College essays that made a difference - Princeton Review 2010

Kelly Duong
The applicants

Kelly spent her summers attending summer programs at many schools, including Harvard University and the University of Chicago. She also held a job as a waitress for one year, working mainly on weekends. In high school, she was involved in the theatre program, tutored at-risk elementary students weekly, and was co-President of the Asian-American club. In addition, she was involved in the National Honor Society and, by the end of her junior year, became an AP Scholar with Honor.

Stats

ACT: 32

High School GPA: 3.996

High School: Grandville High School, MI

Hometown: Grandville, MI

Gender: Female

Race: Asian American

Applied To

Brown University (applied early decision)

Essay

Kelly submitted the following essay to Brown University

Personal Statement

Standing barefoot in the cool, wet sand of Nha Trang Beach, I breathed in the fishy stench of the ocean. It was only a quarter past five, yet the beach had already come to life. Someone’s father was gathering the morning’s catch along the shore, while mothers were setting up shop nearby. These days, every minute boils down to money. This is one of the few things Vietnam and America have in common. It’s hard to believe that this scene was once the beautiful, serene Vietnam of my parents’ youth. Eyes closed, I tried to banish the image of high-rise cement ugliness from my mind. I took a deep breath and listened to the bittersweet melody of the ocean waves.

I was fourteen the first time I went back to Vietnam. It was the summer of eighth-grade. I would be heading off to high school soon, and my main concern for that summer was getting the perfect tan. I knew that I was in for more than I bargained for well before the plane made its landing in Ho Chi Minh City Airport. Uniqueness

The bird’s eye view of the city was my first glimpse into the very soul of my native country. It was an unruly sight, resembling a Lego-town hastily put together, with random structures carelessly plopped on unoccupied land. My anxiety only magnified once I had landed. Never before had I seen so many people headed in so many different directions … and all on mopeds! I remember thinking that my first trip through the streets of Saigon could very well be my last.

The look on my parents’ face didn’t do much to calm my nerves. They had left their past behind thirteen years ago, and it was now apparent that their past had transformed beyond the point of recognition. Looking back, there must’ve been a certain point when it hit them that what they had been yearning for all these years no longer existed. The most obvious change was that Saigon was no longer Saigon. The cultural capital of Vietnam is officially named Ho Chi Minh City. But the changes ran deeper than that. After all, “a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.” This rose has been stripped of all its petals, with nothing left but the savage thorns held together by a bare stem; a carcass and a grim reminder of the beauty it once held. I’m sure they had acknowledged the inevitable ahead of time, but there’s always a part of us that truly believes time will stand still in our absence and wait for our return.

Every now and then, my mind wanders back to my brief encounter with this long-lost friend; when I get a whiff of a steaming bowl of pho, the delicately prepared beef broth that is the signature dish of my homeland; or when I’m walking down South Division, and upon hearing the harsh jabbering of my native tongue, I’m instantly reminded of the smooth control it takes to perpetually switch from one tone to another (and how my skills are quite rusty still). Moments like these send me hurling back to a Vietnam I had heard about as a child—when Dalat was an intellectual playground and Saigon was rich in romance and art—but not the disappointing reincarnation I had witnessed firsthand. One day, I shall return. Maybe not to the romanticized country my parents had left to perish so long ago, but maybe, just maybe, to something even greater and more spectacular. My Vietnam.

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