♥ M y P e t i t e L i f e

♥ Thursday, April 30, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

A TRAVESTY

... happened today (or last night, depending on where you are) on the Idol stage. You know, i should have known better, watching a show controlled by money-obsessed producers and the flickering voting public identified as "middle America". But there was a MOMENT there when i abandoned my cynical self and trusted that people, at least enough people, would appreciate a technically perfect vocal showing and captivating stage performance. Clearly i was wrong and count me back in the life-hating camp.

Okay that was overly dramatic. But you can be damn sure that my full suit of cynicism is back on.

But God I'm so sad... I can't believe how sad I am. I've never been so emotionally invested in any TV crap like this before. I've slept, I've eaten, i've taken walks and talked to people, and yet whenever flashes of last night's disastrous results show came to my mind, I'm sad! I need to stop making this personal, but i think its too late now.

You know, now i think Adam going home early mayn't be such a bad idea, because at the very least I can get my life back. I don't think i'm going to fare very well if this emotional roller-coaster continues. I don't think i can deal with all the haters who have found new reasons to dump on him: "He's arrogant and pretentious! How could he dare to pick a side! Who does he think he is!", among others. *For people unfamiliar with this TV show, i'm guessing that's all five of you reading this blog, they divided the 4 remaining contenders in two groups, with Adam in the middle, and asked him to choose which group he thought he belonged. He chose one group, and was told it was the wrong one, and that the other group, including him, was the bottom 3 of the week. Now this crap has been like a tradition since season 3 - i know this because of the internet, this is the first and probably last time i bother with this BS - and everyone chose a side, except Melinda Doolittle and David Archuleta, who sat down in the middle of the stage and refused to pick a side.

For one thing, I'm GLAD that he picked a side and prevented some unnecessary (and lame) drama to unfold on that stage. Of course he picked the side that he thought was safe. We ALL know that Matt is a goner, and i'd get mightily pissed off if he chose Matt's side. Who wants to root for a guy who doesn't think that he's in it to win it? Was anyone honestly surprised that he thought he was safe? Just take a look around the internet. Yesterday the press LOVED his Feeling Good performance (90% of the news articles ranked his performance as best of the freaking night), the judges loved it, so any reasonable person would have thought that at the very least, he should have scraped by at #3 out of 5 people, making him a part of the "top 3" group. I don't know why people are making such a huge deal out of this. Taylor Hicks, Constantine, George Huff ALL picked a side! I applaud them for at least having the audacity to give an honest answer to a straightforward question. For anyone who's compared him with Archuleta, well Adam Lambert is no sweet innocent 17 yr-old Archie, so why must he follow that act? Something tells me that if Adam had pulled an Archie, people would have come out and said that he was "pretentious" and "fake" all the same, but for different reasons.

For another, I don't know how people give themselves the right to bash the integrity and personality of other people, people they barely know. I'm not a fan of, say, Kris' or Anoop's music and performances, but do i make judgment like "he's arrogant" or whatever based on the five minutes that i see them on national television a week? No. (Okay i'm guilty of making fun of Anoop's eyebrows and Kris' parallelogram mouth. But that wasn't in mean spirits. I did the same with Adam's double chin.) I have every respect for them as persons, so reading comments by people attacking Adam's personality in really mean ways just makes me really sad and a little angry that the viewers at home actually have that holier-than-thou attitude. That said, i always think of myself as having pretty good instincts when it comes to people, and i have seen nothing but extremely positive vibes from Adam. I see a guy who's honest, comfortable in his own skin, confident but not conceited, friendly and genuine. I don't know how and why people could make up their mind about his mythical "arrogance" just because he refused to sit on the floor.

I've read all the conspiracies to make myself feel better ("the producers planned it to boost ratings!" and the likes). I've read all the counter-conspiracies to keep it real. I've looked at all the boards and comments sections of news websites and blogs like this one, and here's what I think.

Is it POSSIBLE that Adam was in B2? Yes. Complacency is a problem. Vote splitting is a problem. I'm guilty of the former myself and many of my friends have "confessed" to the same thing. I had this crazy thought in my mind that no way in hell he was in danger, so i let my mind wander and got distracted while i could have tossed in tens of votes more. Is it also possible that while Adam's fans got comfortable and complacent, other fanbases got riled up because of the lukewarm comments from Simon, and because of the perceived notion that Adam fans were voting like rabid dogs and we must out-vote them? Again, yes. Objectively speaking, was last night's performance flawless? Not really. I'm not a big fan of the middle portion, and the fact that the judges' comments weren't as gushy as usual might have cost him votes. And on a night that everyone gave technically competitive performances to rave reviews from most of the judges, the outcome would have been a lot less predictable than we (and like the entire media) thought it would. Except for Matt's overdue departure.

Is it POSSIBLE that he wasn't? Yes. But you know, conspiracy theories are just that. Baseless and emotionally charged. And i've never been one to give them much credibility. After all, Daughtry and JHud DID get booted and Hicks DID win. What i know now is that Seacrest kept screaming in my ears, "This is your bottom 3, America", and then "This is your bottom 2." And it hurts.

God Adam, what have you done to me? I don't even have the energy to argue with the haters individually anymore. I just have this intense feeling of guilt and sadness and disappointment that probably won't go away too soon. As if my life isn't messed up as it is with a heartbreaking decision to make and fucking deadlines to meet, now i have a guy who's half way around the globe, and who has no tangible link to me whatsoever, to worry about.

You know what i think the problem is, the PANTS. That came out all sort of wrong, but usually on results nights Adam always has on form fitting jeans that are like really hot? But last night he wore this pair of loose pants and black fabric jacket that made me cringe. I was like, WTF are you wearing Adam? Even the jacket was off because normally its like a leather thing that's drool worthy. Normally he looks drool-worthy and last night he looked sorta cringe-worthy. Still hot, but not as hot as he could be. So that could be why he lost his mojo. All i can say is fire the damn stylist and hire me!

Labels: Fuck my life, People I love

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/30/2009 10:11:00 AM

2 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Wednesday, April 22, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

The Boyle Brouhaha

You've heard about it, the story about the 47-year-old woman who has never been kissed and lives with a cat but has "the voice of an angel", to quote quite a fair number of folks. Links to her Youtube videos have been flooding my Facebook homepage (and some other public forums I frequented) for at least a week now and show no sign of losing momentum. To me, the whole saga has been way over the top and, frankly, a little pretentious.

