Statement of Purpose for Havard Application

The Cultural Revolution was a time of much confusion in china. The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang illustrates the chaos of that time. Ji-li’s experiences during this time period led to her point of view changing. Ji-li starts the Cultural Revolution full of progressive thoughts, but this quickly turns to confusion, and leads to an important choice, something that impacts the rest of her life.

As children we all dream, we dream about toys, monsters, castles, fairy tales and most importantly, we dream about our futures. I have always dreamed about success, but when I was younger I was not sure of what exactly success entailed. As I grew older and continued to grow physically, spiritually, and mentally I was able to discover my true aspirations and goals.

Being the grand-daughter of an officer in Hong Kong Customs and Excise department, listen to my grandmother 's anecdotes about her work has been a big part of my childhood memories. My interests in sociology developed over the course of interaction with my grand-mother. I observed her successes as an officer in the Customs and Excise department, from her social awareness, passions and, experiences. My academic and real-world experiences have built and pushed my interest to study sociology more in-depth. And I wanted to pursue an education in sociology and diversity in a university of California.

“As one of the Red Guards in the middle school, I was given power through Mao to torture and humiliate our teachers, headmaster or anyone we didn’t like. I didn’t know it was wrong. I thought I was doing the right thing to continue the revolution, to fight and win the class struggle”- Zhao, Lin Qing. As a teenager Zhao was a Red Guard in Guangzhou during the Cultural Revolution. When asked what her impression was a member of the Red Guards, Zhao answered with two words: “naïve and senseless”. She refused answering anything more about her experience. She said, “The memories are still too painful to recall.”

When Jan Wong first arrived in China, she was filled with the complete belief that China’s totalitarianism way of government was the best way of governing, and that no other way would do. While natives smiled behind false expressions, she failed to realize the true extent of the miserable lives under the Maoist regime until she herself experienced the injustices faced by the Chinese citizens. In Red China Blues, author Jan Wong writes of her experiences during her life in China and after, and how her whole journey led to the realization of the harsh reality that Maoism really was. As Wong learned more and more about the truth behind the totalitarian government, her own experiences helped her to transform

In the memoir “Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution” written by Ji-Li Jiang and forwarded by David Henry Hwang, it follows the experiences of Ji-Li Jiang during the onset of Chairman Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution of China while living in Shanghai, China, 1966. In the memoir, Ji-Li at only the age of 13 experiences first hand the many effects of the revolution which are shown in many ways. These effects include her peers attitudes, her family and classmates relations, as well as personal feelings of the overall event.

This memoir of Ma Bo’s sent shock waves throughout China when it was published and was even first banned by the Communist Government. This passionate story paints a clear picture for what the Great Chinese Cultural Revolution was really like. Many Chinese living today can attest to similar if not identical ordeals as expressed in Ma Bo’s story. The toils of being a young Red Guard in inner China were experienced by many if not millions. The horrors and atrocities were wide spread throughout the country, not just in Inner Mongolia. The experiences illustrated in Blood Red Sunset uniquely belong to Ma Bo’s entire generation of mislead Chinese. As expressed in the books dedication the Cultural Revolution

In Jan Wong’s entrancing expose Red China Blues, she details her plight to take part in a system of “harmony and perfection” (12) that was Maoist China. Wong discloses her trials and tribulations over a course of three decades that sees her searching for her roots and her transformation of ideologies that span over two distinctive forms of Communist governments. This tale is so enticing in due part to the events the author encountered that radically changed her very existence and more importantly, her personal quest for self-discovery.

One of the biggest challenges that I've encountered personally was being an immigrant and learning to cope with a new culture in an advanced country, the United States of America. Compared to my hometown, my family and I used to live in a small village, located in Burma, known as Myanmar. Unfortunately, many received unfair treatment and uneven distribution of wealth because of races and the military’s inability to rule the government well. In order to overcome those difficulties, we migrated to the United States, a land of “freedom,” as I have heard. As an immigrant and teenager, I was shocked to see how different education and living systems were compared to my hometown in Myanmar. One of the biggest challenges I have, academically, is persisting

In conclusion, I was given the opportunity to room with girls from Peru, Hong Kong and other places around the country. I’ve gained lifelong friendships with people in Africa, France, and New Zealand. I was also able to teach as well as learn from different cultures. Nevertheless, this experience has opened the door to a horizon of possibilities, from this experience I learned that I would like to major in travel and tourism with a minor in art and experience cultures first hand by exploring my horizon while traveling and learning about different

Teaching and living in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, South Korea, and Costa Rica have been deeply enriching experiences in and of themselves. Putting myself into new settings with different customs, behaviors and perspectives on life, whether within the United States or abroad, is something I’m drawn to as it challenges my own values and beliefs, forces me to shift and adapt, and thus leads to an expanded perspective and positive growth. The MAT program has given me a whole new appreciation and understanding of these formative life experiences. Culture has often been a difficult idea to pin down and define, but now I see it everywhere and within everything: among nations, regions, communities, families, and individuals. I’m able to look

One experience so far in China that left a strong impression on my mind was a visit to the Shaanxi museum of history. Our tour guide was a locally educated young woman in her twenties. As she took us through the different periods of Chinese history, at every exhibit showing some sort of tool or mechanistic contraption she would turn and say “as you can see, the Chinese people are very smart!” She also recounted a story in which she was very offended that an American made a comment that Chinese people are short, to which she replied “yes, we are, but we have five thousand years of history and culture!” Both the richness and vastness of Chinese history was a huge source of pride for her, as her slightly illogical response to the American’s comment shows. In retrospect, her age denotes that she grew up on the government’s campaign in the 1990s to educated students about China’s greatness, to foster pride.

I work for Mercer’s sister company NERA Economic Consulting in Washington, DC. I am hoping you can put me in touch with someone who can discuss Mercer’s consulting career path. I earned my MBA with specialties in Finance and Marketing at George Washington University. Now that my lock-in period with NERA has expired, I am looking to transition into a management consulting role in the areas of Health & Benefits or Talent. While my career path to date has mainly focused on strategy and marketing within the professional services industry, I have strong analytical skills that compliment my business and communication acumen. I look forward to a new career path that provides me with improved growth potential, access to clients, and is more analytical

My return to Korea in the summer of 2001 was nothing short of a culture shock. I was in a country I thought I had learned by heart. It was the country I always rooted my identity and pride from. I wasn’t ready for the shock. I

‘It is when I struggle that I strengthen. It is when challenged to my core that I learn the depth of who I am.’ I kept on repeating this to myself waiting for my campus interview in the final year. Sitting there with fervor, I entered the room with utmost confidence. The whole interview was not just technical but challenged my grit, determination and presence of mind. And after coming out of the interview, I just knew I had grabbed the opportunity. That day taught me; challenges can make you or break you; it all depends on you.