1) It was when I was in the 1st grade. Set me on his lap, my grandpa asked, “what’s your last name?” To this blatant question, I answered, “It’s Jeon; I know we share the last name.” After a long silence, he went on and explained how Jeon family had always upheld integrity and how we had sacrificed so many things to guard this value. In the most adamant and authoritative voice, he warned me that losing integrity would bring shame to our family. Since I came to America, I remember this time, his repeated pats in my back and his vivid eyes during his lesson. During my freshman year of high school, I cooked an oyster pancake, a traditional Korean dish. Having greased a pan, I carefully poured the batter on the pan. I waited a few minutes and flipped the pancake until it turned golden brown; I placed it on a dish and added decorating. Elated to have my American friends taste this warm pancake that would melt their soul to the ground, I stared into the eyes of the tasters. Then, one of them started poking the oyster with her index finger and laughed out loud. Apparently, she never saw oyster in her entire life. She then told me how disgusting oyster looked like and added that my culture seemed weird, eating this food she had never heard of. Of course, I wasn’t expecting everyone to like it. The slimy, squishy bivalve mollusk must have looked distasteful to her. Then, I explained to her that oyster was an excellent repository of zinc and collagen, which would help repair our skins. Upon hearing my explanation, she cherry-picked oysters from the pancake and swallowed them at once. She gave one or two chews and smiled later as if she was not expecting the delightful flavor of pancake. Had I said nothing when faced her preconception about the oyster, or my culture, she might have never had the chance to experience this delicacy. To me, the food I still eat and cook in America is the culture and heritage I admire and cherish upto this day. Even this time of confusion and anxiety, this culture is deeply rooted in me and will keep me stable in this multicultural society. Come what may, our family legacy and my Asian heritage will live on as long as I keep this culture alive and appreciated. 2) Bias and preconceptions have a strong correlation with dichotomous thinking: you are either with us or against us; it is either black or white. In CWRU, we have two different student organizations: Korean Student Association and Korean American Student Association. Originally from KSA, KASA was constructed from students who faced conflicts from previous members in KSA. Due to this history, deeply engrained with the bias and preconception we previously had to each other for a few years, we did not get along well, while it should have been the closest organizations, considering we share the same Korean cultural roots and heritage. Last school year, executive board members of each club meet several times to talk out and melt down the conflicts we had during the last few years. Then, we thought of the idea of holding Bingsoo event together for our school community by preparing and serving delicious Korean desserts to students. After holding successful events, we took a picture that looks similar to Panmunjom picture mimicking the picture of North Korean president and South Korean president shaking hands at the very border of each country, representing the successful peace we made through shared efforts and experiences. Serving as an executive member of KSA, I was proud of this moment of reconciliation. By amending the conflicts and strengthened the culture bond we share, we were able to show that bias and preconceptions we had on each other can be quenched. Dismantling one’s dichotomous worldview and allowing a grey area may seemed hard, but once we start the environment of allowing everyone to lower guard and gives one another rooms for thoroughly investigating their values and beliefs, it is possible. And KSA and KASA will continue to be in good relationships as organizations at CWRU.