Common App: Volunteering

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." This quote deeply resounds within me for I believe it is possible for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. For me, the difference between an “ordinary” and an “extraordinary” person is not what prestige or title the person might hold, but instead it's the impact of their actions. The most heartfelt way of achieving impact is by donating time, energy, and profit to the lives of others.

My earliest recollection of donating for the better of humanity is to the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008. The devastation it created implored my eight year old self to give her life-savings of 16,000 RMB to help build homes, give medical care, and bring families together. My mom adamantly insisted that I donate my own money earned from my chores and Yāsuíqián allowance, because the rest of my family also contributed their own individual salaries. I know that because of my donation, there is someone right now in Sichuan, with their families, fully clothed, eating good food, and in a modest home where my impact has helped create a better life.

Very similarly, I contributed to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2011 Tohoku tsunami and earthquake, and the Fukushima nuclear accidents, this time with the combined efforts of my family.

In my everyday life, I help others by tutoring English for students with academic support in the National English Honors Society, teaching Chinese once a week, and also building art installations for the school as part of the National Art Honors Society.

Apart from school life, I had snipped 8 inches off my hair in addition to shaving the back of my head to donating to cancer patients through the Pantene Beautiful Lengths organization. That same summer, I also volunteered at the YMCA summer swim session where I prepared lessons for young swimmers.