In this blog post, I will summarize the content of my personal statement, which focuses on the academic efforts I made during high school, my extracurricular activities both inside and outside of school, and my experiences practicing consideration and cooperation.
Academic Efforts and Learning Experiences
I consistently worked hard to fully understand my life science courses starting in my freshman year of high school, but I struggled with the units related to the human body. While topics related to animals, plants, and ecosystems were relatively straightforward, it was not easy to accurately grasp the internal workings of the human body. Therefore, while searching for materials that explained these concepts in detail, I came across “lecture notes” taken from an online course. These notes included detailed explanations written by the teacher and helpful diagrams and charts, making them a great resource for understanding difficult concepts even without attending the actual lectures.
Among the most difficult units were the structure and function of the heart, as well as antigen-antibody reactions and how the immune system works. To help me understand these topics, the notes contained detailed illustrations of the heart and explanations of the functions of each atrium and ventricle. By reading them multiple times, I was able to grasp the concepts more easily and delve deeper into the textbook material. I also came across “lecture comics,” which, like the lecture notes, explained the lecture content in an easy-to-understand way but were visualized in comic form rather than text, which helped with comprehension.
Looking at the illustrations in the comics rather than reading text actually enhanced my comprehension, as it felt like watching the actual lecture. Through these comics, I learned about nutrient transport and the digestive process, the composition and circulation of blood, the structure of the respiratory system and respiratory movements, gas exchange and transport, and cellular respiration and energy utilization. Detailed explanations were provided in speech bubbles from the teacher at key points, allowing me to deepen my understanding as I read. It was particularly beneficial that even seemingly dry topics—such as the production and excretion of waste, the structure of excretory organs and the urinary tract, the reception of stimuli and sensory organs, the transmission of stimuli and characteristics of the nervous system, and the role of hormones in maintaining homeostasis—could be learned in an engaging way through the comic.
School Environmental Activities: Improving Flower Beds and Trash Areas
Our school had a weekly environmental studies class, which gave us the opportunity to directly engage in learning activities from the textbook and hands-on experiences. In these classes, we covered the characteristics, problems, and solutions related to air, water, and soil pollution, and we also participated in group activities aimed at improving environmental issues in our immediate surroundings, going beyond mere academic study. I particularly looked forward to these environmental studies classes, and as a class project, we proposed and implemented improvements to the school flower beds and the trash disposal area.
The reason for improving the flower beds was that, after learning about our birth flowers and their meanings in class, we wanted to plant flowers ourselves; the trash disposal area needed to be managed more hygienically. At the time, the school flower beds were too small and needed to be expanded, so our class began the work of expanding the flower beds by building a fence, filling it with soil, and laying stones. After creating the flower bed, we practiced proper waste disposal and recycling to reduce air pollution in the surrounding area.
The existing trash disposal area was poorly managed, with food waste and milk cartons discarded haphazardly. So, we arranged the trash cans properly and participated directly in the recycling process, solving the problems one by one. As a result, soil contamination in the flower bed and air pollution in the surrounding area improved, allowing us to plant flowers just as we had hoped. Each of us decided to prepare and plant seeds of the birth flowers we had looked up based on our birthdates during environmental studies class. I purchased seeds, planted them, and set up signs with the meanings of the flowers.
The flower bed was filled with seeds planted by my classmates, resulting in 35 signs, and we were able to observe the flowers growing as time passed.
The flowers we planted in the spring sprouted and bloomed over the course of the semester, and we documented the flowers in full bloom during the summer. In August and early September, we picked some of the blooming flowers and, under the guidance of our environmental studies teacher, made dried flowers to prevent them from spoiling or fading. We then pressed them between sheets of paper to create flower bookmarks. Since we created these items entirely by hand from start to finish, it felt even more rewarding.
Examples of Practicing Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation: Stream Water Quality Improvement Activities
Impressed by our class-level environmental activities during my first year of high school, I participated in group activities to improve stream water quality through Saturday experiential programs during my second year. Since this activity was open to applicants from the entire school, there were many students I had never met before, but as we worked together, we gradually became one and formed a strong bond. First, to directly verify the current state of water pollution and usage of the stream, we conducted site visits and took photographs to identify the issues.
To publicize the problems we discovered, we created presentation materials and had each group present the data they had collected so that everyone could understand the situation. After recognizing the issues, we reorganized our teams to address environmental problems, continuously rotating our activity groups to maintain cooperation and build camaraderie. Our activities began with regular visits to the stream to pick up trash.
The most critical task was tackling household waste; since there had been an incident where mallards died after eating trash floating on the water, trash collection was essential for the stability of the ecosystem. We collected a certain amount of trash and disposed of it at an incineration facility, while documenting trash that posed serious problems through photographs to preserve as evidence. We compiled the collected data and reported it to the local district office, which led to tangible results, such as the dispatch of a dedicated environmental improvement task force.
In particular, we were able to conduct more productive activities by collecting water samples from the Gulpo and Anyang Streams—our primary areas of operation—and analyzing water quality by measuring dissolved oxygen levels, biochemical oxygen demand, and suspended solids. Through this process, we learned how to collaborate with others and developed a sense of responsibility. Furthermore, by identifying problems, proposing solutions, and putting them into practice, we gained a deep appreciation for the importance of taking action.
