Change of Heart

   As we get older and learn more and more stuffs from school, our mind would enter to a higher and deeper level. As for result, we would think differently and solve things after more consideration when facing same events. I think that my writing in this class has changed my ideas about my attitude toward basketball. For the significance experience college application essay, my topic is about basketball because it’s probably the only thing that I’m most passionate about and has the strongest feeling. As the training of this season becomes more harsh and tiring, I once would have the thought of quitting the team. However, I never do so because I would remember my essay every time I have that notion.

   In the essay, I wrote that I joined the girls basketball team when I was in grade six, but I quitted after several months since I couldn’t handle the exhausting practices anymore. Seeing all my other teammates who stayed had such great skills, and I didn’t, I learned from this experience that I shouldn’t give up easily. Rather, I should stand up and fight against all challenges coming to me. Again, I join the girls basketball team after six years, and this time I would act more mature. No matter how hard the practices have become, I would tell myself to keep going because I don’t want to be regretted when I look back to this time after ten years. I know that I have to endure all kinds of hardships to prove that my heart has grown stronger and fearless, and I have learned from mistakes.

Understanding

   I’m a person usually with no defined goals, however, the situation changes when on the basketball court. When playing basketball games, I know clearly what my heart wants, which is first performing successfully what Mr. Li expects us to do and second winning the game. I believe these things are not just my wants, rather, the whole team would feel the same way and understand me. But, these are just the things that I hope for to happen. In reality, we always do badly for the first and second periods because we’re not getting used to the places where the games take place, which are new for us. Also, our brains are not warmed up even though our bodies are, so we couldn’t think carefully on courts, thus doing lots of rush actions. Because of our nervousness, uncertainty, unsureness, the opponent teams can always get many points since we’re not fully ready as they are. As for result, we’re always getting way behind the opponent teams in the third period, and I don’t like the feeling of chasing after the other teams because we’re under such great pressure and our physical strength definitely goes down, so we’re playing would only be even worse, not to mention we’re amateurs.

     Today, we have a game against Pen-Shi High School, and I hope that we can learn from past experiences. As soon as we get to the court, everyone needs to be ready to play, and each person’s brain should be able to think clearly. This season, our trainings move to a different direction, which is more of physical training. Mr. Li has devoted so much effort into the team, and we should show the other school what we got to let the coach feel satisfied.

Author’s Due

   I think the quotation above means that let the authors write without the pressure of their due, which is time, so that they can write out things of better quality. An essay written today would definitely be different if it was written 50 or 100 years ago because circumstances, situations, and views on the world have changed. One of the most significant events that happened throughout the human history is the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution replaces manual power with machines, causes emergence of factories, advances urbanization, etc. During the first phases of the Industrial Revolution, the writings would be about the flying economy, the enriching factory owners. As time goes by, the writings would concern more about the negative effects it causes, which are pollution and child labors. People’s value change after such a long time, thus they focus on different aspects of the events.

    Similarly, an essay written today would be different about 50 or 100 years in the future. Nowadays, lots of things that people imagine might all come true in the future, such as having robots to work for us, contacting with aliens, living on other planets, going to schools with only E-books, etc. These aren’t just merely far reaching dreams that humans have. Rather, these are events that might take place in the future. Today, people’s writings might full of guesses and wonders. However, the writings would be declaring what are actually seen, which are the facts, in the future.

Careful Consideration

  In my interpretation, I would explain the quotation as if people think too much, too carefully, then they would be unwilling to change because they’re afraid. Change is sometimes good, but sometimes it’s also bad. Change is good when a better outcome is achieved. I remembered I used to be 65 kilograms, which was too fat, so I decided to change. During summer, I went to the fitness center every day and spent the whole morning there doing as many exercise as I could. After the two months harsh training, I lost 10 kilograms, and I was excited about it. This was a sign of good change because my body gets healthier.  

   However, there are times when change should be avoided. I remembered one time I went shopping that I bought more than I expected. On that day, I was going to buy one pair of shoes only, but I bought three pairs of shoes in the end because I kept changing my mind when seeing all those stylish shoes. I think I should persist on what I want rather than changing mind since my wallet became empty after I got the three new shoes.

   This quotation could be used in revising written work. Every time when people read an essay, they will feel differently, thus there would always be changes need to be done. Nonetheless, I think it’s not really necessary to change every single time. There are things better be left alone so that the essay can still have some sense of originality.

Time and Knowledge

    I think he meant that the writer tells or informs the readers about what he’s trying to say in the shortest time. Also, people gain knowledge from reading books, thus the writer is able to give his reader the most knowledge. I agree with his statement that writer gives readers the most knowledge in the least time. Generally, I don’t think writers follow this advice. One of the exceptions is Harry Potter, in which the writer uses a lot of adjectives for description, thus adding much length to the novels. If these unnecessary information were left out, the novels would be only about twenty pages long rather than hundreds of pages.

     My topic for the causal analysis essay is “what causes global warming,” which is a very broad one. In order not to bore my readers and send them message that I want to say in the shortest time, I should just have the most central ideas. Rather than writing all causes and effects that global warming have, which might compose a wikipedia, I should list out main causes. I don’t want to write a long scientific essay that makes my audience yawn, so I should always think about the quotation when doing the writing. I have to pick what are the most important knowledge I want to let my audience know in the shortest time, which is in just reading my essay.

Holiday Reality

   During the Chinese Lunar New Year break, there were things that I did in reality that were like my plan. Also, there were things that I actually did different from my plan. Before the break started, I planned to go to restaurants in Taipei, go shopping, get red envelopes, play majong, watch TV, go to KTV, and eat and drink a lot. These things were like what I actually did during the one week holiday. I went to several restaurants with my family while we were in Taipei for two days; I bought three new shoes, five new clothes, and a very expensive new pants during the break; I got four red envelopes in total, and among the four, my grandma gave me the largest amount of money, which was six thousand dollars; I played six majong games, which took place in my house, my grandma’s house, and my brother’s friend’s house; I went to sing with my brother and his friend, thus I had lots of chances to get the microphone; I ate so much that I gained two kilograms over the break.

    Things I did that were different from how I expected was playing bowling. Moreover, my family didn’t go outside the country, didn’t visit the Flora Expo, didn’t go to Hualien for attending aboriginal rituals, and I didn’t stay up all night for three days.