RISD: We require that you submit two examples of writing, each to be 200-400 words. For the first, write about a significant person, circumstance, moment, idea, place, experience, or thing that has helped define you up to this point in your life. For the second sample, choose one of the three drawings you are completing for RISD and write about this piece of your work.
I was an oyster.
I was a "fob" who didn't even know the alphabet in 3rd grade. I was a crybaby who cried at every raised hand thinking that it would harm me. I was a scaredy-cat who was afraid of new things and changes. I was a loner who never made the first move. I was an ignoramus, who believed everything, trusted anyone, and accepted anything. I was an artist who loved to create artworks for myself.
I was an ordinary oyster anchored at the bottom of the ocean floor.
Throughout the years, many parasites of all different shapes and sizes invaded my shell. They gave me excruciating pain, but I did not release them back out of my shell because I knew that then even more invaders would come to hurt me. So, I endured through the pain and absorbed these parasites into my body, each invader changing me into someone stronger and wiser.
The parasites pleaded for me to give up and let it take control. But I resisted, and am here today healthier, stronger, and wiser than ever. This was possible because of my best friend who's been supporting me ever since I came into existence, my faithful companion who's hurt more because of my pains. She is more than twice my age. I have her eyes, her nose, her blood, and her genes. She is my unconditionally loving mother.
There were many fights, and know that there are more to come. I've given her happiness and joy that she yelled and danced, and I've also given her misery and grief that she beat the floor and cried. There are times I can't love her enough, and there are times I want her to disappear (although I would more than just regret it). But she always, with no failure, manages to bring me to tears when I think of the things she's done for me.
"What put me on the edge was seeing you, with a giant smile screaming 'dad,' run to your father on the days he came early, but be ignored, because he was tired and stressed. I felt like our family was falling apart and couldn't take it anymore; so I even started to fill out the divorce papers myself behind your father's back," said my mother during one of our intimate talks, "but I looked at you and your brother, and just couldn't. That's when I decided to take a chance at America, for a new start...and what an excellent decision I've made! Look at us now, happily living in our new home!" She could've escaped it all, the IMF killing father's business, the mother-in-law in her deathbed, the never smiling and overly stressed husband... But instead, she chose the more difficult and challenging route and made the tough decision to come to the United States, the land of new hopes, opportunities, and dreams; all this, just for me.
She could've been a writer, but now just a banker. She could've baked as a hobby, but now just rushes home to cook dinner. She could've worn pretty clothes, but now just in Chase uniforms. She could've done so many things, but missed out on her dream. Nevertheless, she comes home everyday with an enormous smile with laugh lines, telling me how she's never been happier, and that this is what she's always dreamed of... a happy family cooperating together, even through the toughest times like today.
My family's history is not a tragedy, but a cornerstone of something beautiful. I do not want my mother or my essay in the cliché pile of others. She is a true heroine, praised by many others and myself. She's my inspiration and motivation to become the best that I can be. She's the one who showed and taught me love, care, patience, unselfishness, confidence, and other characteristics necessary to be successful and happy in life. She continues to do her job today, and I know she'll never give up on me.
She's helped me absorb the parasites, face my problems and my fears, and envelop them over time, to form an exceptional pearl to share with the world.
I am an oyster.
I am a "twinkie" who is fluent in both Korean and English. I am a brave leader who takes on tough challenges and tackles through obstacles blocking the way. I am a daredevil who adventures for something new and exigent to conquer. I am a social butterfly who is the first one to bring a new transfer to the lunch table. I am an artist who passionately loves to create masterpieces for the world.
I am a unique oyster with a one-of-a-kind pearl striving to be discovered.
