Notes

Butterfly in the wind

“I love Barbie,” I say. “They are fun to play with and they relieve you from the stressors of everyday life”. “Wow!” my friends say. “You really have a positive outlook for everything. Maybe we can try to do the ‘kid’ stuff and see how it feels”. After getting to know me people nickname me the butterfly who finds happiness everywhere. I express my cheerfulness through my laughter and joy. From birth I have a funny little attitude towards life. Everyday, I make my parents laugh with jokes since after a lot of hard work a smile on their face is all I need to make my day. I am happy to be unique in my own way as opposed to simply fitting into society’s jigsaw.

My carefree life was challenged when I was in 9th grade. Why I say challenged is because I view this difficulty as a room to bloom. I was like “A butterfly in the wind” whose happiness was tested in a harsh, windy place. I started off with a private tutor, who progressively became harsh, insistent and irritable. This stress and anxiety caused a nervous breakdown, and I suffered from high fever. My parents, realizing this situation, immediately removed me from the tutoring sessions and took me to a doctor. It took 6 months of counseling and antidepressants to overcome the fear of studies. This situation totally changed my perception about teachers and tutors. A fear haunts me when starting with an instructor or teacher for the first time. Eventually I overcame this fear by watching my favorite cartoons. This event also made me curious about inner workings of the brain and human psychology.

Just two months before we immigrated to the USA my grandmother, who suffered from diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, died due to pancreatic cancer. My grandmother’s death opened a new chapter in my life. When she was alive, she used to guide me through all my biology and chemistry books. She would explain to me those things like stories. She had no dearth of stories from her time as the education officer at Birla Industrial and Technological Museum in Calcutta, India. Those stories were the foundations of my interest in the Life Sciences. She was like a friend and yet the diseases stripped her of her humanity. After her death I thought a helping hand was all my grandmother needed. She would have been fine. It is hard for me to see the same thing happen to other people. This situation inspired me to study molecular biology to understand incurable diseases. I desire to contribute to our scientific understanding and help save millions of lives.

From all the situations I learned that no matter how harsh a person/event might be, we can always find a way to overcome that challenge with a positive attitude. We just have to be true to ourselves and not care what others think. We must view a challenge not as a terrible thing but as an adventure of growth. Whenever a person is in a bad mood we must try to cheer him/her up by making them think of happy thoughts or watching some of their favorite shows.



Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you.


Ballet is known as the foundation of all dance genres, it’s technique and discipline is even used in hip hop. Ballet is also, in all aspects of my life, the foundation for my growth in confidence. Getting constant corrections on how to improve my pirouettes and tondus has made errors in math class learning opportunities. Dancing front and center for a combination, or even a performance, has given me the ability to stand in front of my school’s Civics and Government Institute to debate on that week’s bill. Auditioning for roles in the Nutcracker has made me motivated to seize opportunities, like applying for a position in my dance company that didn’t even exist yet. I believe in myself, I don’t compare myself to others, I don’t get discouraged and give up, I have a strong passion for the things I do: and this all started in the studio.

Chin up, shoulders back, arms rounded, stomach tucked, legs straight. These are all thoughts swarming through my head to simply stand correctly in ballet class. While ballet is beautiful and angelic from an audience’s point of view, it requires immense strength and technique. I must paint a natural smile on my face while putting all my weight into the big toe of my right foot. I apply this same ideology outside of the studio. Babysitting, for example, can be hectic when cooking food, breaking up fights, and cleaning up spilled drinks at the same time as keeping an enthusiastic attitude and creating games so the kids are entertained. There is sort of an organized chaos to everyday tasks as well as major responsibilities, but ballet has taught me how to keep calm and collected because of its beauty and grace.


Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? [200-250 words]

2017 - present: I love cars. I love their variety. I love their style, their speed, their powertrain, their ruggedness.

June 2018: I can’t wait to drive. I spend two weeks biking to my drivers’ ed in-class lessons each day and sitting at the front of the class taking notes. I have never been so excited for anything; before the first day I had read the manual so much the cover had fallen off.

August 1, 3:45PM: I am finally 15 years and six months. We rush to the DMV to take my learner’s permit test. To my horror, it is not administered within an hour-and-a-half of closing and we are too late.

August 2, 3:15PM: We rush to the DMV again. I slowly meander through the crowd control fences, and when I finally reach the counter, the lady stalls, calling people behind us while forsaking me, not unlike the sloths in Zootopia. I eventually get called and proceed to take the two-part test, pray that I pass the notorious Signs portion, and begin.

August 2, 4:45PM: 100% - I pass Signs! Now for part two. I failed. I am shocked. I have failed the easy part. I am sad. I know why I failed. I did not know my enemy. I overthought the questions. I memorized a non-official manual. I was overconfident. Now I have to wait a mandatory 15-day waiting period, which I will spend studying the official manual.

August 17, 4:30PM: I have my permit!