<p>Great essay! It will definitely help your app, but we all know essays typically don't make or break. You come across as thoughtful and interesting and speaking in your own voice. Reveals a lot about who you are without embarassing the reader. As I was reading it I have to admit I'm thinking: "Started learning English in 2001? This is TOO good!!" but by the end of the essay I figured that total immersion for 5 years should be enough for someone with a<br>
knack for language. The best thing about it is that an adcom reading it is going to want to meet you.</p>
<p>You have a lot of italics. How did you handle that with the common app? I found the software to be a real pain because it wouldn't take any special punctuation, even indenting.</p>