My Acceptance to ASU ? ASU Student Diaries

This story could be a long one?..so bear with me guys. There were two parts to it.
First, it all begins with Senior Project (SP).
Senior year of high school, oh boy, I can tell you the story about all that.

Bravely or ignorantly, I decided to work on writing a book for my SP.
SP was a lot of?commitment, including writing a 10 pages research paper, creating a product, and giving a speech/ presentation. The topic of SP was?absolutely?free of choice! Guess what I topic I picked?
?How to write a best-selling novel??

My First Novel

*Yeah most of you would ask me- why do I pick that topic? It?s so vague and it?s so much work. Tell you what, I asked myself that?sometimes?and even now I still can?t find the answer for it.*

Again, I?m a person with my words. Once I set up my mind to do something, I?ll give out all I got. Writing a book was something I really wanted to go back on my words. In the end, I spent a total about 135 hours on creating this book as my product when the requirement was only 15 hours. Still, even with my horrific grammar and punctuation, I couldn?t describe to you how much I love writing. I printed out my manuscript and printed and tape-bind at Fedex Kinkos. I even tried to sell it at school to my peers and family members. Nevertheless, I ended up only selling 5 copies.
Okay, now let me explain one of the two reasons why I got accepted to this school. My connection with ASU begins with SP, because my former mentor was the Program Coordinator, Mrs. Arlene Schler. I knew her back when I was a junior in high school, taking a SAT Prep. at ASU over the summer. (Of course, my SAT score still sucked big time because I just couldn?t speak English right.) She was very helpful in editing my story, revising, and?slowly draws out?the story line with me.
I met with her at ?the Columbia County Library every other Sunday. We would discuss my novel, and she would give me helpful advice and inspiration. However, not only was she a savior of my book, she was also the reason why I am here today.
Knowing my potential?outside?standardized?testing, Mrs. Schler visited the admission office a few times to check on my status and to recommend related personals about my qualities.

Mrs. Schler and Me

The late winter of 2009 was almost never-ending nightmare. Back then, I know for sure that if I don?t enter a university in America, I would have to go back to Taiwan, possibly working in a lower class job for the rest of my life. I was definitely not suited for the education back in NEHS- I cannot go back, they won?t take me.
Mrs. Schler has constantly kept her hands in prayer with me.

The second part to my acceptance to ASU was my- never going back on my words attitude.
Yes, I do admit that I?m a very forgetful person, possibly with ADD. Nevertheless, I work hard as much as I can, even if that means getting a kidney?failure. At the same time, I am fearless whither if it?s because I?m brave or I?m ignorant. Never was I afraid to ask, and never was I afraid to answer.

Instead of describing to you about what I did, I?ll just paste this email I sent to the admission office back on?Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 11:41 PM.

To Whom It May Concern:

This is Si-Long Chen.??I am currently an applicant of Augusta State University.??Recently, I have submitted my application online.??Nevertheless, I still want to provide you with more information about myself for you to further understand me as an individual applicant since there were neither essay sections nor short answer sections on your application.??And thus, I decide to send you this e-mail to offer you a clearer picture of me.

?On July 27th, 2006, my sister and I, with barely any English ability arrived in the United States for a higher education as international transfer students.??After leaving Taiwan, I began to explore myself through the art of creative writing.??I started my first story,?The Oranska?in October 2006 as a sophomore and completed it in spring 2007.??The Oranska?was a Chinese fantasy novel with 50 chapters, carrying more than two hundred pages.??After my first novel in Chinese, I challenged myself to write more stories in English, while all the other international transfer students were still struggling with basic English grammar and spelling.??Throughout high school years in the United State, I have completed several short stories and poems.

In my senior year of high school, I chose creative writing as my topic for my senior project.??I am currently working on my product, a forty pages English story,?The Heavenly Bird.??As unique as this story by itself,?The Heavenly Bird?is actually just one of the sections of my other long novel,?The War of the World?s End.??As my mentor, my SAT prep teacher, listened and understood what would take place in the novel, she said that?The War of the World?s End?is a novel that has a grand story line as Tolken?s?The Lord of the Ring.??Being able to create and actually write out such a huge story is not an ordinary task that any other international transfer students or even the Native speakers at my age posses.???

Besides writing, I am also very talented in drawing.??Starting when I was still in the ESOL (English to Speaker as Other Language) program, I have held the president position of Japanese Comic Club for 2 years in high school on top of other positions in SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and National Art Honor Society.??My creativity improves, as I further explore my mind of imagination.?You can see my drawings from this link: http://foxsilong.deviantart.com/

I have started up with pretty much no English when I first arrived in the United States.??However, as I keep on challenge myself, with just two and a half years of English training, I am now able to compose long English novels compiled more than forty pages.??As you can tell, this is a task that is even hard for the native speakers.??Not wanting to further sell myself, I just want to let you know that, I may not prove to be a strong applicant through the application and all the standardized tests that are required by your school; however, I am unique as an individual with a fast learning skill and a creative mind.??I know I will succeed in Augusta State University.

Sincerely,
Si-Long Chen

On?Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 9:03 AM, my mentor sent me an email.

My Love for Writing

Dear Si Long,

I called the Admissions director for International students here at ASU
yesterday. ?She says?you?should check your ASU account for updates on
your admission. ?You?will?be?pleased.

Arlene Schler

Now you have heard the story of how I got into this school.
Every school I applied to has denied me by looking at my SAT scores. At that misery period of my life, when I saw the acceptance letter, tears of joy soaked my eyes. I felt that I was needed on this world for a purpose, and I felt that there are people who want me as who I am.

I couldn?t describe to you how much thank I have in Augusta State University and Mrs. Schler. Without her constant visits at the admission office, I probably wouldn?t be able to be accepted.

Thank you ASU, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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