Characters - Harvard - Business statement help course
Business statement help course
Their dramatic peaks and graceful curves speak volumes.
Chinese characters are expressive, beautiful, deep. Chinese “words” are pictures of ideas, communicating a concept as both what it is and is not. For instance, the character for “man” joins a farmer’s field with an arm of strength; to the Chinese, a male without vocation is not truly a man. My life is not just about who I am, but also who I am not. Back in high school, I was an accomplished cellist. Still, I harbored no illusions about music as a profession, and college life beckoned for my time. I am no longer that cellist; recently, as I played in a trio for a wedding, the violinist repeatedly winced at my good intentions.
Halfway through college, I found myself envying my roommate for his drawing class assignments—I was starving for creative expression. After tasting southern China during a summer Christian mission, I registered for a Chinese class. I was forewarned by Chinese friends who had taken Mandarin at Duke: they, from Chinese-language homes, could barely handle the workload . . . why should I, lacking Chinese background, risk my schedule or my transcript? But life encompasses not just what I choose, but also what I avoid. How could I retreat from the challenge of Chinese before the first day of class?
My three semesters of Chinese were a delight. For hours at a stretch, I hid in the library to write characters, millennia of culture and wisdom flowing through my hand.
I chose to embrace the beauty, expression, and depth of the Chinese language, and the fruit of my choice has become a part of me.
Analysis
While several of the preceding essays present a breadth of experience, Cabin focuses on a single interest. The point, however, is not so much his diligent study of the Chinese language and calligraphy, but rather the philosophical question of choosing challenges in life. The anecdotes demonstrate Cabin’s ability to decide which battles are simply not worth fighting. A sense of deep self-awareness permeates the text and implicitly attests to his maturity and poise.
It may seem that this essay has nothing to do with business at all, but Cabin’s introspective skill is likely to be instrumental in his future decision-making in a corporate context. In a very subtle and elegant way, Cabin strengthens his image as a qualified future business leader.
From 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays edited by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson. Copyright (c) 2009 by the authors and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group