I hate to be the cynic here, but honestly, she just isn't that good. She's good, but she's not great. People who said that Susan Boyle's voice is the best and "most unique" they've ever known simply haven't heard of the word "opera" before. Her talent would only seem extraordinary if you've already discounted her the minute she walks on stage with bushy hair and eyebrows that threaten to take over the world. To put it simply, it's a matter of expectation. Some of you would expect her to fall on her face, enjoy her 15 seconds of international ridicule, get eaten alive by Lord Cowell and slip forever into oblivion, so when she delivered something decent, you jumped out of your seat and thought that you'd seen an angel. But a few days later, the initial hysteria is dead, and you're left with a decent voice, but nowhere near as heavenly as you had made it out to be, and definitely not versatile. She can have a career that mirrors Charlotte Church before all the scandals, or become an inspirational speaker (i doubt this though, judging from her pre-performance interviews), but even then I don't think her viability on the music market can match, let alone surpass, some of the more competent Idol wannabes like Allison Iraheta or even Danny Gokey.

I get the feeling that a lot of people are jumping on the Susan Boyle bandwagon just because it makes them feel good or, shall i say, morally superior to endorse a human being that would supposedly be looked down upon and made fun of in this appearance-obsessed world. It's not exactly identical to Scott MacIntyre surviving on American Idol until the Top 9 on sympathy votes, but it's very similar. It makes some people feel good to vote for someone less fortunate in life than they are, even though as far as talent is concerned, Scott shouldn't have made it past Hollywood Week. The further he went in the competition, the more patronizing the whole thing seemed to me, and apparently, the more conceited Scott became, because in a post-Idol boot interview, he was adamant that he was talented enough to make the top 5. Oh Scott... Back to Boyle, what's more annoying than the heightened sense of condescension one gets from the public reaction towards her is the hypocrisy that the Boyle supporters seem to throw in the direction of non-fans. It's all well and good to cheer and wave the Boyle banner, but if someone happens to criticize her voice or express something less than enthusiasm for her, all of a sudden she's the shallow bitch who disses an ugly and fat woman. It's almost like that time not many months ago when anyone who wasn't madly in love with Obama was a "racist". Either way, i'm the bad girl. Actually, i don't think the entertainment industry is THAT obsessed with appearance. Many have earned fame and success without the special aid of looks. (I wouldn't call those track pants and singlet-wearing hip hop singers good looking, but that might just be me) Opera singers in particular aren't all that good looking. Pavarotti, anyone? How about Queen Latifah? Sure, beauty is rewarded somewhat, but at the end of the day, i'm listening to you on my iPod and i could not care less what you look like in real life. Speaking of which, i still have no idea what Jason Mraz looks like. Sorry for being such a late-bloomer, but at this point there's only one singer's face (and something else) that matters to me, and it's obviously Adam Lambert's.

When i first heard of Susan Boyle, the first thought that ran through my mind was, why did this woman wait until she's 47 to come out and show the world her talent? I don't think her look, which i don't find all that outrageously hideous by the way, most ladies her age i know look like that, will hurt her that much (oh come on, 1970s/1980s was the era of crazy hair and fashion style, think Bee Gees and Weather Girls). But even if in the 1% chance that it is a factor that might compromise her marketability, it can be easily "fixed". I'm starting to think this might be a clever marketing ploy by Simon Cowell. Like, wow the market is so saturated with PYTs right now, let's throw in an oddball and make millions. If he is to market her straight up as a singer, I don't think many will buy it, so you have the carefully edited TV drama: the buildup, the Simon swooning, the contrast of the audience's reaction before and after her performance. It's all part of a carefully crafted plan. It's working, by the way. I'm excited to see where this whole deal is going. My guess is one multiple platinum debut album for Boyle, a retirement from the pop music scene and a career (permanent or shortlived) in opera, which is probably what she's destined to do anyway.

For one last time, she's NOT that ugly people!
She looks like a normal middle-aged woman to me.

In fact, i think she looks a little like my aunt...

A Google search yields over four million variations of the same photo. Seriously, i didn't know people can get this hysterical.

Labels: Writing

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/22/2009 03:46:00 AM

14 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Tuesday, April 21, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

If I Can't Have You :)

ADAM'S PERFORMANCE TODAY! :D I couldn't resist, sorry.

The Disco original (Feel free to skip this, but watching it will show you how original and creative Adam is)

Adam Lambert's version:

Credit: Rickey.org

Labels: People I love

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/21/2009 09:10:00 PM

0 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥

My Petite Life ♥

Haha xD

This picture is way too funny that I have to put it up! Sorry this blog is turning into an Adam Lambert appreciation blog... Lol Idol is going into its final month and you've got to excuse me and my fangirly nature :P

Credit: daraman, Official American Idol Forums

Something else worth watching :)

Labels: Funny things i picked up on the net

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/21/2009 01:10:00 AM

0 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Friday, April 17, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

The Real Adam

Ohmigosh! This is the most touching thing i've read in a very very long time.

From the LATimes, "Backstage with the top 7" (Of course i'm just quoting the Adam-related parts. Who are the rest again? :P)

Lambert, who named “getting enough rest” as the greatest challenge of his Idol journey, said all the contestants “get tired when we're doing this much singing and practicing – and just mentally too. It's just draining. If we have the random day off here or there, or even just a couple of hours off, it's really hard to not just zone out and kind of veg out and try to focus yourself in. When I get to the house I'm not quite as social because it's like the one place that I feel like I can be quiet and relax. I'll put my headphones on or do the steam room, just chill. That's the most important part of being home for me.”

On learning to deal with harsh comments, which Lambert admits he has seen while surfing the Internet, he said, “About the judgment and the criticism, personally I've been made fun of my whole life. So I just kind of go, 'OK. Smile and nod.' To me I know I've figured out how to not take it too personally, and I think that we're all kind of figuring that out.”

Lambert [...] seems much more soft-spoken and vulnerable than his fearless, wild, stage persona, giving off a much gentler self-assurance than his bold strokes on stage suggest. He continued on his methods of dealing with the critics, “You just put your force field up. It's kind of mind over matter. It comes with the territory. That's the biggest thing to walk away from this with. We want to be artists. We want to be successful. We want to [be] known for what we do. What comes with that is just as much adoration and love coming at us, there's also going to be criticism and dislike and ridicule. That just comes with the territory.”

