Sorry I'm posting what is now three times in a row, but this post actually has some TASP-related purpose. Today I got an email from a Melissa Taylor who has come across our website - yes, we forgot to mark our-tasp-website-goes-on-google-search day - and, well, she said this:

Hi Tae-Yeoun,

This is Melissa Taylor. I hope you do not mind my taking the liberty of emailing you without an introduction. Currently a high school sophomore, I came across your website at http://www.geocities.com/tasp2003austin/ while searching for summer enrichment programs. The TASP seminars sound amazing in terms of the style and depth of the scholarship, and I would like to ask you a few questions to better prepare for the application process:

1. What is your overall impression of the program? Does the selection process place an emphasis on any particular quality or experience?
2. Can you give me some examples of the essay topics and how you approached them?
3. From what I understand, the final selection process involves an interview. How is the interview conducted? What types of questions are asked?

I realize this is a tremendous imposition, and I completely understand if you cannot find the time to respond. Any insight or advice will be greatly appreciated as your experience will no doubt stimulate my own thinking and responses. Thank you so much for your time and help!


Sincerely,
Melissa Taylor

And as she's emailed me only because I posted my email on the page for anyone to post comments and suggestions to, I feel a need to refer to all of you first before writing a reply, which I am rather excited about - I barely have any opportunities to talk about TASP as all my friends are so sick of hearing about it.

And while I have a valid excuse to post I'll attach an irrelevant anecdote. A group of students were vegetating in the guidance office (the heart of our school) going through college essays from previous graduates - and one girl from last year's graduating class wrote about her Cornell TASP. On the top was the heading, "TELLURIDE ESSAY."

"What's Telluride?" asked Prashanth.
At the mention of the word I suddenly awoke and jumped up, but Kevin, our school president, beat me to it. In his dignified drawl, Kevin raised an eyebrow and demanded:
"You don't know what Telluride is?"
Well. I have indeed been talking about it too much.
Poor Prashanth shook his head, and Kevin, exchanging some significant must-confuse-Prashanth-further look with me, continued:
"It's a brothel."

So of course I remembered those two sheets of music on the piano that greeted us on our first day. I tried to sing it for them -

Tex-as has a whorehouse in it
God have mercy on our so-uls

- but could not remember past the repeat. Does anyone remember either the rest of the lyrics or the rest of the melody?
(if it'll prompt some recall of the rest of the tune, the beginning goes [quarter notes]:
Eb Eb Eb Eb | F Eb C Bb | Eb Eb Eb G | F Eb FEb C--

Oh, your president's visiting Manila tomorrow. He'll be here for eight hours or so and already there's a sixteen-hour rally in plan down what I believe to be McKinley (one of the three roads in Manila). On the other end of the welcome-spectrum, however - my visiting aunt who arrived from Korea today wanted to know why they were replanting all the trees (and grass) on the way from the airport.

I miss all of you very, very, very, very much. Sorry I take up so much blogspace.

posted by Tae-Yeoun Keum   [3:25 AM]

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