Another Essay...
Here's my Rice University essay. Bleh. Took me like 6 hours to write this. I'll submit it on Monday to Mr. Webb or something to critique, but just thought I'd post it up here right now. It is a more formal essay, unlike my other one, so hopefully it won't be too bad.... =/
Dimensions
Perspective begins with a line, a one-dimensional figure. Add another line, and suddenly a second dimension is added, making the perspective two-dimensional. Continue adding lines, and it is possible to create an n-dimensional perspective. While from a drawing aspect, more than a thee-dimensional perspective is impossible due to limits on human perception, an n-dimensional mental perspective is possible. My own perspective does not have infinite dimensions, but instead uses three main lines to create a multi-dimensional perspective of the world.
The first line drawn is clear-cut line of location. I am originally from a college town, where a large college makes the otherwise small urban area average-sized. In contrast, Rice University is a small college in an extremely large city. I can offer a small-town perspective: one that is outgoing, decisive, and optimistic about the future. These qualities must be credited to the people currently around me, the townspeople of Ames, Iowa. These people, from my AP Western Civilization teacher Mr. Daddow to my personal friend Wern Ong displayed those same qualities on a regular basis. They were not afraid to meet new people, and to make hard decisions on people and events, but over all they remained optimistic, always looking for the best in people, events, and in themselves.
The second line is drawn soon after, a line that adds direction to my small-town ways, one that adds a second dimension to my drawing. This line is the line of biology, something I have had a passion for since freshman year of high school. I view biology not merely as a tool to further human development, but also as a way to understand the tiny nuances of the world around me. What does each tiny sequence of a genome code for? Why do organisms eventually die after time? These questions and more stem from a natural curiosity first awakened in that single year of high school. It began at Science Olympiad Nationals 2003, where I earned a 6th place medal in the event Life Science Processes. The opportunity to investigate relationships between organisms and also excel at such an opportunity piqued my interest in biology as a field of study. To further my understanding, I undertook a biology internship at Iowa State University under the direction of Dr. Wurtele. The internship dealt with the identification of specific sequences in the DNA of Arabadopsis and their effects on the organism. However, conflicts between Dr. Wurtele and another professor regarding the distribution of resources soured me towards this endeavour. Although I was able to gain lab experience both mapping and analyzing biological data, I started to have doubts about a future in biology and turned to engineering. These doubts continued until just last year when I attended Seminar for Top Engineering Prospects at Purdue University. The engineering discipline tour of the biomedical facility caught my eye at first sight, because it was brand new. But the real treat came when I was able to visit an Eli-Lilly pharmaceutical site near West Lafayette. When I got there, it just felt right, like I belonged in some place like this. Looking over the researchers furiously toiling in their labs and the complex pharmaceutical machinery, I felt that this was something I wanted to do.
Unfortunately, what I wanted to do and what my grandparents wanted me to do were not the same. And thus, the third line was drawn, one that crossed the other two lines and added more depth to the drawing. The line was a bit fuzzy, but it showed through, a bright red color. This line represents conflict, between my heritage and I. Traditional Chinese culture expects things out of their eldest sons, and I am the unfortunate elder son of this generation. Therefore, I am supposed to be a doctor. It is some natural expectation of traditional Chinese culture. The problem is, I am not a traditional Chinese person. I have become Americanized, and the only real obvious way you would be able to tell I am Asian is by my looks. I lack any sort of accent, and know relatively little of Chinese culture or language. One might say I have become ignorant of my cultural heritage, and that would be true. But I am not purposefully ignorant. I would like to learn more about my original culture, and what it means to me. However, I am not willing to fall back onto that culture, because I feel it stifles people. Traditional Chinese culture is sexist and discriminatory, and regressing to that style of thinking would be a backwards step in my life. So I am not afraid to say “No.” to my grandparents, and to any other cultural expectations of me. I would much rather follow my own path in life, than have it dictated by an obsolescent style of thinking.
