In Lulu Wang's acclaimed 2019 film The Farewell, Billi, a Chinese American daughter who disagrees with her parents' handling of her grandmother's cancer diagnosis, is told by her uncle, "You think one's life belongs to oneself. But that's the difference between the East and the West. In the East, a person's life is part of a whole: family." Think about that line (you might watch the film's trailer, which includes it) and then write an essay considering the following questions (but don't structure the essay as a list of answers to them): Who do you believe your life belongs to? To you as an individual? To your family? To your community? To some specific other person or persons? To God or some other spiritual or religious being/concept? Does your life belong in part to you and in part to others (and if so, how much to each)? Do you believe you have an obligation to your parents or others (and that to think of your life as belonging only to you would be selfish) OR that your life was a gift to do with as you will (and that for others to place expectations on it would be selfish of them)? Also consider: how does who you believe your life belongs to affect how you're living it now and what you plan for your future? Might there be a difference between what you think you believe about who your life belongs to and how you’ve actually lived? (For example, someone might say that they believe their life belongs to themselves but actually live in a way primarily to please their family—or vice versa). Think as deeply and creatively as you can about this. Ideally, when we read your paper, we should feel like we are getting surprising insights into you and your thinking—and it should be apparent that even you are surprised by some of what you find. If it feels like you're merely telling us things you already knew or figured out before you approached this topic, that will mean a less successful essay.
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