While many young adults experience the death of a family member or the divorce of their parents during their lifetime, my challenge was adapting and finding a balance between two extremely varied, but very similar cultures – the spontaneous “live today, think about tomorrow” mentality of America and the “work harder than you did yesterday” mentality of Russia. My cultural imbalance happened at an early age with the divorce of my parents, the “separation of two cultures” as I like to...

Although the United States of America was essentially founded on the principle of being rebellious in the face of religious freedom from England, there is more to that story that has evolved over the years since its founding. Even though America gets the run around for being a nation “too open for comfort”, people around the world have to agree that America is “a land of opportunities just waiting to be harvested.” Whether it be education for the oppressed, freedom...

Often times it is difficult to find a fun and exciting, yet inclusive, way to bring people together. This task is made even more difficult when we try to bring various age groups together. However, nothing speaks louder than food – an act that everyone can get together on, whether you are the cooker, the eater, or the commenter. However, not every food is created or gobbled up equally, so when we ponder on how to bring people together for the...

Throughout my life and my experience in school, the concept of the American Dream has been brought up many times whether it was in the book "The Great Gatsby" that my English Literature class read in 12th grade or the time when my third grade teacher first spoke to us about what the American Dream meant for us. In the above essay, I discuss that the American Dream should not be a singular outlook at fame or the pursuit of...

During my 4 years of high school and even now that I have entered college, I continue to apply for scholarships because THIS IS FREE MONEY! If you want to ensure yourself a worry-free and laid-back college experience, take care of your finances first. Scholarships are an answer from heaven and even if you don't win half of the scholarships you applied for - KEEP APPLYING! I can't stress that enough! There are literally thousands of scholarships out there...

I recommend engaging in as many activities over the summer as possible! I live by the quote "knowledge is power" and I believe anything you dedicate yourself to learning or experiencing will give you the knowledge you need to help yourself and others around you! Don't let those brain cells go to waste over the summer. If you're the nerdy type, like me, research about your courses that you will be taking next year and maybe even start doing some practice lessons and reviewing some of the important information online. YouTube is a great source for that! Also, maybe start...

Each and every student benefits the school that they attend because each and every one of these students take advantage of a free education to better their lives. High school and undergraduate students would benefit even more than that by creating an atmosphere of unity, respect, and persistence by increasingly contributing their varied talents to our many clubs and sports that my college is recognized for. That is why if I had the authority to change my college in a positive way, I would make sure that every student participated in some form of after school activity, whether receiving tutoring,...

There's "the good, the bad, and the ugly" about every college - from Harvard to the University of Virginia. However, there is definitely more of "the good" at UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas). I'm so glad I chose UNLV...

I love that UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas) is located not only in my state, but also in my city. It's only a 30 minute drive from my home, which is absolutely wonderful! However, many might think differently about going to college in their own state, not to mention their own city. Everyone wants to get as far away as possible from the environment, friends, and neighbors they...