Lambert who comes off as incredibly thoughtful about planning his performances also discussed how he has put together his wildly successful line-up of songs and used that to pace himself in the competition. “My personal strategy with the week to week thing, because I know I've felt like, 'Oh, I know I did well this week and so I'm setting the bar higher. How am I going to top that?' Basically my strategy is to kind of structure it almost like a set list in a show, to one week kind of do this and then the next week kind of have something that contrasts with that so that I don't become a one-trick pony. Now I'm just a two-trick pony. Up and down, up and down. It's funny. Actually, that was my strategy going into this and then when David Cook came in to perform here, he came in and was just chatting with us and he described his experience in the same way. He said, 'I tried to set it up like a set list.' I was like, 'Oh, cool. Right on. Very cool.' "

Rooting for a contestant on a lame quasi-reality TV show half way across the globe never felt this good. Hey, even Christina Applegate admitted her fangirl nature on Jimmy Kimmel last night! (she voted about 50 times for Adam on her cellphone lol).

The very thought of little Adam getting bullied and called names for who he is is both heartbreaking and infuriating. High school can be so cruel. Kids can be so very cruel. Come to think of it, he was a freckled, chubby, gay theater nerd - the very stereotypical receiving end of ridicule. He's talked about being different, "not fitting in" and not being "popular" in school on various occasions, and said he wants to be on the show as a role model for those kids who think they're weird or different, to show them that they can do something with their life. To quote Grey's Anatomy's George O'Malley, "High school sucks for anyone who is the least bit different. But then there's college, and then out in the real world, you're going to find where you belong." One of my most favorite TV quotes of all time, it's doubly moving because it comes from T.R Knight, who, i suspect, was somewhat speaking for himself as well, and whose portrayal of a vulnerable O'Malley, with puppy eyes and tousled curly hair, makes him the one person in the whole show who could say this line with conviction, and touch the viewers' hearts with his words. I'm glad Adam found where he belongs in the world. I'm glad the cruelty he was subject to as a teenager didn't turn him into a hateful, bitter young man. I'm glad he's finally at a place where he knows who he is, is entirely comfortable in his own skin, and very much loved. I hope from here on in, the whole world will be able to appreciate his tremendous talent and admire his wonderful personality.

Labels: People I love

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/17/2009 10:59:00 PM

1 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Wednesday, April 15, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

I don't know how to title this post...

The Adam Corner: (I've got to talk about him and you could totally see it coming :P)

Here are some interesting internet articles about Adam i've picked up today.

From the LA Times:

Could the cultural chasm that has divided Idol Nation have been any more starkly demonstrated than it was by our two main combatants tonight; on the one hand, representing the left side of the culture wars was Adam Lambert -- swooshed around the stage backed by explosions of electricrity to the free-living anthem from cinema’s greatest homage to the 1960’s drug culture. On the other hand, Danny Gokey, lit in golden light, sang a tender Top 40’s ballad from one of the 1980’s most overwrought star vehicles -- and backed by a harp.

If the unofficial Idol's prediction site is to be believed, middle America chose Gokey the Dead Wife Pimper to be their favorite over my darling Adam. This guy has got a comfortable lead in votes above everyone else in almost every week even when he gave mediocre, overbaked performances, which is all the time IMO. I don't get all these "heartfelt" qualities the judges think his performances exude. Sure, the guy's wife died (and he made damn sure that we know it week after week), but his shoving that fact in my face doesn't mean that i'm gonna automatically be touched by his songs. He's supposed to move me with his singing, not his talking about what the song means to him before the song even starts or after its over. If i can't get that watching him, he's failed majorly as a singer. But I'm increasingly finding DialIdol dubious. It puts ALL of the seven contestants in danger of hitting the bottom three this week. I can "predict" better than that! And that's saying a lot considering i've never had much luck as a crystal ball reader or fortune teller. I always end up choosing the wrong answer option out of the two left on the SAT tests... Back to the topic, damn i'm pissed off that Gokey seems unequivocally THE frontrunner of the season, The Chosen One for one of those two coveted spots in the finale. Who's voting for this guy? His singing is pitchy and flat at times, and his dancing is just downright ridiculous. Somebody wipe him off the stage please! While you do that, please wipe that annoying smirk off his face too.

From SportingNews, a fascinating analogy between Adam and some of the greatest sportsmen of all time. See, even sports magazine loves Adam.

[...] There are other decent contestants sharing the stage with Lambert this season, but they are mired in that customary Idol middle class of being the best karaoke singers on the block. They feel as a group like the rest of the NBA chasing [Michael] Jordan in the 90’s. They’re all very good, and he is great, and there’s nothing they can do about it but vie for second best.
I’m also reminded of Roger Federer at his most dominant when I watch Lambert do his thing, in the way that Federer was not only a visionary tennis player, but he also was pretty much the best player on the court in every technical facet of the game. There simply were no holes in the guy’s arsenal. Likewise, not only is Adam Lambert the most (actually, only) visionary artist on this season of Idol (or any other season, in my opinion -- Carrie Underwood is talented, but “visionary” is not the word that leaps to mind when describing her) but he’s also far and away the best technical singer on the show. Seriously, the other contestants must hate him.

As it stands right now, Idol is down to the final eight contestants, and another one bites the dust tonight. As far as I’m concerned, they could just give the trophy to Lambert right now and I wouldn’t protest. It’s like [Mike] Tyson fighting Pinklon Thomas in ’87. The ref could step in stop it whenever he felt like it, because it was over before it started.

Then again, as a fight fan, I’ve seen some woeful judging in my lifetime. Is it possible that some wiles of the teeny-bopper masses who actually go to the trouble of voting in American Idol could somehow keep Lambert from winning it all? If that happens, it will be the biggest miscarriage of justice since Pernell Whitaker’s complete mastery of Julio Cesar Chavez somehow earned him only a draw on the scorecards.

Not that it matters. Lambert is already a phenomenon, and he could get voted off tonight and still go on to a lucrative career. Myself, I think they should just release that version of "Tracks of My Tears” right now -- it’s already the song of the year. And I’m sure he’s got a few more up his ruffled sleeve. At this point, in the same way that we watched the Bulls in the '90s and the Oilers in the '80s, in the same way that we just had to see every Tyson fight in his prime, we watch Idol now just to see what Adam Lambert is going to do next.

