Subject: HELP
From: "Roberta Buhle" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:53:20 -0500 (GMT-05:00)

I HAVE TWO ESSAYS, BOTH OF WHICH WERE LABELED AS "COMMON APP" IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL. BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENT. ONE IS ABOUT TAIWAN AND CHINA AND ONE IS ABOUT BEAU AND ASHLEY. WHICH ONE SHOULD I WORK ON? I CAN WORK ON BOTH IF NEEDED.
GRAMMA

-----Original Message-----

From: Hunter Biden

Sent: Oct 28, 2011 10:26 AM

To: Roberta Buhle

Subject: Re: COMMON APP ESSAY--- Thoughts and revisions please

Got rowing essay revisions. Common App Essay and Main Penn are two separate essays. ILY

RHB
202.333.1880

On Oct 28, 2011, at 11:10 AM, Roberta Buhle <[email-masked]> wrote:

At meeting now. Heading to Indiana at 11am. Will work on this Common App Essay as soon as I arrive and send suggestions.
TWO QUESTIONS:
1. Did you get the Rowing Essay from me?
2. Is the essay below identified as "Common App Essay" the same as the "Main Penn Essay" That email arrived with nothing attached so I need to make sure.
Roberta

-----Original Message-----

From: Hunter Biden

Sent: Oct 27, 2011 7:51 PM

To: Roberta Buhle , Hunter Biden

Cc: Naomi Biden , Beau Biden <[email-masked]>

Subject: COMMON APP ESSAY--- Thoughts and revisions please

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See my comments below/ after essay PLEASE SEND COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS

COMMON APP ESSAY:

My cousins used to
live and go to school in Taiwan, then spend their summers with us on Lake
Michigan. The moment I heard them speaking with one another in Chinese I became
obsessed with learning their “secret language”. In seventh grade we had the
option of taking something other then Spanish, so I enthusiastically decided I
would study Chinese. Immediately I realized it would be no easy feat to learn
to speak the language fluently. On the first day of class, my teacher told us
that to read the front page of a Chinese newspaper, we would have to be able to
recognize at least 2000 characters. However intimidating that reality was, and
despite those times when I got frustrated and considered switching to Spanish
or Latin, I decided to continue taking Chinese when I started high
school.

This past summer, three years after
making that decision, I had the opportunity to travel to Beijing and Chengdu
with my Grandfather, my “Pop.”  My sisters and I take turns traveling with
my Pop on his international trips, and Pop asked me to come with him on this
trip because I was studying Chinese.
After twenty or so hours on the plane, we finally arrived in Beijing. I
put a nice coat on over my slept-in airplane sweatshirt and stepped off the
front of Air Force Two. As we walked out, my Pop whispered to look to the left
and wave to the people and press taking pictures on the tarmac below.  Shortly after we arrived, my Pop took me
to a traditional noodle restaurant frequented by working class Chinese.  I was again surprised by all the press
and how fascinated they were with the fact that I was able to order food in
Chinese, I didn’t realize it at the time, but those pictures and videos would
be seen all across China and the world. Moreover,
what I didn’t comprehend was how significant it was to the Chinese people that
the Vice President of the United States brought his 17-year-old granddaughter
on his official visit. Nor did I understand until
I reflected on the trip that my going was a symbol, however minor, of the
opportunities and freedoms afforded to young women in the United States as
compared to China and the rest of the world.

Since I was born, I
have always looked up to my Pop for his commitment to fighting for social
justice. After he was elected Vice President I only grew more proud to be a
Biden as I campaigned with my family and traveled across America meeting
families whom my Pop has inspired. It wasn’t until this trip, however, that I
realized the impact he has on a global scale.  And that even small actions and gestures, such as ordering
noodles in a restaurant or stepping off of a plane can have a great
impact.  This impact would not be
possible without the enormous level of thought and work that
goes into choosing the harder path with the hope that it will make a
difference. I have always struggled with Chinese in school, however
after this trip I only became more proud and sure of my decision to continue to
take Chinese as opposed to switching back to Spanish.

My decision to
continue my study of Chinese was a difficult one, but I now realize that it was
the right one.   Challenging
myself led me to learn about the pride I have for my country and the rewards
that come from perseverance. I also came to realize the responsibility my Pop,
and all American citizens, have to represent our country’s values abroad. I have always been encouraged to hold a lifetime devotion to public
service in the highest of regards, from both my grandmothers who worked full
time jobs as teachers and received their Doctorates in education, to my Uncle
who volunteered to go to war, to my mother who sacrifices every day on my
behalf. However it was during the trip that my desire
to follow in my family’s footsteps crystallized and I wouldn’t have realized
this unless I kept up with my Chinese studies. While I was and remain
interested in Chinese culture and language, I did not expect this trip to
inspire me to hope to pursue a career in public service. I look forward to
continue my studies of Chinese in college, and continuing to challenge myself
in new and exciting ways so that one day perhaps I can travel to China on my
own official visit.

HUNTER'S COMMENTS:

I would like to see you make it more about you and your commitment to learning Chinese and how that paid off in a once in a lifetime opportunity during your trip- and then how that relates to what you want to accomplish as a college student and later as an adult.  The experience of being a symbol, however minor, of the opportunities and freedoms afforded to young women in the US as compared to China and the rest of the world is a direct result of your perseverance and hard work- it is a direct result of making that difficult decision to do the hard thing (stick with Chinese) and not take the easier route (Spanish).  The lesson you've learned from this is that in order to make a difference in this world you need to challenge yourself you need to put yourself in uncomfortable positions- like ordering food in Mandarin in front of cameras and an entire restaurant as an audience.  The realization that you came to on your trip is that not only do you love your Pop but you now understand the level of thought he puts into everything and the enormous amount of work, choosing the harder path with the hope that it will make a difference. And to think that you, because of your initial curiosity in that secret language- the desire to understand, and then dedication and perseverance  were able to serve as a symbol for the equal opportunity that America represents to China and the world was a great and deep honor.  You learned not only unconditional love from all of your family, but also that hard work and dedication to something will always pay off- sometimes in ways that you could never imagine. You've been afforded many opportunities that few people will ever get to experience. And you are proud that in at least this instance you were able to leave a small gift behind rather than simply receive. You see this everywhere in your family- from both your grandmothers who worked full time jobs as teachers and received their Doctorates to your Uncle who volunteered to go to war to your mother who sacrifices every day on your behalf. That is why you are so excited for college. There are so many choices and challenges ahead and you can think of no better place than Penn to continue on that journey. Etc...

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