My emotiponal moment

I felt a very strong sorrow when my mother broke her ankle about 4 years ago. Then, I was a high school student, and stayed in school until 9:00Pm. Since I had to go home very late, my mother had been worrying about my security and used to come to my school to pick me up.

Usually she drove to my school, to that she could pick me up in her car. However, one day, she walked to the school since she decided that she wanted to take a walk. My mother is quite fashionable, so she always wear high heels. That day was not an exception. She was walking to my school in high-heels.

Unfortunately, walking to my school wearing high-heels turned out to not to be the best decision. On her way, she had to go across a park which was next to my school. Since it was very dark, and the grass was not well-managed in the park, she ended up losing her footing and broke her ankle. I heard that she broke her ankle when I was studying in the school. At first, I was more worried than sad. Hoping she would be okay, I got home by myself. My father took my mother to the hospital, and they came home after a while. All of a sudden, looking at my mother’s ankle wearing a cast, I burst into tears. Even though I knew it was not my fault, I felt so sorry that she got hurt on her way to pick me up. Getting the news that she got hurt was completely different from looking at her ankle in the cast in the flesh. At that moment, I felt sorry, sad, and worried. All the negative feelings were mixed and I could not stop crying. I decided to help a lot with the housework.

It was one of the most intense moments of my life.

timed-writing (in-class)

Every day, the press covers stories of big companies doing illegal or unethical things to make a profit. Nowadays, the only thing most of the businesses care about seems to be profit. Even though our conscience says tit is wrong, watching the honest companies going bankrupt, we apt to ask ourselves, “Is it right for businesses to do anything to survive in the market?”

If I were asked the question, I would say “no” without hesitation. It is because, we are living in a community. It may sound cliché, but it embraces all the statements I am about to argue. Doing illegal and unethical things will end up harming themselves eventually. First of all, there are so many businesses in a community. A business may make some profit against the rules, but they won’t be the only ones who break the rule. All other business will start not to do the right thing.

For example, if a factory starts to pour its toxic material in the river, and if we say it is okay, every other factory would start to pollute the environment, too. Then, the effect to the environment would be huge. Nobody will be able to control the serious pollution. Environmental pollution and rules being out of control may sound irrelevant to the business, which only cares about a profit. However, these issues should matter to the businesses since they are made of people. It is obvious that environmental rules and unkept rules would damage peoples’ quality of lives, and some of those “people” are the employees of the business. People run a business and try to make a profit in order to improve their lives, eventually. So, what good is the money when the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat are all ruined? Can an employee happy about an annual bonus when he or she is suffering from a serious disease?

People are all connected in a community. Businesses are a part of it. Thus, for their own sakes, business should not do illegal, unethical things for a profit.

I will miss Times Square

As I have to leave New York within a week, I often think about things that I would reminisce about New York. The first thing I would like to talk about is how much I will miss the midtown. The places near Times Square formed my first impression of New York.

The point I would like to mention about Times Square is that they have lots of nice restaurants. When I think of Times Square, I feel like I can smell the sweetness of Crumbs bake shop, Godiva chocolatier, and the frozen custard of Shake Shack burger. One day, I have been to Times Square and a beautifully decorated store, which also had a sweet fragrance of Chocolate, blew my mind. Thus, I let myself in the store and looked around what they have got. The store itself seemed to say that they were a chocolate store. The store had a sign with an elegant writing saying “Godiva”. And all the chocolate products were decorated with such a pretty wraps and flowers. Since Valentine’s day was coming up, I was many young people selecting what chocolates to get for their Valentines.

The sweetness of Times Square cannot be told except of Crumbs bake shop. The store had a red-based decoration. The petite cupcakes in the store looked much more delicious and sweet with the red-colored store. Chocolate-flavored and Fruit-flavored cupcakes with white frostings went well along with the red color. Also, Shake Shack burgers’ store had a red tone. I and my friends had Hamburgers and frozen Custard in the Shake Shack Burger, and the inside of the store with neon-signs and multi colored decoration made the food look more delicious. If I were having my frozen Custard in a room painted as blue, I do not think I would have been enjoyed it as much as I did that day.

What is happiness?

THe definition of happiness would vary. Each person has different definition for happiness. In my case, I would like to think of “happiness” as the same thing as “feeling good about oneself”. Thus, I see happiness as a long-term and profound concept. For example, if someone gets a good grade in his or her calss, the person would be happy if he or she earned the grade with honest work. The good grade would be a pay-off for the effort, and one could form the image of himself or herself as a diligent, hard-working person. On the other hand, if someone got an A through cheating in the test, the good grade would not lead the person to happiness. The person could feel good with the grade temporarily, but eventually he or she would realize that the grade is not deserved.

