Qualities help me fit in new environments

From a child to an adult, our life environment will change many times as we are growing up. From primary school to college and to going to work, people will meet many different people in different period in their life. However, some people can adapt the new environment very quick and achieve amazing success but another part of people need to spend a long time doing it. That’s because some people are easier to fit in a new environment than others, like me.   

Many people said that I’m an adaptive person because I never show any worries before I go to a new environment. I am good at observing the environment and I will try my best to be familiar with all the facilities and all people. Also, I am willing to join in activities to get involved in to my new life in new places. For example, my parents were worried about whether I can adapt to the life in America. But the fact is that I improved my spoken English and make friends with my seminar classmates. Something like culture different and language obstacles are solved easily and quickly. In another aspect, I’m adaptive because I don’t care about what happened in the past but only focus on what will happen in the future. Specifically, some people will feel depressed if they failed many time in one subject, nevertheless, this kind of things will not happen on me forever because I think everything is fair for everyone if they don’t give up. So I will judge if one subject is important for my further study, if so, I will put efforts on it no matter how many times I failed in that subject’s exam. My adaptability is one of most important factors to get achievement during my study career.

What’s more, I am also an includer. In the daily life, I am very easy-going and be willing to communicate others. I want to include people and make them feel part of group no matter what their countries, culture or habits are. I hate look at people stand out of the circle and make them feel lonely. I hope everyone can be a member of group and get well along with others. Also, I will try to solve the conflicts among the members of group. When they make some mistakes, I will solve problems immediately and remove their guilty. Empathy is my characteristic as an includer; I am so sensitive to others emotions that my friends are surprised to how I can know if they are in good moods or not. I am able to see the world through my friends’ eyes and share their perspectives. Therefore, I can organize people very well, like a pearl necklace; I am not the brightest pearl but the string which connect them together. So I think that’s why many people are willing to make friends with me although I have so many disadvantages.

       Although I am an easygoing person in my daily life, I am not easygoing at life in my academic study. I am strict with myself when I am studying, especially in some science subjects. Some of my friends said that I even have a little bit OCD. Once I studied 21 different kinds of plants in my biology class but I thought the pictures that professor gave are kind of ambiguous so I looked up all of their pictures on Internet and walked around the campus. At last I found 18 kinds of plants and made them to samples. My friends admire my determination so much and they are willing to study with me and finish our homework together and every time they have some questions, they will come to me and asked me to help them. According to many team studies, I have already met many friends who are interested in biology too and now we will have some discussions in the library from time to time.

Studious

When I was a little child, my mother told me an old Chinese saying: “A book holds a house of gold.” I believed what my mother said so I began to read book and try to find gold in books. Though I didn’t find gold in book but reading book became one of my habits in my life. And I become a studious person now.

        As I said above, I like reading book and I am used to read some books in my spare time. I read many books cover many different aspects because I think people should learn as more as possible when they are young because it brings lots of benefits for me. First one is that I can get many basic life skills from reading book. For example, I learned that sun rises from the east and settles in the west, I learned that the structure of trees, directed in the north, grows better and people can distinguish directions by observing trees, I learned lots of things like them according to reading books. I don’t want to be a bookworm like my classmate in my high school, he is a top student in all the subjects in school but he has almost no knowledge about the life, he even doesn’t know sun rises from the east and settles in the west! How horrible it was! The second reason is that people can find the field that they are exactly interested in. Although every student will learn many subjects in their primary school, secondary school and high school, however, when they come to universities they will be very confused because the education in universities is much more specific and multiple, for me, I planned to study in biology field before I came to Westminster College but I had never knew that there are so many different kinds of branches in it. So I chose to read some books and scan some information from Internet to learn about these specific aspects in biology. That helps me a lot to decide which part I am interested in exactly. The last reason is that comprehensive knowledge will make it easier for me to make friends with others. I think people are willing to communicate with people who can talk to them about topics which they are interested in, so rich knowledge can make me more leisurely when I am meeting different people and talking to them. That can help me get more friends.

       Among the books that I have read, I like history books best. I am a Chinese and my country have 5000 thousands years history. So I witness the rise and fall of many dynasties, these stories makes me really excited. Nevertheless, I think the most important part is not these stories but the experiences that I get from history books, my history teacher told me that history is an immeasurable wealth, I agree with him so much. For instance, Confucius’s “The Analects” is the earliest education book and nowadays it is still a necessary book for students to read and study because it contains many theories of ethics, they are affects all people in China from ancient time to now. Another book’s name is “The Art of War”, written by Sun Zi, this book include 36 stratagems of war in ancient time and it’s also popular now because it’s not only a book about wars but also cover the psychology, and it is widely used in business and help many people get success. Therefore, I am fond of reading history books and I become wiser and wiser after learning a lot about the history.