For someone who's admitted his aversion to sports, which was in turn confirmed by his adorable father, on national television, it's pretty amusing/funny/lovely to see a sports writer gush about him.

From MJ's blog :

In response to this: "Simon is right about personal likability being important, especially when it comes to the final two or three when everyone is talented, and it’s hard to really like someone you don’t really know. Adam has been behind a theater mask all season; even with Mad World he was hiding in that light. They may find him interesting but does the average Idol voter care enough about him personally to vote for him to win it all?", Buderschnookie wrote:

Are you kidding?
Do I care about him personally?

I want nothing but happiness and rainbows and success for Adam in whatever manner he desires it.
So yes, I do care to a remarkable degree.

I don’t feel as if he has hidden himself in the least- IMO he is the most emotionally exposed contestant there when you are speaking on a personal level. When he speaks I know this guy- between the confessionals and the interviews and his history I feel as if I know him quite well.

On a professional level he offers such a variety of selves that it is impossible to know what he is going to pull out of his hat next. I don’t find that to be hiding at all- a performance is supposed to be a performance!, not an expositional poetry reading, although I am certain he could do that as well, and will when the time is right.
I guess I am saying that he is multi-dimensional and that I prefer that type of performance to johnny one note, angsty, explorations of someone’s personal psyche.

He has lots more to surprise us with when it is down to the wire and more intimacy is called for- He hasn’t watched seven seasons of this for nothing and knows to keep something in the wings for when the going gets tough.

Adam on this show is like a roller coaster ride in the neighborhood kiddie playground- totally unexpected but a delight to have stumbled across.
He is fun.
He performs.
He entertains the hell out of me.

And then when it is over he turns back into a real person that I can 100% respect on a personal level- how cool is that!

Can't say it better! Moral of the story is, you do find good writings in the most unexpected corners of the internet.

If you want to hear Adam's talking voice and giggle, click here :P He's critiquing himself and being very adorable!

Michelle's Corner:

To all the strangers who asked me for my essays: I doubt i'll ever give them to you. For one thing, I don't know you, and you didn't make that task any easier by writing three lines like "Hey, i've heard of you via ___. I really admire you. Can i have your essays?" in your emails. For another, my essays are extremely personal, the kind that people wouldn't want to get circulated. In fact, I believe only a couple of people whom I really admire and trust have them because i asked for their opinions when i was applying. If you want samples of successful college application essays, there are literally tons of them in prints or on the internet. Just do a simple google search and i believe you can find them. I've also had some experiences of giving my writings to others and having such nice gestures come back and bite me in the ass. Getting ripped off doesn't feel good, and let's be frank, plagiarism IS prevalent in the Vietnamese culture, from the pop music scene to classrooms. I, however, am most willing to proofread your essays (be them SAT, TOEFL, or application essays) if you want me to. I've benefited tremendously from my wonderful proofreaders last year and i'd love to pay if forward. So just drop me an email whenever you want. However, please keep in mind that i might not get back to you immediately (because i'm lazy, and there might be other things that occupy my mind, like hot talented (albeit eternally unavailable) dudes), so be nice and don't keep pestering me for a reply, unless it's urgent, in which case you should indicate clearly in your first email.

To the people who asked for my applying experience: I can't possibly respond to you individually, and since you all asked the same questions, I think it's best if I write on this blog so that you can all read for yourself. Don't expect a fixed date for those entries to become available though, because if there's anything you should know about me, it's that i'm spontaneous, disorganized and do things on a whim. I'm definitely not going to answer painfully basic questions like "How do i use the Common Application?", because honey, do your own research, please. There are VietAbroader (for the Vietnamese), Wikipedia and Google, where you can find the answers to such questions within three minutes. If you think that you can just sit around and get spoon-fed with information, you're sorely mistaken. Don't come to me because you can't understand online resources because they're in English either. I'm not your English tutor. And if by now you can't comprehend written English and don't even want to try, then I advise you to seriously re-evaluate your plan to study abroad. How are you going to survive college which is, after all, about higher education?

On a happy but totally random note, I wore my Yale 2013 t-shirt the other day and when i was waiting for my mom after German, some tourist guy (who's American, as I soon learned) approached me and asked if I was a Yalie. I said not yet, and i wasn't sure if i was going to be one since I've got a few colleges to choose from and they were all looking great right then. He ended up offering to buy me a drink (non-alcoholic, of course) and share with me his experiences at Yale. How cool is that? :D All the Yalies i've known and talked to are way too nice, honestly.

I need to write emails. Seriously. There are three pages of unreplied emails sitting in my inbox right now >.<

Labels: Funny things i picked up on the net, People I love, Rants

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/15/2009 06:57:00 AM

4 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Sunday, April 12, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

Love for Lambert :)

It should be pretty obvious by now that I'm a big fan of American Idol's Adam Lambert firstly because he's a hot, hot dude. I'd been watching AI auditions for about 2 weeks (?) before he came on and, quite frankly, the cheap laugh you can derive out of disastrously off-key Idol wannabes and parents slash close friends of said wannabes getting all worked up and angry because the judges couldn't hear what they were hearing from their beloved superstars - which apparently was nothing - was starting to get old and seriously tedious. That day, it was close to the end of the San Francisco episode and i was getting ready to close the VLC window and get back to my monthly fix of "Vanity Fair" when he came along. Shallow person that I am, I immediately sat up straight and swooned, audibly, "He is one CUTE guy!" Confession time, "Idol", or any other reality TV show for that matter, is all about finding that cute guy with an ounce of talent or personality to root for and obsess about, killing time in the process. I don't get those Vietnamese people, no doubt brainwashed by this culture which overvalues PC-ness and politeness to the point of hilarity, who come to a competition and "support all the contestants". Oh please, like anyone would believe you. Do you come to a soccer match and cheer for both sides? I remember getting really ticked off by the people/ our many national sports teams who say they compete mostly "for a chance to meet other people, exchange ideas and get some experience." If you don't want to win, get off the stage and leave it to someone who actually does. Over-humility, we'd like to call it, as if it's something good. It's like a national trademark that we're supposed to be proud of. I say it's the reason why the best we've got out of any Olympic Games is 1 Silver medal (with a population of 80 millions), and why we're still one of the poorest countries in the world despite the fact that we're actually quite an intelligent breed.