With my definition of happiness, being happy does not merely mean a temporary good feeling. Happiness contains acting decently, doing the right things, and eventually being a nice person. Thus, I disagree that “People should sometimes do things that don’t always make them happy”. Of course, sometimes people habe to do things that make them sad or annoyed at the moment. But, those feelings would last merely at that moment, and would be a part of making the person happy. If a customer make a mistake and overpaid a waiter, and if the waiter overcame the temptation to just keep it himself and acknowledge the customer, the waiter would be happy. The happiness coming from his honesty will be much bigger than a joy coming from some money.

Process Essay – How to make a new friend

<Process Essay – How to make a new friend>

 

Rachel

 

Friends are one of the most crucial factors to live a happy life. Making new friends is very pleasant, yet sometimes a little bit tricky job. You will need to express a balanced feeling for new people. You do not want them to think you are not interested in them, nor too interested in them.

When you meet someone new, the first thing you have to do is to find a way to talk to him or her. For example, if you meet a person who you want to be friends with in a class, you could naturally start talking to him or her about the class, such as assignments. If you meet him or her anywhere else, you could just go to them and say, “Isn’t the weather just perfect?” Through starting small talk naturally, you will be able to give a good impression to the person.

Secondly, you will have to find your way to consistently contact the person. Even if you gave him or her such a nice first impression, it is impossible for you to call them as a friend when you cannot meet him or her afterwards. In order to keep the relationship going, you have to be able to reach the person. That way, you could be more and more close to the person.

Last but not least, you have to meet him or her face-to-face. Now, you would be able to contact him or her through your cell phone, Social Network Service, or in other ways. Using your way to reach them, try to arrange the time and meet them. Meeting face-to-face is a cornerstone to improve your relationship into a real “friend”. Participating in an activity together is a good idea, too.

my personal goal – cause and effact

I would like to write about my short-term goal. My personal goal as an exchange student is to speak English as fluently as an American company would like to hire me as an intern. I set this goal just before I came to America. Although I have no intention to actually work for an American company, I knew this goal would give me such a specific guideline to and inspiration for studying English. Since my original major is English, I thought I should be a professional on English. To be professional, merely being able to communicate in English was not enough. I should be capable of academic English in every aspect; speaking, reading, listening and writing.

In order to make myself specialized in English, I tried to expose myself to English-speaking environment. I went to writing center at least once a week, so that I could improve my writing skill. During the session, I could also practice my English speaking since I had to explain what I wanted to work on with my essay. Also, I tried to read New York Times, at least one article daily. Reading New York Times not only improved my reading, but also helped to practice writing, since the articles were such a good examples of well-written texts. Finally, I try to work hard on my assignments in class, not merely for good grades, but in order to actually learn. Writing a long paper or essay as an assignment was challenging. However, revising and proofreading my own writing, I can tell I clearly made an improvement in structuring paragragh and word usage.

Although it has been merely two months since I came to America, my improvement is obvious. Compared to before I came to America, I can speak English with less hesitation. I am more and more enjoying speaking in English. Also, comparing essays that I wrote in the past to my current writings show a big improvement. Finally, I came to understand the roommates’ chatting much better. I would work on my English further, so that I can reach to my goal.

What a break ! 3 – Boston 2

The next day, I have been to the Freedom Trail and Quincy market. My plan was to get up early in the morning and look around MIT, but I could not. I got lost in Harvard, as I had expected. Thus, my first destination changed to the Freedom Trail.

The Freedom Trail was a series of historical places related to American revolution. I bought a ticket to follow the trail with a guide. Out trip to the freedom trail started from the Boston common, a big public park in the downtown of Boston. We went to the Old granary, the Old state house, the new State house, and a church which I cannot remember its name. We walked through these places while listening to the guide’s explanation about each place.The guide was really funny, so I could concentrate very well.

Normally I merely go and listen to the guide. But this time, I decided to learn about American revolution and the Freedom trail places myself, before I visit there. It was because when I have been to the White House and the Capitol before, I did not feel like I fully appreciated the attraction. Since I had almost zero knowledge about American politics, they were nothing but white, pretty buildings where famous politicians work.

Even though I had researched just a little, this background knowledge truly enriched my visit. I could really enjoyed the visit, and I could concentrate better to the guide. The old saying “You can see as much as you know.” came to my mind.

After visiting the freedom trail, I have been to Quincy market and had some Clam Chawda and  Lobster roll, which were the most famous foods in Boston. Quincy market itself was only okay, but I had such a pleasant conversation with people who happened to sit next to me when I was eating my food. They were also tourists from Spain and England. They said it was their first time in Boston, and asked me which attractions I liked the most. It was funny because at first, they misunderstood me as a resident in Boston. They asked me to recommend where to visit in Boston.

One of the most surprising thing was that it seemed like I could explore the whole city on foot. Since Boston is not a big city, I walked from one place to other mostly on foot, except for going to Cambridge.

If the weather were warmer, I would have definitely wanted to stay in Boston a couple of weeks more. It was rainy and chilly when I was in Boston, which is the only thing I hated about Boston.

