat so fast in front of the crowd and that fear of presentation in elementary stole on. Sweat streamed down my cheek, and my hands shivered. In near desperation, I remembered my mother’s determination and the challenges I have been through—— I heard my utterance.

On a random day, while seeing a display of dark chocolate on the shelves sloganized “sweet sorrows”, I remembered all the chocolate I have savored before. My family bestowed them to me in a precious box with rich flavors. Every time I pick one, I get endless inspirations from it that enrich my life and shape my identity. 

Michelle, I understand that you wrote mainly about the home experience to show the support from your parents. Consider writing more about your high school experiences, which will make it easier to show your personality and growth as a young adult. Did you run into challenges as a boarding school student? How did you overcome your challenges? Secondly, the theme is about overcoming adversaries and embracing life, despite circumstances. Refrain from dwelling on negative images or feelings -- weak body, loneliness, anxiety, or embarrassment. Write more about the joy of overcoming challenges, which lend your piece more strength.

Life is like a box of chocolate. I couldn’t agree more on this statement when Tom Hanks gave his classic line in the movie Forest Gump. Like Gump, my “box of chocolate” also comes from my family, who furnishes me with the biggest support and inspiration. 

At the age of five, I became a child in a single parent family with my mother. It was not an easy time: I went slightly cynical and very sensitive to opinions from other people. I felt that I had the legitimate grievance to feel bad. I used to be very social at school, but then I felt like hiding in a corner and escaping from reality. People described me as “just too shy to speak”, but only I knew “shyness” is only the excuse of solitary, which served as a protection, so I did not have to publicize my encounter. Despite my depressing situation, my mother kept faith in life; she never succumbs to difficulties. So I was lucky, I always am. We lived in a small house at that time, but big enough to carry our faith. My mother worked at her greatest effort to keep me in the best kindergarten in our city and maintained good communication with me even when she was exhausted from work. She was determined to support my interest in the Chinese instrument Guzheng by paying for the courses. That gave me the determination to persist this skill till now.  After all, she was capable enough to complete her roles as a MBA-program student and an employee. Her inspiring character stimulated my confidence to face challenges in the rest of my life.

My second piece of chocolate was sweeter. In elementary school, we were lucky to form a new family with my current father. His occupation offered us the opportunity for me to study abroad in an international school in Malaysia. At first, I could not spell all 26 alphabets, and gained the nickname of “Miss yes or no” because of my scarce vocabulary.  I was too unconfident to complete a simple “show and tell” in front of the class. The tropical sun was scorching every piece of land, leaving no space for me to hide anymore. This time, I had to confront everything at school. My parents aided me in English to get me promoted to the regular class from the ESL program in three months.  I realized their endless love and support that inspire me to transform adversities into a unique treasure in the process of my maturity. That gained me the strength and confidence to make my life spark. I made friends from many parts of the world from Korea, Pakistan, and America…… I visited a Korean friend’s house and tasted Kimchi, participated in a sports meet, and did “trick or treat” on Halloween. From then on, I started to enjoy and appreciate life. My parents encouraged me in trying different things and learning about different cultures. My mother never blamed me for smudging my clothes, for her, “child should remain ‘childish’”.

Years later, I began the first time to be at a boarding school at high school. It was my first time away from home; I had to be more independent. My school has a free environment and complicated social circles, which required me to improve my social skills to gain more achievements such as establishing a debate club with more than 20 members. For the first time, I realized I could not organize activities if I do not deal with all kinds of people — like or not. It was a step to the next stage, totally different from childhood when I only communicated with people I arbitrarily liked. But now getting to all kinds of people and collaborating with them is my new challenge. I often share my queries at “couch talk” with my mother on weekends, when we share our encounters. One time I was having a hard time organizing a competition with the debate club leader from another school.  We had different expectations and requirements and were stuck in a stalemate. As a good negotiator, my mother taught me about making compromises and being tolerant for co operations to proceed.  I sometimes felt like saying “I’m done with it” and dropping the troublesome negotiations. But by practicing her suggestions, I was able to get aid from the school and recruit over 10 volunteers for debate competitions. This widened my social circle and gained me insights in communication and cooperation. Being open to the crowd, I no more belonged to a dark corner; I enjoyed striving together with my peers to gain mutual accomplishment. 