But i digressed. Back to Adam. I'll shamelessly admit to rooting for talentless cuties in previous reality shows, like Ronnie in Make Me A Supermodel (not TOTALLY talentless, but he can't hold a candle to many others as far as modeling skills are concerned IMO), or some other dudes whose names i've forgotten. But Adam, Adam is a rare gem. He's 6' (183m) tall, log-legged, well-built, brown-haired (which i later learned is not his natural color, its strawberry blond :D), with a chiseled face and a perfect smile. He's gorgeous! And then he started to sing and i could swear i felt the neighbor dogs barking and mice coming out of their holes (or homes). He actually sang really well, and I could appreciate this because a very long time ago, I was a singer, too, and after a series of long arduous voice lessons, I still couldn't reach notes with half the precision and control he does. I knew right there and then that I've found some meaning for my next three months at home: a hot dude who possesses not an ounce, but one whole mountainload of talent. How exciting is that?

My fascination with Adam does not revolve around or stem from the fact that he's gay (or "might be" gay, to some people. But to me he's been as gay as a basket of rainbow-stripped kittens since day one. My gaydar is that good. lol). It intensifies because of the way he reacted to the whole thing. I don't have a preference for gay people, let me assure you. But i do think that when life throws at you unusual, sometimes excruciating, circumstances, it's your opportunity to grow, mature, and be something different from the rest of the cookie-cutter, skin-deep population your age. Some of the most amazing and thoughtful people I've ever known have been gay, and I do attribute part of their awesomeness to their sexual orientation. You learn through the shittiness that sometimes engulfs your life, the life of a "minority", the life that is at times looked down upon, discriminated against and even criminalized, and come out a person who's mature, smart, and, most importantly, comfortable in your own skin. To sidetrack a bit, a few years ago I was quite pissed off at all the mainstream reviews that stripped Brokeback Mountain down to "just a universal love story". Yes it's mandatory to make it seem so nonthreatening in order to lift those lazy bums slash "average citizens" out of their sofa and into the cinema, but no, it's not "a universal love story". It's so great because it is a gay love story. It's so heart-wrenching because the participants in that love do not only hate the world around them that prevents them to be together, but also despise themselves for wanting to be together in the first place. But let's not get carried away. Adam not only epitomizes all the qualities that I just identified, he magnifies them and throw them in the face of middle America (or the world, for that matter). Oh, you've got to love this kid. Remember Clay Aiken, not so many seasons ago, so desperately dodging gay rumors and acting all offended when reporters asked him, point blank, "are you gay?". It was painful to watch. There is none of that bullshit with Adam. Photos of him kissing dudes while dressed in drag were splashed all over the internet, and he came out saying that "I am who I am, and this is a singing competition, nothing else," and that, LOL big time "it's not a kissing contest." (which i took as a hint to his still clueless fans to check out the whole "kissing" thing on the internet already) He is sex on legs (long, toned ones at that), and he goes on stage just like that, nothing PG-fied. Check out his "Ring of Fire" rendition, when he swiveled his hip a la Elvis and eye-fucked the camera. I swear I cracked up all over the floor watching that, even my parents thought I was going insane - and that's saying a lot if you know how i'm like normally. He changed all the lyrics of his songs to non-gender specific terms whenever possible. "Since you left me if you see me with another girl. Even if she's cute, she's just no substitute" became "Since you left me if you see me with somebody else. Even if they're cute, they're just no substitute." How awesome is that? Some delusional peeps insisted that the reason he altered the words is to "make the song more universal", and that it is no indication of his gayness. Talk about denial. You don't go through the trouble of changing the lyrics and jumping through hoops to get it approved unless it means that much to you, and as much as many people would like to think that Adam is this selfless straight guy who's that concerned about gay men and women being represented in a song from the 80s, he is not. I don't even believe in selflessness but again that's besides the point. In a video introduction that's embedded in my previous post, he confessed to liking to dress-up, but not soccer, which was echoed by his lovely father. He performed with a rainbow background and sported a T-shirt with a huge rainbow lip. He doesn't deny the fact that he's "different", instead even claiming that he wants to be a role model for those kids who don't feel like they fit in. He repeatedly said that he's "comfortable" with who he is, and that he "knows" who he is, and for the first time, I actually find myself believing in every word that's coming out of the mouth of a fame-seeking reality TV contestant. He's confident, self-assured but amazingly gracious and humble as well. He mouthed "Thank you" every time he was on the receiving end of praises and loud cheers, or was sent back to safety for another week in Idol. He's actually really intelligent and has used (correctly) words like "Pointillism". He's the closest anyone has ever get to being "out" on Idol, a family show ("Right Round" notwithstanding) that airs on Fox, and i give him mad props for that. He, like Obama, embodies the very "change" that he wishes to be made to America. But, unlike Obama, he has actually done something to effect that change. And I digressed again.

Little else needs to be said about his singing talent. Just watch the gazillions of videos of him on YouTube, belting out tunes ranging from the crazy "Crazy", to the heartfelt ballad "Come Home", and check back with me if you still think that this guy can't sing. His performances on Idol thus far have not been easy on the eyes (and ears) for everyone, and I understand that. But i've reached a point of fandom where he can just go on stage, smile and sing nothing, and I'll still vote for him like crazy for two hours straight. Didn't my "introduction" on Facebook read: "I'm pretty crazy xD"? That should have been your first clue. I'm not going to lie, I love the thrill of competition, and I love to win. I still remember when we had games day back in middle school (educational games, mind you, because this is Vietnam), and my team would always lead by a country mile. We had to form as many words as possible from a string of alphabets, and by the time the other team managed to fill out a small corner of the board, on this side I'd have covered the whole board with black words. I made some of them up, and would still have the audacity to argue with my teachers about their legitimacy, Luck was always on my side, funnily enough, because the dictionary just happened to include the most unfathomably ridiculous of words and i'd have the last laugh. I've toned down the crazy after all these years, but it still thrills me to no end to watch a race and see the one horse i've fallen in love with cross that finish line first, and actually deserving it tremendously.

