Aside from books or articles assigned for school, what book(s), article(s), podcast(s), and or documentary(s) have you most enjoyed in the past year and why? 200-250 words.
“Limitless” by Jim Kwik is such an advantageous book. It entails everything to know about “that thing between our ears”, from the composition of the brain, to the problems we may face with it. With its help, I learned how to “learn”, among other things . These methods helped me make improvements most notably regarding my reading comprehension: I sped up my reading and improved my focus, eliminating all chances of “wander reading”, or reading and rereading mindlessly.
Jim Kwik was inspired to write this book after surviving a brain injury. His experiences showed me that simple, seemingly insignificant habits could change our life significantly. Since reading this book, I’ve been inspired to go out of my way to set up my workspace every morning. In this way, I minimize distractions and prepare myself mentally to tackle a new day.
This book helped me build my self-confidence and bring limitless potential out of me. With extraordinarily talented spellers in my grade, I couldn’t imagine I would have had the courage to attend our school’s spelling bee before reading “Limitless”. After setting an evidently insurmountable goal, I studied at least an hour of the bee words every evening. At first, it was a struggle for me. But after prioritizing, focusing, and believing in myself, my work has paid off.
I placed 4th overall.
2. Describe EITHER an academic/extracurricular achievement OR a challenge that had a meaningful impact on you. What did it take to accomplish the achievement or overcome the challenge, and what did you learn from that experience? 200-250 words.
A particularly difficult challenge I’ve faced is the recent 2020 AMC 8 math contest. It was my first experience participating in a national competition. At first, it made me feel inexperienced and inferior. Still, it brought out new characteristics of mine, like diligence, perseverance, and determination.
Since a young age, I’ve had a strong interest in math, and an emerging talent for it. So, when the chance came for me to participate in a contest, I ventured to it. Nevertheless, I was astonished how demanding the contest is, as I had never encountered these sorts of competition problems before.
I kept telling myself hard work was what it took to succeed. However, endless hours of practice seemed to get me nowhere. When I slept one night, equations and concepts haunted my dreams, turning them nightmarish. Eventually, I understood that a fear of failure was suppressing me. I expected humiliation, and lacked the motivation to improve. However, I addressed these fears and opened my mind to conquer the difficult problems nibble by nibble.
Now, looking back at the experience, I understand what trying really means. It means not only not passing up an opportunity, but also persevering using trial and error rather than concepts. My attitude has changed so that when confronted with something difficult, I tell myself that I can, even if that snide voice in the back of my mind says otherwise. Overcoming this obstacle enabled me to continue on with new changes for the better.
3. Each person has unique characteristics that define who they are. Choose three words that best describe you as a person, and explain how they represent you. 200-250 words.
I believe I showed perseverance, passion, and empathy in three situations:
I started playing basketball at a late age. By the end of my first practice, I was embarrassed and exhausted. I was set on improving, and after years of practice, though I initially failed to even dribble, I can now do so effortlessly. Even if a portion of my goal had been to join the travel team, which I’d failed, I can accompany my dad in his practice.
At seven, the piano opened a door to a world of music. In fourth grade, I fell in love with the clarinet; its tone and capabilities appeared fantastic in my eyes. I began to teach myself tenor saxophone, being fascinated by jazz music; I wanted to make this fascinating kind of music, and, like the clarinet, the tenor seemed appealing. I believe what motivated me to explore music was my passion for it. I believe moving to greater heights will fuel me with greater passion.
When the pandemic broke out in Wuhan, I felt empathy for those among the fallen. Through an organization, I got the chance to help Eric practice English. Saturdays, I called Eric and we conversed about most anything. I challenged him to speak entirely in English, and I gave him corrections as we talked. Later, I joined my church to help people to get ready for the winter, inspired by the happiness I felt from that experience.
Describe a moment when you felt left out or that you did not fit in well with others. What did you learn about yourself and others? How did you overcome that situation? 250-500 words.
I am a middle child. Being a middle child can be tough, as both your parents are preoccupied with your other siblings. My older sister is the family title-holder, with countless titles. My younger brother is the youngest, so, naturally, he requires more attention for his needs. With one parent helping my sister with her issues, and the other entertaining my brother, as you can expect, my parents don’t have much time for me. My time in the limelight has long ended. I’m not the “latest news”, I’m the “has-been”.
Before my brother was born, my days were sheer bliss. After that, I had to learn to go about things myself. I began struggling to have my voice heard amidst the chaos at home.
Luckily, I had a passion for writing and a love for reading which helped me cope. I quickly realized being alone wasn’t all that bad when you had Harry Potter or Sophie Foster to accompany on adventures.
With the disarray at home, I felt like my voice was never heard. Writing helped me find my way to make myself and my opinions noticed – I began critiquing books in a summer reading challenge, ended up winning a prize box and a chess set. I was ecstatic, and realized the passion I had for writing. Since then, writing book reviews and journals kept me busy, entertained and content.
Last year, in around May, a group of students began a student newspaper independently: the “Monty Times”. With enthusiastic support from the school’s principal and librarian, they began operating. I immediately applied as a global news journalist and got the job.
My time as part of the Monty Times has been eye-opening. I was introduced to a community of writers with the same penchants as myself. I began expressing my opinions and wrote of events I believed were important to the school, and managed to inspire awe and motivation in some. Being left in the background is not a pleasant sensation, but it has instilled a new zeal inside me.