Life bestows me a precious box of chocolate: some sweet and some too bitter. I cannot always control how the next piece tastes, but my family has taught me to enjoy every piece and make the bitter ones a rich flavor in my life. Therefore, every time life hands me one, I get endless inspirations from it that enrich my life and shape my character. 

In the second version, Michelle added her experience of running the debate club in high school. She wrote about how her mother taught her negotiation skills and how it helped her get along with more types of people. The details were more about personal growth through mother’s coaching and didn’t align well with the theme of two early-year stories, which is “embrace life and make the best out of it despite the circumstance”.

In addition, I wrote, “Your essay did an excellent job featuring your mother as a strong, competent, and loving mother and your gratitude toward her. I hope to see that it brings out yourself more as a person of extraordinary character. The purpose of a college essay is to showcase your sense of purpose, maturity, talents, and abilities.“

Life is like a box of chocolate. I couldn’t agree more on this statement when Tom Hanks gave his classic line in the movie Forest Gump. Like Gump, my “box of chocolate” also comes from my family, who furnishes me with the biggest support and inspiration.

At an early age, the age of five, my father passed away and I became a child in a single parent family. It was a tough time: hiding in a corner was my protection; the comic strip of A Dream in Red Mansions, a sorrowful story, became my best friend. We lived in a small house, dim and damp. Sometimes I anticipated our future in the night while waiting with my grandma for my mother’s return from work. When I thought of our future, anything bright seemed so far away like the stars. Nevertheless, my mother worked very hard to keep me in the best kindergarten in our city. She continued to provide me with the lessons in instrument Guzheng, which became my steadfast hobby since then.

My mother’s character inspired me that when life says no, we say yes. In elementary school, we were fortunate to form a new family with my current father. Because of my father’s job, I had an opportunity to study in an international school in Malaysia. At first, I gained the nickname of “Miss yes or no” because I could not complete a simple “show and tell” with my scarce vocabulary. The tropical sun was scorching every piece of land, leaving no space for me to hide anymore. To practice speaking skill, I modeled many presentations at home with my parents as the only audience.  With their help, I was promoted to the regular class from the ESL program in three months.  I started to embrace life:  I made many friends from many parts of the world at school; I visited a Korean friend’s house and tasted Kimchi; I participated in a sports meet; I did “trick or treat” on Halloween. Adversities, which appeared to be the end of the world, led me to a new world.

My “good time” continued before until I started  a new life at a boarding high school. By the time I stepped into the school happily as many freshmen did, something disappointing was awaiting. I found myself bizarre among those trendy and stylish girls. When I looked at myself in the mirror and found nothing on myself to fit in. For a certain period of time, I was losing direction, but I had hearts unfettered by foolish goals, and the support from my family kept my confidence. I turned to my interests such as organizing competitions with other schools, something so “boring” and so “not cool” to many people. This was not an easy decision. While negotiating with other schools, I tried to keep every decision good to our side and minimized our budgets, which led to many stalemates. Eventually, both sides made concessions by learning each other’s concerns. I persuaded the dean to fund us and recruited volunteers. I did not care whether we are “cool” or not, because we redefined “cool” by enlarging the club into more than 20 members and held competitions with other schools. Now, high school is about finding like-minded people to make achievements.

From debate I learned to adapt, and to keep more focus on things I like. I reread my old friend A Dream in Red Mansions that accompanied me for years. The novel was well worn, but it brought me new feelings. Instead of feeling sorrowful for the protagonist, I was so inspired by the female characters who fought against feudal discrimination toward women that I wanted to share the idea with others. I was surprised by my new findings and saw it as a chance to gain more insights. My mother and I visited many bookstores and libraries and, and spent countless hours comparing numerous editions and reading other critics. In my junior year, I published 6000-word in total in a special column in the school magazine about my interpretation of this classic. My column earned recognition from both students and teachers.  