This week, Adam is featured in the New York Times (the new york fricken times! - click here) and his gorgeous blue-painted face is sitting prettily on the cover of Star Magazine (i haven't found the article yet, but a screenshot is available here). Both articles deal mainly with, yes you got it right, his sexuality, and many fans are already crying foul because it - the whole gay thing - shouldn't be dealt with in the open. It should be hidden under his bed and he shall forever be identified as sexually ambiguous (as if Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds or any of the other hopeful have ever kept their sexuality or spouses, dead or alive, under wraps). I don't think it should be an issue at all in the first place, but I don't think there's anything wrong, or bad, if people want to write about it (truthfully and in good spirits) in high-profile publications when the "evidence" is abundant and Adam has given them the green light. I'm saddened to live in a world where homosexuality should be an issue at all, but it is, and hiding it doesn't make it any less of one. Pardon the crappy language. It's 11 in the morning, i'm hungry and words have escaped me. To be perfectly honest, none of the things they're discussing is new to me, so I'm just loving the attention Adam's getting. No publicity is bad publicity, right? IMO the backlash against Aiken's coming out is mostly because he had tried, so desperately but unsuccessfully, to deny and hide his homosexuality all these years (at one point even claiming that he's "asexual"). Those who had good reasons to believe otherwise, like me, reacted to his big fat announcement last year with a yawn, But those who tricked themselves into thinking that Aiken fitted into some mold created by their closed minds felt everything from disappointment, to a sense of betrayal. I'm not going to go so far as calling it his "kiss of death", we'll have to wait and see, but certainly it wasn't good for his career. And so the more and the sooner Adam's fans accept him for who he is, the better.

Be prepared for more discussion of his royal gorgeousness/awesomeness in the future (but hopefully none as long as this one). He intrigues me. I don't think i've ever been so captivated by a TV personality before. Sure, i gushed about David Archuleta, but there's little else i can say about him besides "he's SO cute! He sings well, and he's really nice," and I didn't follow his AI journey until the very last stages. Actually, make it the very last stage. I only watched the finale's result show. But now, Adam Lambert has occupied my Wednesday and Thursday mornings when i make it a point to wake up early (at 8), catch his performance, vote, and read all the articles online about him. Come to think of it, that's how I learn English, from tabloids and blog posts on frivolous subjects. So for all the kids out there who keep pestering me for tips and tricks, there's your answer.

Labels: People I love

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/12/2009 12:09:00 AM

3 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Tuesday, April 07, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

Adam Lambert - Tears for Fears' "Mad World"

It's last month's news tt i'm totally, completely in love with this guy so i'm not gonna elaborate further (at least not right now). Here it is, his performance this week:

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/07/2009 11:44:00 PM

0 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Saturday, April 04, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

Why Yale?

This is the only version i can find in my computer. Not sure if its the latest one, but it should be quite close.

What in particular about Yale has influenced your decision to apply?

I grew up listening to my parents rave about William Jefferson Clinton. My Western-oriented father appreciates his talents and the fact that he was so young when he took office and became the most powerful person in the world; my mother mostly likes his good looks and the fact that her adoration of Clinton annoyed my father a little. A little over three years old when Clinton was inaugurated, I had a very vague collection of my parents’ rants. All I remember was that “President Clinton went to Yale.” Just like that, even before I learned to read or to do simple math, or my parents’ full names for that matter, I knew of Yale.

The “Bill Clinton’s Yale” of my childhood was representative of something grandiose, superior but intangible. As the years went by many things changed, but my interest in politics and my fascination with Yale remain. I often dream of standing at the top of East Rock or inside the Sterling Library, being part of a tradition and a culture that have nurtured the hearts and minds of many great men.

Professor Smith’s Introduction to Political Philosophy course on Yale website, Professor Gaddis’ books, Professor Russet’s papers, Professor Blattman’s blog, and The Politic, among other things, convinced me that Yale has the best Political Science department in the world. However, what puts Yale above all others for me is its commitment to promoting students’ personal development and social awareness. I have spent hours listening to my Yalie friends go on about their Bulldog days or Masters’ Teas, so engrossed in their affection for Yale that they did not realize that it was 3PM in the States, but 4AM in Singapore, and neither did I. All Yalies I know talk about Yale with such heartfelt enthusiasm it struck me as impressive and infinitely appealing. I attribute such sentiments to Yale’s much-praised residential colleges system, and the unique Yale culture that fosters sharing of ideas and constructive debates instead of blind competition. It’s a tight-knit community of intelligent people, not a mere line-up of report card-wielding individuals eager to boast and compare GPAs. I also find Yale’s extensive efforts to improving New Haven thoughtful and admirable. It sends its students, the would-be industry titans and world leaders, beyond its ivy-covered gate to connect with and help the community around them. I am looking forward to Yale as a new chapter in my life in which I can attain and develop academic excellence, maturity, social awareness, compassion and happiness.

Yes the last line is unbelievably, unfathomably cheesy. I'm appalled. I LOVE the opening paragraph though. I still have that schoolgirl crush on Clinton after all these years. I think i subtly included some H-bashing, because i've heard that that is Yale's soft spot. Lol... I hope i made them laugh because the rest of my submitted writings are so incredibly morbid! It doesn't feel very "complete", because I didn't want to go too overboard with the word count. EVERYTHING else in my application exceeds Yale's word limits (even the shorttakes!), so I wanted this one to be the shortest (among the obscenely long). I also submitted things Yale specifically asked me NOT to on their website. And I submitted a paper application (the only one of the season because i thought it'd better facilitate my trampling on word limits. My handwriting was surprisingly tiny and neat). So yeah, i thought i was doomed :P I'm not encouraging anyone else to do the same though. It's hard enough to make them like you, don't give them any reason to hate you.

Labels: US Application, Writing

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/04/2009 11:57:00 AM

2 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥ Wednesday, April 01, 2009

My Petite Life ♥

Decision Letters

For you curious peeps out there who asked :) (in no particular order. I'll just post those i can find first)

Dartmouth

Dear Ngoc,

Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that I inform you of your admission to Dartmouth College as a member of the Class of 2013. You were selected from an accomplished and academically talented group of more than 18,000 applicants. The admitted group, of which you are a part, is outstanding in its achievements, interests, and potential. We are enthusiastic about the prospect of your attendance and are confident that you and Dartmouth are an ideal match.

The faculty and staff join me in inviting you to attend Dartmouth. This is a particularly exciting time at the College; the opportunity for personal involvement in all facets of your education here is significant. The College continues to be distinguished by the commitment of its faculty to combine excellence in teaching with exceptional scholarship and research. New initiatives undertaken in recent years, including a reaffirmation of the commitment to a diverse student body, an expansion of the financial aid program, and a major expansion of academic and research facilities, will each enhance Dartmouth’s national leadership in liberal arts education.

