Challenge 36: Advertisements

190. How does advertising influence people's behavior? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

Advertisements are one of the major methods used by companies and other business corporations to lure customers into buying their products and allowing them to make a profit out of the sales. Advertisements do indeed influence the people of today’s materialistic world where more than half the people buy things because they want to. People like you and me are included in this half of the population.

Advertisements are everywhere. The moment you step out into the streets and look around you see bill boards, flyers and other media related inventions that are advertising products. Even as you lay down on a couch to read the local news paper or switch on the TV, advertisements pop up here and there. These constant reminders of the things you want eventually lead you into buying them. Advertisements can be seen as a predator, surrounding their prey left, right, and center.

I guilty to say that I am a prey, held hostage to the predator. I constantly find myself attracted to the bright colored pages of advertisements in magazines of clothing and shoes. During my 2011 summer visit to Beijing, I was looking through my sister’s magazine, and saw a pair of shoes that I wanted the moment I set my eyes on it. The store was a 15 minute bus ride from where I was staying, and I felt the urge of putting on my shoes and going to buy it right away.

I tried looking at other magazines and surfing the net to get my mind off the shoe, but I my mind constantly went back to that glossy, bright page, which advertised that shoe. In the next five minutes, I had worn my shoes and was walking out to door, going for an “unintended walk.” On that walk, I found myself walking right into the store and buying that shoe.  A part of me was extremely satisfied, but another was a bit guilty. I overcame the guilt by thinking about how I would’ve regretted not buying it.

Advertisements call out to us, and wait keenly for the purchase of that object. It enhances consumerism, which may have a positive impact on the economy, but may do harm to individuals. They alter our minds, making us buy things we can do without, and most of the time, things on advertisements look much better than in real. Sadly, we always seem to fall for them, and pursue their existence.  

Challenge 35: Procrastinate

December 6

232. Ten things you do when you procrastinate

1. Think of reasons to stop the guilt I feel of not doing my work when I should.

2. Catch up on my sleep.

3. Watch a few episodes of my favorite TV show (at the moment), Vampire Diaries.

4. Think of a time when I will finish whatever I am supposed to.

5. Complain about how much work I have.

6. Cook an instant noodle and savor every bit of it, hoping that it will last forever, so I don’t have to get back to my work.

7. Go on facebook and write back to friends whom I have lost in-touch with, and when I’m done with        that play tetris until I run out of energy.

8. Clean up my room and then take a shower, hoping that I will get to work when my surroundings are clean.

9. Go to my friend’s room and talk about … anything actually.

10. Go out for a walk or to the mall. 

Challenge 34: Prison Inmates

181. Should prison inmates be allowed to take college courses? Explain why or why not.

Time is a limited resource. Each day is made up of 24 hours, and each year comprises of 365 days, not including a leap year. Most of those days are spent on studying and learning new things. Receiving a good education is vital in the 21^st century, and those that do not get it at the correct time lose out.

Everybody has the choice of when they want to take a particular college course, if they know they can afford it and will get into college. However, prisoners may not face the same option. They may be restricted from a great opportunity, just because they are stuck in prison. People in jail should definitely be allowed to take college courses as the time they spend in prison will not be of a waste.

Majority of the prisoners do not spend their whole lifetime in prison. They will, some day, be let out and will have to adjust to the outside world, and will have to try and earn a living. Some may even go back to studying, which may be very difficult to get in, in the middle. However, if prisoners are allowed to take college courses, it might be easier for them to get a job and live a normal life. This will help their chances of getting employed.

Education received by prison inmates will probably have a positive impact on their lives. The education they get can help rehabilitate them and give them a chance to interact with people outside prison. They can expand their knowledge outside prison bars and keep will be more up-to-date with how the modern society works.

Challenge 33: BFF :D

205. Describe how you met your best friend

As I stood under the weak sun of early August with my father, I saw this tall, lanky girl, hair braided messily walking down with a Tibetan woman who looked some-what familiar to me. I could tell they were Tibetan, as the woman wore the national dress, chhuba, and they were having a rather dull conversation as they walking down the dorm ramp towards us. The woman greeted my father, and just smiled at me and I reciprocated in a similar manner to both her and the girl behind, who took no interest in my smile and (kind of) just ignored me.

My father and I walked up the ramp to my dorm, Edgehill, and told me that that girl was in my grade. Throughout the walk up, I let my imagination run wild as I thought of her being a mean and obnoxious due to her response to my smile. Her height didn’t really help either, as my head just barely made it above her shoulders.

Once we reached Edgehill, my father made my bed for me as I started taking out my clothes to put into the cupboard. I noticed that that girl had already settled in. The next encounter I had with that girl was in the process of unpacking. It had been an hour or two since our first meeting, and this time she entered the room and just sat on her bed. My father asked her a few questions, but she made little effort in talking back, and “I’m very shy and quiet” was written all over her face. First thing I found that we had in common, feeling awkward to talk to strangers, especially parents.

Later on that evening, as I said goodbye to my father, and tears welled up in my eyes, this girl comforted me and told me that her mother couldn’t come to drop her and that everything was going to be okay. It was a bit weird for someone my own age telling me something like that, nevertheless, it was comforting. We spent the rest of the evening talking about family and friends and played with toys. At night, it was my turn to comfort her as she cried into her pillow.

In those few hours, I knew we would get along. *(Besides, there was no other girl in second grade that lived in dorms, so I had to make do with her.)