These three lines constitute a sketch of my perspective. Sometimes the lines are a bit blurry, and can sometimes become crooked, but they always show what I am working for as a student and as a person. Of course, a sketch is an unfinished project, but I will be able to finish it at Rice University.
Dimensions
Perspective begins with a line, a one-dimensional figure. Add another line, and suddenly a second dimension is added, making the perspective two-dimensional. Continue adding lines, and it is possible to create an n-dimensional perspective. While from a drawing aspect, more than a thee-dimensional perspective is impossible due to limits on human perception, an n-dimensional mental perspective is possible. My own perspective does not have infinite dimensions, but instead uses three main lines to create a multi-dimensional perspective of the world.
The first line drawn is clear-cut line of location. I am originally from a college town, where a large college makes the otherwise small urban area average-sized. In contrast, Rice University is a small college in an extremely large city. I can offer a small-town perspective: one that is outgoing, decisive, and optimistic about the future. These qualities must be credited to the people currently around me, the townspeople of Ames, Iowa. These people, from my AP Western Civilization teacher Mr. Daddow to my personal friend Wern Ong displayed those same qualities on a regular basis. They were not afraid to meet new people, and to make hard decisions on people and events, but over all they remained optimistic, always looking for the best in people, events, and in themselves.
The second line is drawn soon after, a line that adds direction to my small-town ways, one that adds a second dimension to my drawing. This line is the line of biology, something I have had a passion for since freshman year of high school. I view biology not merely as a tool to further human development, but also as a way to understand the tiny nuances of the world around me. What does each tiny sequence of a genome code for? Why do organisms eventually die after time? These questions and more stem from a natural curiosity first awakened in that single year of high school. It began at Science Olympiad Nationals 2003, where I earned a 6th place medal in the event Life Science Processes. The opportunity to investigate relationships between organisms and also excel at such an opportunity piqued my interest in biology as a field of study. To further my understanding, I undertook a biology internship at Iowa State University under the direction of Dr. Wurtele. The internship dealt with the identification of specific sequences in the DNA of Arabadopsis and their effects on the organism. However, conflicts between Dr. Wurtele and another professor regarding the distribution of resources soured me towards this endeavour. Although I was able to gain lab experience both mapping and analyzing biological data, I started to have doubts about a future in biology and turned to engineering. These doubts continued until just last year when I attended Seminar for Top Engineering Prospects at Purdue University. The engineering discipline tour of the biomedical facility caught my eye at first sight, because it was brand new. But the real treat came when I was able to visit an Eli-Lilly pharmaceutical site near West Lafayette. When I got there, it just felt right, like I belonged in some place like this. Looking over the researchers furiously toiling in their labs and the complex pharmaceutical machinery, I felt that this was something I wanted to do.
Unfortunately, what I wanted to do and what my grandparents wanted me to do were not the same. And thus, the third line was drawn, one that crossed the other two lines and added more depth to the drawing. The line was a bit fuzzy, but it showed through, a bright red color. This line represents conflict, between my heritage and I. Traditional Chinese culture expects things out of their eldest sons, and I am the unfortunate elder son of this generation. Therefore, I am supposed to be a doctor. It is some natural expectation of traditional Chinese culture. The problem is, I am not a traditional Chinese person. I have become Americanized, and the only real obvious way you would be able to tell I am Asian is by my looks. I lack any sort of accent, and know relatively little of Chinese culture or language. One might say I have become ignorant of my cultural heritage, and that would be true. But I am not purposefully ignorant. I would like to learn more about my original culture, and what it means to me. However, I am not willing to fall back onto that culture, because I feel it stifles people. Traditional Chinese culture is sexist and discriminatory, and regressing to that style of thinking would be a backwards step in my life. So I am not afraid to say “No.” to my grandparents, and to any other cultural expectations of me. I would much rather follow my own path in life, than have it dictated by an obsolescent style of thinking.
These three lines constitute a sketch of my perspective. Sometimes the lines are a bit blurry, and can sometimes become crooked, but they always show what I am working for as a student and as a person. Of course, a sketch is an unfinished project, but I will be able to finish it at Rice University.