All of us at Dartmouth hope you will visit campus during the month of April and take the opportunity to meet students and faculty, attend classes, and stay overnight in the dorms. During the month of April, we will sponsor a series of special programs to introduce admitted students to the academic and extracurricular life at the College.

Again, congratulations on your acceptance. Please let us know if we can be of any help to you in the next few weeks. We would appreciate confirmation of your matriculation plans via the reply form that is enclosed with your paper notification by May 1st. I hope you decide to become a part of the Dartmouth community.

Sincerely,

Maria Laskaris
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Princeton

Congratulations! I am pleased to offer you admission to Princeton's Class of 2013. Earlier today we mailed you a detailed letter of admission and a folder of information. Included in this mailing is an invitation for you and your parents or guardians to participate in one of two upcoming Princeton Preview programs. These events will be held on campus to showcase the academic, residential, and social aspects of Princeton.

If you applied for financial aid, a message from the Financial Aid Office is included below. You will find more extensive information about your financial aid award in the mailing you will receive.

We encourage you to explore the website we have created for admitted students: www.princeton.edu/admitted. To access this site, you will need the same username and password you used to view this online decision. The admitted student website will be available during the month of April. It will allow you to register online for one of the Princeton Preview programs, to create a personal profile, to view profiles created by other admitted students, and to read blogs by some of our current students and faculty members. You also may use this website to let us know your final decision by May 1.

We are delighted to be offering you a place in next year's freshman class at Princeton.

Congratulations again!

Janet Lavin Rapelye
Dean of Admission

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Columbia

Dear Ngoc,

Congratulations! Dean Austin Quigley and the members of the Committee on Admissions join me in the most rewarding part of this job - informing you that you have been selected for admission to Columbia College in its 255th academic year. As a member of the Class of 2013, you will be a participant in an academic community wealthy in intellectual and personal talents of every kind. We are fully confident that the gifts you bring to our campus will be unique and valuable and that your abilities will be challenged and developed here.

You and your family have every reason to be proud of the great achievements that we acknowledge today with this good news. We hope you will share your joy and excitement with the faculty at your school who have helped you reach this happy day.

The Columbia faculty, students and administration look forward to welcoming you into a community that thrives on our unique combination of a demanding and cohesive curriculum, a diverse and talented student body, and a college town that is one of the world’s most exciting cities, abundant in dynamism and opportunities. We know that you will contribute to the academic and personal excellence that has been the hallmark of Columbia students since 1754. The coming years at Columbia promise to be lively and joyful ones indeed as we continue to celebrate over 250 years of achievement and distinction.

It is our great pleasure to congratulate you on the successes that have earned you this fine honor, and we eagerly anticipate the successes that you will no doubt enjoy at Columbia. If any member of the admissions staff can assist you in the days ahead, please do not hesitate to write or call.

Signature

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Harvard

Dear Ms. Nguyen,

I am delighted to inform you that the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid has voted to offer you a place in the Harvard Class of 2013. Following an old Harvard tradition, a certificate of admission is enclosed. Please accept my personal congratulations for your outstanding achievements.

This year over twenty-nine thousand students, a record number, applied for admission to the entering class. Faced with many more talented and highly qualified candidates than it had room to admit, the Admissions Committee took great care to choose individuals with exceptional character as well as unusual academic and extracurricular strengths. The Committee is convinced that you will make important contributions during your college years and beyond.

Our faculty and students extend a special invitation for you to visit Cambridge over the next few weeks. If you feel a visit would be helpful in making your final college choice, we hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. An invitation is enclosed.

We have a longstanding commitment to meet the financial needs of our admitted students. No limit has been set on the financial resources devoted to making the College fully accessible to all students of promise, and we have a firm policy of making supportive offers of need-based financial aid. We encourage you to contact us now or at any time during your years here if you have questions or concerns about financial aid or if you have additional information that might be helpful to us in understanding your family’s financial circumstances.

I very much hope that you will decide to join us at Harvard. We have enclosed a statement about Harvard’s opportunities which might be helpful to you in making your college choice. Whatever your decision may be, you have my best wishes for every future success.

Sincerely,

William R. Fitzsimmons
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

**Note: this is the truncated letter. The actual one is very long and contains details about School Final Report (and warnings), deferral of entry and other things. Harvard does get down to business straight away huh...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Georgetown

Dear Ngoc Bich Nguyen :

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the Committee on Admissions has voted to accept your application for admission to Georgetown University . I am happy to offer you a place in the first-year class for the fall of 2009.

This year, Georgetown 's Admissions Committees considered approximately 18,600 candidates for 1,580 available spaces. You are to be congratulated for your acceptance in this very difficult competition. I have enclosed information explaining details of your admission and enrollment. During the next few weeks, you will hear from other members of the University community offering their congratulations and providing you with additional information. When you have reached your decision to attend Georgetown , please complete and return the enclosed Enrollment Agreement together with the required $900 deposit. This deposit must be received by May 1st to confirm your place in the class.

I am pleased to speak for the entire Georgetown community in extending to you this offer of admission. I look forward to welcoming you to the University as a member of the Class of 2013.

Sincerely,

Charles A. Deacon/
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yale

Dear Ms. Nguyen:

Congratulations on your admission to the Yale College Class of 2013! You have every reason to feel proud of your accomplishments, and it gives me great pleasure to send you this letter.

On the folder that holds your admissions materials, you will find the words of the late George Pierson, a professor and official historian of the university: "Yale is at once a tradition, a company of scholars, and a society of friends." We seek superb and interesting students who will feel at home in this remarkable community, and we look forward to celebrating your unique contribution to the university's life and mission.

You may reply to our offer by completing our online reply card at __. While the final Candidate's Reply Date is May 1, we would be happy to hear from you any time you feel ready to make your decision.

On April 20th, 21st and 22nd, most of your future classmates will come to campus for Bulldog Days, our program for admitted students, and we hope you will join them. To register for Bulldog Days and also to make connections with other admitted students, please visit our admitted student website at ___.

Finally, if you have any general or specific questions about Yale, feel free to email us at __. I am delighted, both for you and for the College, at the prospect that you will join us next fall. Welcome to Yale!

Best wishes,
Jeffrey B. Brenzel
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Some thoughts: My friend's acceptance letter opens with "Welcome home!" and i thought it's the loveliest thing ever!

