When I look into a mirror

When we look at any object, the laws of physics guide us in viewing the characteristics and behavior of the concerned object. But here, the mirror, at which I am looking at, is an exception. Because, when I look into a mirror, I cannot visualize its physical properties, but, I try to paint a self portrait of myself and see what I value by meshing together different experiences from my life. I suppose that is along the lines of what my essay is responding to. ! computer"s #cut and paste# feature allows the user to compose a cohesive statement by piecing together different texts from varying locations. $imilarly, certain sweet and bitter experiences from my life can be pasted together to illustrate how I have shaped into the person I am today. !lthough some of these experiences occurred long ago, they are still engraved on my #hard drive#% I can shut my eyes and #re boot# those memories... &y oldest but brightest memory dates back to, almost nineteen years back, my first day to school when I was just a toddler. &y mother, tenderly holding my hand, took me to the gate of my school and gave me the most important knowledge of my life ' (the gate which stands tall in front of me is the gateway of my successful life). When I grew more matured, I understood what she actually tried to mean by those words. *oing by my +uantitative academic records of each stage, almost all would agree to the fact that am an above average student, though not brilliant. !nd this fact has its implications on my life, in a way, that the toll of expectation on me rose by leaps and bounds with every success. Because of the mercy of *,-, till date I stood by the expectations and hurdles that came high. .urrently being an aspiring scholar and a budding scientist of a top ' ranked, prestigious university, all would say (What more do you want from life/). But is this really all for which am on 0arth1/ ,n a &onday morning, last summer, I, at Bhopal, impatiently waited for the .ity service buses to the International conference venue where, I was about to give my first International 2esearch 3aper presentation. 0xcited to see the international research team at the conference, I imagined myself in a lab, focused, a proceeding and laptop in hand. 4owever, what I didn"t foresee, while daydreaming on the bus, was the cultural diversity I would be immersed in at the conference. 5he researchers came from different countries, Italy, .hina, 6apan, Bratislava, 7nited nations, and spoke different languages, yet came together to investigate, discuss, discover what they were truly passionate about. !side from being engrossed in the scientific aspect of research, I spent my lunch breaks talking with the researchers about their ethnic backgrounds. 0very day was, in a sense, a potluck8 each individual shared something new about his or her heritage ... 5his is where I truly realized myself, I do also have a rich cultural upbringing, a heritage, and a morality, which I should communicate with others, #I must be myself. I cannot break myself any longer#... I chose to paste together these particular memories from different parts of my life because they reflect who I am, what I value the most in life. I love to talk with the people I pass, sharing my story and listening to their stories too. I love the feeling I get when I see that I have shown a glimpse of my culture to another person who has opened my eyes to a different tradition. I spend a great deal of my time cramming and studying, but I learn from the relationships I form with other people and the interactions, however short, I have with other people. 5here is so much waiting to be heard and seen, I pack my bag with what I have to offer and venture out with an open mind.