Essay Masterclass / References
Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
My creativity lies in my ability to adapt. Under pressure, I instinctively implement a creative solution based on the unique circumstances of a situation.
Flashback to August. We're down by 2 at the national championships. My body aches. I pound the ball, legs in full throttle, running at the defender in front of me. I don't know how I'll get past him, I only know that I must.
My mind detaches from my body as my arms cross the ball over, shoulders faking sideways. I shake him off. My eyes flick up to the clock: 15 seconds. Another defender approaches, this time shaken off by a spin move. 8 seconds. I come to the 3-point line; the last defender has left me some space. I rise up, my body performing the same shooting motion it has done a thousand times alone in the gym. 3 seconds. The crowd is silent, all eyes fixed on the ball as it floats in the air and the buzzer sounds.
None of the moves I use to score in basketball are planned. My creativity has become a separate muscle, one that can't be worked on from bench presses or squats in the weight room. I can't predict what a defender might do, all I can do is react to their movements; all I can do is be creative.
I often find the need to flex this creative muscle off the court, getting me past a variety of 'defenders' under pressure. When my friend's car was stuck in mud in his front lawn on the way to school, we couldn't pay for a towing service. Instead, I instinctively grabbed a dog leash by the side of the road, tied it to the car using two padlocks, and we pulled the car out ourselves.
My creative side is what makes the process of problem solving and discovery so exciting. It allows me to invent new ways of overcoming challenges and making memories. At its best, creativity is instinct - one that helps me get past all types of defenders based on their unique movements.
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
The most significant personal challenge I've faced has been the tension in our household. My parents have stayed married together as a sacrifice to me and our family. Moving to New Zealand and starting a little gift store, they operated with the knowledge that after I graduate high school, they would separate. Often, we operated well as a family unit, the three of us happily eating dinner together and playing sports. Other times, I found myself eating alone at the dinner table, my parents locking themselves in separate rooms.
Many of my ambitions have been shaped by my parents' desires. I channelled my academic and extracurricular interests to align with what our family needed. I learned web development to support our store's marketing; I worked weekends so that my mother could rest. I wanted to prove to my family that I was as strong as them. My parents' dedication to our store and our family pushed me to work harder and learn more skills. I learned new coding languages, new retail software, and made new models of our supply chain. I hoped to give back to the two people who sacrificed so much for me.
What started as a way for me to support my family and show my parents the same dedication they show me has turned into a full-fledged academic passion. The dinner table became filled with discussions about the new online store, the tension slowly fading. Coding brought us together. Nowadays, my programming interest has taken on a life of its own. It has proved to me that I could use my interests to make positive change; by starting at the family level I have learnt the importance of giving back to the people around me, and I hope to further make an impact on people around the world.
Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Headphones on. My music is blasting, my fingers tapping away at the keyboard. I drown out the ambience of the coffee shop's chatter, fixated only on the color coded IF statements and WHILE loops inside my laptop screen. When red bars scatter themselves across the text editor, I switch between developer documentation and Stackoverflow forums, Medium articles and Youtube tutorials, searching for new debugging techniques and code architecture methods. Time flies by. Just before the cafe closes down, it lays out its unsold pies, sandwiches, pasta and other foods. People come in one by one showing the cashier their phones, walking away with a discounted bag of goods.
"Look at how big of a dinner we can finally eat!" one mother says to her son.
I glance up with a smile. Moments like these are what make the long days and nights spent learning front and back end JavaScript and Python so rewarding. Though my Computer Science work tends to focus on logic, problem solving, and automation, I am especially interested in its ability to benefit the people around me.
That is why I created [REDACTED], a web app for eateries to sell off unsold food for a discount at closing time. Building [REDACTED] has shown me how the intersection between computer science and business can help not only my family but also the wider community. These tangible differences are what inspire me to continue alternating between Chrome tabs and text editors; they are what inspire me to continue learning and creating better products for my community.
Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
I was convinced that everyone was a criminal.
I stood with my head peeking above the counter of my parents' gift store, carrying out my duty as a 7-year-old security guard while my mum went to the bathroom. When she came back, she resumed her normal flurry. She alternated between storeroom and cash register: checking product codes, carrying boxes, and greeting customers with her warm voice. She did the jobs of four people, trying to save on hiring costs.
Life in the gift store was a huge portion of my childhood. My parents couldn't leave me home alone, so I had no choice but to stay at the gift store every day. As I grew older, I handled increasingly demanding jobs, moving from cleaning the store to manning the cash register. One night, as I closed down the store, my mum offered to pay me. However, I gratefully declined.
She wanted to show her gratitude, but I should be grateful to her. When I started pursuing my own projects, I never thought twice about the late nights and early mornings. They were nothing compared to my mum's innumerable responsibilities and work ethic. Simply by being around her, hard work became normal to me; it was never something to be too proud of.
Despite her work ethic, my mum still loves to have fun. At work, her charming, uncensored spirit shines through. When her favourite song plays in the store, she sings with shoppers, forming public duets. She loves watching game shows, telling stories, and giving advice to regular customers at the store.
This balance between work and play, imparted to me by my mum, underpins my own personality. Whether I'm rigorously coding late at night, starting spontaneous rap battles with friends, or singing Ed Sheeran at the top of my lungs, I try to always keep my childish spirit with me. I hope this mindset can help me and those around me for the better. Hard work may be ingrained in me, but I will always be that same 7 year old kid at the gift store.