Labels: US Application

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/01/2009 12:12:00 PM

5 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home

♥

My Petite Life ♥

A morning for the book

The plan was to stay up whole night and wait for the rest of the decisions at 4AM Hanoi time with a stack of magazines and an episode of Gossip Girl, but of course I couldn't make it past 12 o'clock. I woke up once at 2:14AM. I don't know why. I tried to sleep again but my heart was beating really fast, so I flipped around until 3AM, when I decided that my efforts were in vain and i should just wake up and obsess about the decision in front of the computer. I checked MJ's and JP's blog for American Idol song spoilers and there were none :'( Roamed the web for 10 minutes but there's nothing fun and not many people were awake (yeah, at 3, i'm not surprised). I decided that the best way to kill time was to get me some Gossip Girl. Brilliant idea! 43 minutes ZOOMED past and even though i couldn't really remember what happened in that episode, i have an inkling that it wasn't bad (and Blair and Serena had on some awesome coats!). A lot of kissing around and weird random coupling of actors. GG is getting old. Reminds me that one thing i hate about drama series is that everyone ends up dating/really liking/loving everyone else at some point, and the storyline just degenerates into some draggy pathetic mess. Come on, people! Whatever happens to depth of relationships? Strange that this is coming from me, but still! I loved Chuck and Blair but now it's like, okay whatever, I'm just watching for the clothes and bags that I can't afford.

Anyway, by the time GG ended, I had to pee, and by the time i came back into the room it's four oh three AM. I had all my windows ready for refreshing since 3, and the first i checked was Princeton's. I received a likely early last month, so it's not a huge surprise but still, it's nice to see the orange tiger. Then Dartmouth's, whose application status page gave everything away before you even see your decision letter because there're "Financial Aid Award Letters" and some other links. Columbia's page was updated LAST (and it kept crashing! Columbia has 28,000 applicants this year and the third-lowest acceptance rate in the Ivy League after H & Y so GO COLUMBIA!). I'm a Kluge Scholar! I don't think it means a whole lot but its nice! :) There's a welcome video of Columbia and NYC, which is TOTALLY gorgeous. Columbia sure knows how to play up its strengths and attract people. I also received likely letters from Dartmouth and Columbia, so I felt more relieved to see the final letters than anything else.

And the one email i'd been waiting for came somewhere in between Dartmouth and Columbia. The email just says "Your Application to Harvard College" so there's NOTHING that gave it away. I f_cking held my breath as I clicked. Outside some stray cat was screaming and screeching like it's either getting tortured or ran over by a truck. NOT a good sign. The email opened and i could only see a red column with tiny indecipherable words on the left, the generic Harvard banner on top, and a lot of white. I thought my Internet screwed me over! I was still holding my breath at this point and almost suffocated. Then I realized I had to scroll down, and there it was. No big "Congratulations" or anything so I really had to read the whole first paragraph to know what they're trying to say.

"Dear Ms. Nguyen,

I'm delighted to inform you that the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid has voted to offer you a place in the Harvard Class of 2013. Following an old Harvard tradition, a certificate of admission is enclosed. Please accept my personal congratulations for your outstanding achievements."

I couldn't even understand what the second sentence meant. It's the only letter that calls me "Ms. Nguyen", instead of Ngoc. Or better yet, "Bich" like all the UK schools. Lol. I'm known to them as "Bich Ngoc Nguyen", aka Bich, which rhymes with "Big", which is sort of neat. Haha :D Looking at the email again now, there actually were things that could give it away. The red leftmost column contained links to the admits' site and a list of important dates, for reply, visiting and online chat. I was barely awake at that time, so reading and comprehending did take a tremendous amount of effort. And frankly, after seeing Jenny and Vanessa, it's hard not to fall into semi-conscious state if I wasn't there already.

But really though, NOTHING can top that feeling I had on Dec 16th morning. The first acceptance is always the sweetest, especially when it comes with a lame singing Bulldog against a sea blue background (the song was loud. I couldn't understand a word the first time i heard it - here's when you question my TOEFLibt score... I was crying and laughing at the same time. It was really cute.)

What followed was a lot of smiling, typing, chatting with even the randomest people and laughing (very quietly). I did want to scream and laugh out loud, but it was still barely 5 in the morning and the sun wasn't even up yet. I don't know if I deserve all of this. I know many crazily talented and amazing friends who want some schools so badly and yet fell short. I'm going to repost something that I wrote on a public forum:

I know my words don't mean anything to you guys right now, but believe me when i say that this is NOT everything. Cheesy as it may sound, i think you're supposed to go where you're supposed to go. It'll all work out in the end. Life's a bitch but it does reward you for your efforts. You don't know me (most of you anyway), but i have been through many rejections as well (not talking about romantic ones). I've skipped school to binge on junk food, cry, and curse life for being unfair. But in the end we all pick ourselves up from the floor and move on, and that's the whole point

I haven't thanked all the people i need to yet. I don't think I ever can. I know I'll spend a good portion of this evening making calls, writing emails and FB messages. Overall, I was admitted to (in chronological order) Yale College (EA), Dartmouth College (LL), Princeton (LL), University of Richmond (scholarship), Columbia College (LL), University of Chicago, Georgetown Walsh School of Foreign Service and Harvard College, which are all the ones I applied to/completed my application (i withdrew a couple after the EA round).

I have received a lot of questions on the application process and my experiences, and while I might not be able to answer you guys individually, I'll try to do it through this blog. I'll be updating on what I think were the strengths/weaknesses of my application and my own struggle with time management.

Now's the hard part, making a decision! I have a month and not a whole lot of clues. I can't fly to the US and experience the "feel" of the schools to see if i'll fit in. For right now, I intend to double major political science and economics and HYPC all have really strong programs! >.< Yale's pretty much been my dream since forever, but Harvard has Boston. Princeton has Woody Woo, and Columbia has NYC and all the amazing things it offers (i'm not even talking about the shopping scene). Some Yale student posted on the web: "Yale's great. Just don't get shot, seriously." and I was like, hmm... lol. I'm really looking for some opinions so any help is really appreciated! :) Right now everything's kinda blurry.

Labels: US Application

♥ Michelle: Auf Wiedersehen!

4/01/2009 04:49:00 AM

4 comments / Post a Comment
View this post only
Home