Reason why I applied to Harvard

     It was a shocking and disastrous reality. The very moment of truth came to me like a nightmare, unwanted yet inevitable. Inside my hands was the transcript for my mid terms and I had to doubt my eyes that they saw a score of 86 in Chemistry. It was a capital punishment to have to confront such low a score. never in my life had I ever received a score less than 96 - and yet there was me, looking at a score 10 lower than my previous lowest. I felt dizzy and ill. Feeling faint, I staggered and clutched the railing to keep myself from collapsing. Soon after a stronger wave of vertigo hit me, a vertigo of embarrassment, shame and a multitude of feelings so complex to be explained in words, and I fell on my knees. In that kneeling position, I swore to myself and to God to strive harder than I had ever done. That day, a legend was born.
     From that moment, I've decided that. I had to study chemistry much harder than ever. To make up the score I've got in the midterm, I decided to memorize all the namings of ionic compound and the formulas of acid-base reaction. I was confident that I could get much higher score in the final exam. I took the exam. but you know what? The final score was 56. I got C.
     I decided to abndon any hope or expectation about my socres; I was already far superior to others with my efforts. Then I wanted to find what I wanted to do. Piano, or any other musical instruments that lived 19 years beside me could not interest me anymore. In the middle of serious boredom, I saw her. Naan, utter beauty. I knew she had to be mine. I disguised my personality and acted as if I was the most naive innocent boy in the world. And who wouldn't fall for my charms. She beame the first member of FC Sunwwo. But one girl wasn't enough for me. To make a soccer, teahm, I was still running ten short. So that is how my journey began, to search for the other ten members.
     I see Celine Jeonghyun Moon there. She's short, I know, but because she's pretty, she's the right person so I started to initiate my own fantastic, so seductive business of habing text messages with her. my patience and ability are often maximized whenever I start to have text messages with girls. Celine didn't really respond to me quickly and thoroughly, but I know that this is just the sign of more affection from her. 
     I began to build confidence in recruiting members. Yes, THIS IS MY JOB. The next girl on my list was Chaerim. She was unlike anybody else - one of the most unique girls I have ever encountered. From the tone of her voice, I knew she was different. when I approached to ask her to join the FC Sunwoo, she first rejected. I was shocked. 
     Oh shat. There was rival. I wasn't thinking about that. His name was Doo nuyong, He even sang Chareim's beautiful song in the worst voice that I had ever heard. REEEEEEEL~~~. I envy him so much. It was the first time I had ever envied someone that much. I had to come up with a solution to overwhelm him. What would it be? I thought for days and nights. Then I ended up deciding that if I become a Harvard guy - Harvard Hottie, I mean- I would be superior than anybody else. That was my story, and I really wish to be a Harvard alumni and beat Doo. 
 

After Reading from Outliers

     Why do juniors bow to their seniors in KMLA? Why has the culture of bowing to seniors been accepted without any question? The answer for the questions is "Cultural legacies." By the long-lasting tradition of KMLA, which gave moral obligation to the juniors that they have to bow to their seniors, KMLA students maintained such policy without apparent problem. Though some students argued that the application of the tradition, when it took most radical form of making it obligatory for students to bend 90 degrees and shout out loud "안녕하세요" to seniors, is beyond cultural standard, virtually all the students agreed that the tradition of bowing is important and worthy enough to preserve. Moreover, many visitors to the schools find such tradition quite interesting and desirable, for it gives the image that KMLA students are polite and respectful to the people they see. The tradition of bowing has defined KMLA and will define it in the future as well. 
     In this Chapter, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, shows how strong the cultural legacies are. The example of a town called Harlan, located in Kentucky, points out that tradition has tacitly shaped the moral standard and mentality of a particular group of people who lived in the same cultural region. Residents of Harlan, in the early period of U.S, mostly came from Scot-Irish region, where its culture put strong emphasis on honor of individual. People were forced to fight for their honor; when someone felt his reputation insulted by another, he challenged the assaulter and fought for the restoration of his honor by means of chivalry, most notably gun fight. This tradition, after moving into U.S., made many of immigrants society to promote the spirit of chivalry and let opposing families inside a single town to brutally kill the other side for insignificant incidents. Yet the violence was overtly performed, many of the survivors, or killers, were acquitted, for the jury thought that they employed the most appropriate, if not best, method to protect their honor. Such rulings, which are illogical in today's point of view, were accepted by the majority of the society. The tradition, or "Cultural legacies," made it all possible. 
     We all know that humans are social beings; humans cannot exist outside of society, apart from any social interaction. Forming an identity as a social being inside a community is crucial to one's maturity. It establishes moral standards, basic communication skills, and cooperative ability inside an individual, which are indispensable. As KMLA students learn how to cope with teachers, seniors, friends, and juniors by living inside the community and interacting with others, you do virtually the same thing inside a broader and more complex society. That's why you and your cultural identity are inseparable, and due to such inseparability, preserving desirable cultural legacies and eliminating or amending problematic ones are crucial to human progress.