*lol. That’s just for “that” girl to read*

Challenge 32: Late night

143. First experiences can be defining. Cite a first experience that you have had and explain its impact on you. (University of Pennsylvania)

Sleeping before 12am has been a regular habit throughout my life. At home, my parents make sure I am asleep by then, and in school I try my best to be in bed by then. However, due to the combination of my procrastination and my work load, I was up way past my bedtime. The fact that we had access to the internet till 12 didn’t help either. I constantly found myself surfing the web to keep me from the monotonous note taking I had to do. Having 20 pages of note and a poster due the next day, I fought sleep until victory was evident. By one in the morning, I was completely awake and had finished half of my notes, and had yet to begin my poster.

I felt no sign of tiredness and was thankful for the cool wind for keeping me wide awake. Now with no distraction in front of me, I worked diligently and finished my last set of notes in half the time it took me to finish the previous one while the internet worked. Once I completed that, I took a five minute break in which I opened a packet of chocolate-chip cookies and savored every bit of it. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I had finished the last cookie.

I sighed to myself as I realized that I still had my poster to complete. As a driving force to keep me working, I thought I would reward myself with a bar of chocolate once I completed the poster. My goal was to finish it in the next hour, and sleep by three. I got a good start to my poster until I realized that I didn’t have all the materials I needed. I frantically looked everywhere for tape, a set of markers and a pair of scissors. By the time I got those, it was past three, and my mission had failed miserably. I finished the rest of my work in a rush and cleaned up the mess and completely forgot about my chocolate. By the time I washed up and got into bed, it was around five and I had a little more than an hour to sleep.

This was the first time I had slept at such an hour on a school day. That very morning I woke up with a sore neck and back. I had dark circles around my swollen eyes, and a runny nose, thanks to the wind that I was so grateful for. Each class was a nightmare as each second seemed to pass by like hours and I handed in a crappy poster. That night, I learnt the importance of a good night’s rest and how I should learn to prioritize my time wisely.

Challenge 31: Spider

90. Describe a humorous experience you have had.

Getting back at my friends has always been an activity that I enjoy planning and get a laugh out of once it has been carried out. I’m sure they feel the same way about it otherwise they wouldn’t continue doing so. Having a friend that comes lays on my bed, spoiling the puffiness of my blanket – something that bothers me a lot – and distracts me by talking about the latest gossip and about anything and everything is not very convenient when there is a lot of work to be done. However, this friend manages to finish all her work, even though she does it in the very last minute. She doesn’t mean to be a distraction most of the time, but she is.

One night, this friend of mine came to my room during study hall, and like always, managed to stray me away from my work. I kept telling her to stay quiet and finish her work, but her moment of silence never lasts for long. She would hum to herself and find any way to distract me, and laugh at my frustration. By the time it was lights out, I still hadn’t finished my work, and my friend had already washed up and was bundled up, snug in her bed. I was furious, I wanted my sleep too!

Half-dozing off, and in range, I managed to finish all my work. By the time I actually finished, my sleepiness had worn off and I was wide awake. My roommate was in the same state and we found ourselves going through our stuff and finding the mysterious items that stayed hidden in our cupboards. Out of the blue, I noticed a black spider the size of my finger on my pillow beside me. Too frightened to scream, I jumped on my roommate’s bed. In the midst of my state of shock I found my roommate laughing hysterically at me. She had thrown a rubber spider on my pillow without me noticing.

She had pulled off the “old rubber spider” prank and I was going to as well. My friend, who was getting a good night’s sleep, is terrified of spiders, and this toy was exactly what I needed to get back at her for my work delay. My roommate and I went to her room, placed the spider on her pillow in between her tangled hair, and turned on the bed lamp. After a minute of taking deep breaths to stop my laughter, I woke her up to and pretended to ask her a very sincere question. In the very next minute I screamed and told her there was a spider on her head. With fear written all over her face she jumped out of her bed and ran out the door. She was boiling with anger as I sprawled myself across her bed and couldn’t stop laughing. She stormed down the corridor and went into a neighboring room to spend the night.

Once I got myself to stop laughing, I went back to my room. That night I went to sleep with an evil grin on my face that I could not wipe out. I felt a sting of guiltiness, but I knew that would pass. Tomorrow was going to arrive in a few minutes, and it would be a new, fresh day.

Challenge 30: Place

182. If you were awarded an expense-paid trip to any one place in the world, where would you go? Why?

“The blue skies and the green pasture is something you cannot find anywhere. I dearly miss the cool trickling streams and the warm sun caressing me in the fields,” said my grandmother with a nostalgic smile across her face. “Do you know why it’s called Lhasa?” my grandmother asked me after a pause. I shook my head from side-to-side as I waited for her to answer the question. “Lhasa is the land of the gods, ‘Lha’ meaning god and ‘sa’ meaning land. The name is fit for the place as it is the prettiest place I have ever been to throughout my whole life. The weather is perfect throughout the year, not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. What more can you ask for?” This is just some of the few things, out of the hundreds, that I remember my grandmother telling me.

Our home country is no longer in the hands of the Tibetan people. Now being under the Chinese government, it is very hard to get a visa, and the only flight into Lhasa is from Kathmandu, Nepal. Being an Indian passport holder makes it even more difficult. Having heard stories about the mystical land throughout my childhood, I have always longed to go there.

My mother is constantly arranging a trip to Tibet, but some member of the family or the other just doesn’t seem to have the time. This expense-paid trip allows me to travel alone and gives me exposure to different people and cultures in different places. I can go see the place for myself and how much it may have changed from all the stories I have heard. Until then, I have to patiently wait until I get a chance to go to the roof of the world.