Task 1

College essay
Word count: 645 words

Prompt: Discuss an accomplishment, event or realization that sparked a period of personal

growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Essay

I sat on the crowded bus staring out the window with my earphones in as my friends and I made
our way to the biggest event the UAE has seen. The music lulled through my head as I laid to
rest on the shaky window. Thoughts raced through my mind about what it would be like standing
in a miniature version of the entire world, every culture, religion, and nation all compacted in a
few meters of land. The idea that thousands of people were headed to the same place filled my
mind with curiosity. What was so special? Why are people from across the world gathering
here? Waiting in hour-long queues, seemed absurd to me.

“SKRRT” the bus halts. We made it, flags of all nations surrounded the place, pulsating with the
wind in a sort of rhythm. It was as though they were all in harmony. Thousands of people from
all across the world were here. Every single race, religion, and nationality you could think of had
been or was here at this current moment.

We entered the expo and were greeted by a wonderful woman from Vietnam who was
volunteering for the expo. Her face lit up from the moment I set my eyes on her, it intrigued me
how she could smile while she stood outside in the scorching sun. Surely it had to be something
else right? I asked her how she was managing the heat, and to my surprise, she let out a laugh,
one that echoed joy and blissful happiness, she replied “I meet wonderful people from around
the world, my mind forgets about the heat”. Surely this was a lie they made every employee say
I thought.

We journeyed through the expo, from country to country. While I admired the different cultures
and the people that shared them it was only when the fireworks would go off would I understand
the true meaning of humanity. We sat on a bench talking about our favorite pavilions till the sky
was engulfed in midnight blue. People started rushing into the common area, finding places to
sit. People from every pavilion, employees, and staff. The first one projectiles into the sky and
blasts a color of orange. “WOOOH” I hear laughter and smiles echo across. It was at this point
that I decided to stop watching the fireworks and watch the fireworks through the people around
me. For this precious moment in time, we were all human beings watching the beauty of our
creations. We were not the money in our bank accounts or the countries we came from, we
were merely human beings enjoying fireworks. It seemed as if all the problems of humanity had
disappeared in this instance of joy.

The fireworks lit up the sky with artificial rainbow-like colors in patterns as children laughed,
people took pictures and stared in awe. It was at this moment I realized that we are all the
same, regardless of who we are on the outside, on the inside we are all human beings
adventuring through this strange phenomenon we call life. We were all moving in harmony just
like those flags outside regardless of our color we moved to the same harmony. Watching how
we had all come together and enjoyed a moment of happiness as human beings and not the
monetary or superficial badges we carry on the outside world was truly inspiring. It gave me a
better perception of people and taught me that no matter what, at the end of the day we are all
human and our superficial attributes do not make us any different from the next person. This
moment taught me to view the world differently and to look at every person in their truest form,
regardless of the masks of society that they may wear. We are all human, we are all equal.