"Who are you?" was the first question I heard from the group of young students I was about to teach for the next two years. This simple question was difficult to answer; it made me consider my ambition, identity, and life purpose. But I knew that the student merely wanted me to introduce myself, so I explained that I would be their mentor to help them become more proficient in German. After over one million refugees have entered Germany, the...

My heart raced as I took the first step on the flagstone floor of my new school’s campus. I was about to spend time abroad in the US for the second semester of both my freshman and sophomore years, and I was fully aware of all the challenges that came. It was probably going to be difficult attending a different school in the middle of the year with everyone already having made friends and cliques. Additionally, attending only second...

Over one million refugees live in Germany, and their inability to speak the German language is usually the biggest barrier to integrate successfully into society. So I enrolled in a program as a volunteer teaching assistant to help immigrants acquire German language skills and cultural knowledge. I mainly helped refugees and immigrants improve their vocabulary and grammar. We read short stories together, and I led class discussions. But teaching proved more challenging than I expected. Many students were reluctant to...

I took advantage of a historical excursion to Verdun because I saw it as an opportunity to learn more about Verdun’s role in the relationship between France and Germany during and after World War I. I visited important historical landmarks along with 17 other classmates to learn more about Verdun during WWI. Verdun is known as a symbol for France’s endurance and resilience against the Germans, although the entire battle itself was pointless. Seeing the remains of unidentified soldiers,...

Psychology has inspired me to conduct research on personality development outside of the classroom. In 9th grade I observed something shocking and interesting at the same time. At the subway station, I saw a lady from about 50m away, struggling to walk up the stairs with a stroller and a baby because the escalator was broken. She was clearly overwhelmed and many of the passerby gave her some curious gazes, but all chose to ignore and not assist her. After...

“The train to Sindorf is approaching!” “Be careful of pick pockets!” — blaring announcements that nobody seemed to listen to, homeless people searching trash bins for deposit bottles, and strangers knocking into me. Apart from these frantic scenes at the subway station on my way to school, a new announcement added to my irritation: “Escalator under maintenance — please use the stairs.” Despite the rush hour’s sensory overload, I noticed something unusual on the worn, narrow stairs, something both interesting and...

Everything depends on light and water. If Olive Garden were to truly provide unlimited food, such as breadsticks, soup, and salad, the availability of the unlimited food would depend on these two integral resources. Bread’s made up of wheat, which is produced by plants; salad comes from vegetables which are also parts of plants. Since plants can always regrow, there can theoretically be an infinite number of plants. However, plants depend on the sun and water to grow. Plants...

One day, I noticed something unusual at the subway station: a lady struggling to climb the stairs with a stroller and baby. Many passersby glanced over but gave no assistance. After I offered to help her, I thought about what I'd seen on my way to school. Was society this heartless? I started considering theories to explain the passersby’s behavior. Maybe they were afraid to do something wrong–after all, there was a baby involved. Driven by my curiosity,...