When I urgently showed my parents the magazine, my mother placed it carefully in the drawer while my father was complaining that he had not yet finished reading it. At that moment, they were more child-like, although they called themselves “grey and grizzled”……

Life bestows me a precious box of chocolate, some sweet and some bitter. I cannot always control how the next piece tastes, but thanks to my parents’ endless support, I had the strength to face every unfavorable situation; with their steadfast love, I gained the attitude to appreciate life; with their lasting companion, I learned to enjoy savor every piece and make every piece a rich unique flavor in my life.

In this revision, Michelle changed her angle about the debate club. The debate club hadn’t been considered a cool thing in school, but she made it cool and popular. She removed the part about learning to negotiate. The entire essay now cohered more on the theme of embracing life and growing stronger character despite the circumstances with the support of parents.

She added a passage about Red Mansion: how her changes in reading of the classic reflected her personal growth. The addition of the Red Mansion story worked beautifully. Not only did the changes in her reading reflect her growth and development as a young adult, but the publication served as another example of her becoming confident and able to assert her voice. Similarly, I asked her to revise the Red Mansion part to focus on this “assertion of personal voice and identity”.

Life is like a box of chocolate. I couldn’t agree more on this statement when Tom Hanks gave his classic line in the movie Forest Gump. Like Gump, my “box of chocolate” also comes from my family, who furnishes me with the biggest support and inspiration. 

At an early age, I became a child in a single parent family. It was a tough time: we lived in a small house, dim and damp; hiding in a corner was my protection; the comic strip of A Dream in Red Mansions, a tragic story about the vicissitudes of fortune of a grand feudal family, became my best friend. I deeply identified with the sorrow of the female protagonist. When I thought of my own future, anything bright seemed so far away like the stars. Nevertheless, my mother worked very hard to keep me in the best kindergarten in our city. She continued to provide for me the lessons in instrument Guzheng, which became my cherished hobby since then. Later, she went to obtain an MBA degree.  My mother’s character inspired me that when life says no, we say yes.  

In elementary school, we were fortunate to form a new family with my current father. Because of my father’s job, I had an opportunity to study in an international school in Malaysia. I was “Miss yes or no” when I first got there because I could not complete a simple “show and tell” with my scarce vocabulary. But I was not deterred. I modeled many presentations at home with my parents.  With their help, I was promoted to the regular class from the ESL program in three months. I started to embrace life:  I made many friends from many parts of the world at school; I visited a Korean friend’s house and tasted Kimchi; I participated in a sports meet; I did “trick or treat” on Halloween. Adversities, which appeared to be the end of the world, led me to a new world. 

My “good time” continued until I started a new life at a boarding high school. I found myself odd among my cool and popular roommates. Although considered as an agreeable student, I knew deep inside that was not everything about me. I turned to my own interests —— organizing debate competitions with other schools. It was so “not cool” to many people. I was not confident at first, but with the support of two like-minded friends, I have more courage to swim against the stream. When we really needed the budget to proceed, I was able to stand in front of the dean and petitioned successfully for a fund. Eventually, we gained more than 20 members in size and held competitions with four peer schools. 

By then, I learned to adapt by focusing on my goals and my own interests. One day, I reread my old friend A Dream in Red Mansions that has accompanied me for years. The novel was well worn, but it brought me new feelings. Instead of feeling sorrowful for the protagonist, I was so inspired by the female characters who fought against feudal discrimination toward women that I wanted to share the idea with others. In my junior year, I published 6000-word in total in a special column in the school magazine about my interpretation of this classic and was able to earn recognitions from both students and teachers and the most beautiful smile on my parents’ face. 

Life bestows me a precious box of chocolate, some sweet and some bitter. I cannot always control how the next piece tastes, but thanks to my parents’ endless support, I had the strength to face every unfavorable situation; with their steadfast love, I learned to savor every piece and make every piece a unique flavor in my life.