       I’ m a person who likes cooking very much, and I think this hobby is one of the important factors makes me become studious. Maybe it is hard to relate cooking to studious but cooking develop one of my most important qualities——patient. As we known, Chinese food is delicious but the processes of cooking are very complex. It’s hard to learn because people who live in different areas in Chinese have different orders to their food. Some people like spicy food but some people like salty or sweet food so one of my American friends said that she is very confused about how much seasoning she should put into when she is cooking because in Chinese cooking books they only said people should put “some” salt or “some” soy source but never tell people an accurate number. So, if people want to cook delicious food they need to learn for a long time and accumulate rich experiences. According to this process, I failed again and again so I am becoming much more patient than before. That’s why I can read books by myself silently and nothing can bother me at that time.

Haiku: Life in Westminster College

In a silent night,

Four-wheeled chariots take me:

My fortress, solitary.

My home a distance

Fear was an unwelcomed guest

My choices indict.

Amidst oak and pine

White-stoned columns were ascent,

Iron curtain blown.

All faces smile,

Masters, mentors, and brothers

Love and happiness.

I am joined with friends

I let them guide me, by arm

We walk together.

We express talents

We laugh and play together

I am comforted.

I learn to be me

Here, I am dedicated

I learn to prevail.

Persistant I am

Nothing stops me from working

I was made for this.

I work hard each day

By means to learn something new

Fear never lingers.

In a silent night

I have found my safe haven

Westminster College.

P.S.: In this haiku, I describe the process of how I come to this college and how I adapt to the new environment and get involved in the school life very quick here. Through this haiku I want to show that I am a studious and adaptive person.

My Charities

If everybody in the world donated one dollar to charity they could help vast amount of people who need help.In my life, one of the most important things for me is charity. Many of friends said that I am a charitable person. Nowadays many people are suffering from disease and poverty. Maybe they tried to change the condition but they failed. This group of people is worth helping and I am willing to devote myself to charities and offer assistance to them.

       The reason that I insist to do some charities every year is related to my family. My mother is a sensitive woman and she will become sad because of a picture of children who are suffering from hunger in Africa. Every time she knew some natural disaster happen in China according to the newspaper, she would donate much money to the people in disaster areas. I had ever been confused about her actions and asked her why she spent so much money on helping other. Her answer is: “I just want to something to these unfortunate people and I don’t do that, I will be guilty.” She is so kind and affects me a lot. And the interesting thing is the job of my father also urge me devote to charities. My father is a judge and he focus on develop my personalities—integrity and fairness. So when I saw some children can’t receive compulsory education and roaming on the streets, I think that I have responsibilities to change this condition although what I can do is so insignificant. My hope is helping as more children as possible can have a warm home and receive educations.

       Talking about my experiments of doing charities, they are really fantastic. The two most unforgettable experiments are the journey to Sichuan province and the establishment of “Small Migratory Birds” charitable funds. The first experiment happened in 2008, at that time, I was a student in Grade 8. A severe earthquake happened in the in Sichuan province and the earthquake magnitude reached 8.0 and thousands of people died in the earthquake. Chinese government called on all of Chinese people to donate money to the victims and help them rebuild their house. However, people found that only a small part it can send to the victims because of serious graft. So my biology teacher, my best friend and I bought much stuff and our teacher spent three days driving us to the Sichuan province and gave out all the stuff to the students who had no home. I felt really happy when I saw their faces with smile. That feeling is completely different from giving some money to the school or some government organizations. Another experiment is my own charitable funds which was named “small migratory birds” which is created by my classmates and me in October in 2012, aiming to help children who have no alternative but to move around the country with country and earn money together with their parents to support their families. We have raised money from those who are warm-hearted from manifold jobs. At the same time, some charitable activities are hold in holiday. For example, during this winter holiday, we sold the CDs of saxophone in the central park which were recorded by the member of the organization and donated all of money to the children in need. What’s more, I have been volunteering to teach children how to play the piano in an orphanage located in the city center once a week. These children’s parents are very grateful to us. Before I came to the USA, we have helped about 80 children.

       According to doing some charities, I feel that they can bring me happiness in the soul. Many people include my parents, my friends and my teachers said that I become a peaceful and quiet person. Before I began to do some charities I was an aggressive person and often have some confliction with others. I think that’s because during the process I help some unfortunate people, I realize that how lucky I am and every time I recall the these homeless people, I will get a sense of fulfillment about my life and when I am facing some difficulties, I am not afraid of them any more. Charities are really a kind of magic activities and changed my personalities a lot.