What a break ! 2 – Boston / day1

I have been to Boston from Friday to Saturday, during the spring break. Since I had a relative n Boston, I

When I first got to the South Station in Boston, I went right to the subway station and took a subway to go to Newbury street. The subway fare was $2, and the station was much more clean compared to that of New York. The clean subway station made my first impression of Boston quite pleasant.

The fact that I can stay in Boston for only two days made me rush to see all the tourist attraction. Although, I planned to have some time to adjust that day, since it was my first time in Boston. Actually, it was also the first trip by myself. It turned out much more fun than I had expected.

Thus, the only destination that day was Newbury Street. Newbury Street was a street full of shops. I imagined that it would be just like SOHO. However, it was quite different from what I had expected. Although it was a merely a street with all the shopping malls, which are very common in New York, the old and antique buildings attracted my eyes. I heard that buildings in Boston are at least 100 years old. Since I have stayed in a new town, New york, the buildings seemed very original to me.

After walking through Newbury Street, I went to meet my relative in Cambridge. There, she showed me around the Harvard university. The campus was so big, so I thought I would have got lost everyday if I went to that school…. It was a big dream.

I had dinner with my relative, and went to her dormitory. We happened to talk about our future and dream, since we were about to turn to seniors. Talking to her, I realized this issue was concern of all the college students, no matter what country he or she was in.

That was how my first day in Boston end.

 

What a break! 1 – D.C

 

Last Tuesday to Thursday, I stayed in D.C. Since my relatives were living in Virginia, which was 20 minuites away from D.C. by car, I was invited to their house. I went to D.C. by a Boltbus, which took approximately 4 hours from New York to D.C.

As I was planning my trip for the spring break, I barely knew anything about D.C. The fact that there were the White house and the Capitol was the only thing I knew about D.C. Thus, honestly, I was not that excited for staying in D.C. I chose to stay there simply because I have a place to stay, and I wanted to use my spring break visiting other cities than New York.

By the way, since the day I got out of the Union Station and took my first step on D.C, I fell in love. There was a beautiful, white circle right in front of the station, and the weather was very nice. Also, on the first sight, I could tell how elegant and peaceful the atmosphere of the city was. I had heard that D.C. was a little bit conservative yet very professional and peaceful city compared to New York. And it really was.

In front of the station, my aunt was pulling over her car in order to pick me up. It was nice to meet relatives after a long interval. I went to their home, and it was so lovely. Their home was the dream house that I wanted to live in someday. They had a basement, 1^st floor, and the second floor, but the basement was not a garage. In the basement, there was a guestroom they prepared for me and a restroom just for me. In the guestroom, I planned my trip in D.C. for the next two days.

Mainly, the area around the “National mall” was all I visited in D.C. The National Mall is the name of a street which all the Smithsonian museums were located. In a street, the Air and space museum, the Natural history museum, and etc were all gathered together. .Nearby, there are the White House and the Capitol, too. I could write two posts for what I saw there. Even though I was not a big fan of visiting a museum, the museums there were so interesting that I felt sorry that my time was so limited. The air and space museum, which was the most impressing, had exhibition about the development of the airplane, from the Wright brothers’ plane. Even though I was not interested in the airplanes at all, it made me learn about them more. I appreciated the contents that made me really want to learn about a new field.

Also, the White house and the Capitol was pretty. It would have been better if I could have toured the White house, too.

Staying in D.C. was so much fun than I thought. I wish I could visit D.C. again some other time.

Mamma MIa !

A few days ago, I have been to watch Mamma Mia, the Broadway show.

When I was in Korea, I watched the Movie version of Mamma Mia, and I loved it. I kept watching it over and over again. And, I found out that the project A.I.M. was selling the musical ticket, Mamma Mia. I got so excited and bought the ticket right away.

We have been to the theater in Broadway. The theater looked gorgeous. I had no idea what the theater would look like, but I was excited even more seeing the theater. It looked just like the one which was in the movie, “The phantom of the opera”. It had beautiful, golden carvings everywhere, and had red carpets on the floor. As we sat our seat, I could see the seat which looked like for the aristocrats’ seat. It looked just like the mideval-times-theater in movies.

And the show started with the appearance of the heroine.

The brief story of Mamma Mia is as following : A girl named Sophie is getting married. Before getting married, she wants to know who her father is. Her mother kept who her father is for her life, but Sophie figured out the three potential – daddys through her mother’s diary. And, Sophie sends the invites for her wedding to the three men. In a nutshell, as a result, Sophie decide not to get married yet and go to see the mainland. And instead, her mother marries one of the “three men”.

The story itself was simple. And eventually, they do not even tell us who the real father is. Although I knew all the flows of the stories and songs since I had watched the movie, the show was so enjoyable. The songs that the actors/actresses singing right in front of me, musics that the orchestras playing blew my mind. The singers’ voice was so good to hear, and their performance on the stage was spectacular.

If I had a chance, I would love to go to other plays, too.