Hroughout my life, i have tried to be a well-balanced person. growing up in the south, i had a hard time fighting the stereotypical image of a chinese person. i was expected to be a math and science genius and nothing more. as it turned out, i defied my detractors by excelling in english and history along with math and science. and over the years, i have continued to maintain my academic standards. nevertheless, i have also made sure that i am more than an academic person. i am an active one as well. in middle school, the most popular game during lunch was a basketball game called salt and pepper (white vs. black). the first day of school, i stepped onto the basketball courts and was greeted by cries of consternation, "who is he? is he salt or pepper? " but after the game, i had made a name for myself. from then onward, i would be known as spice, and the game we played became salt, pepper, and spice. when i moved to california, things were no different. i continued to play an active part both academically and socially. my involvement with cross-country, speech and debate, ultimate frisbee and numerous clubs guaranteed that i would not be only known as an honors student. like myself, duke is much more than an academic institution; it is a living institution. i feel that i will be given the opportunity to excel both academically and socially. duke is a university known for its rich history and strong academic program. and, at the same time, it is also known for its innovation and progressiveness. these are qualities which draw me to the college. in addition, duke and i have a lot in common. the two most important extracurricular activities i have are a major part of duke university. duke's speech team is known for its strong extemp squad. i remember the time when my speech coach asked me what schools i was applying to. when i had listed my top five choices, he frowned at me and said, "out of all those schools, i will only respect you if you either join us at berkeley or go to duke and extemp." i hope i will be given the opportunity to contribute my part in the duke speech team. equally important, the duke university has a well-known ultimate frisbee team. i look forward expectantly to becoming a part of the team. strange as it seems, ultimate frisbee is one of my top criteria for choosing my future college. it delights me that duke places such great emphasis on the two extracurricular activities that mean most to me. my first year at duke should be a great one. majoring in economics at duke should allow me to both pursue my major studies and allow me time for personal interests in chinese and the humanities. moreover, in my spare time, i plan to join the speech team and the ultimate frisbee team. hopefully, with my previous experience, i will have an early start in both speech and ultimate. yet, i will never forget why i'm in college in the first place. as long as i give organic chemistry a wide berth, i should be able to continue my level of academic excellence. overall, my first year at duke promises to be exciting, if a bit hectic. "as it turned out, i defied my detractors by excelling in english and history along with math and science." what purpose is served by this sentence in the first paragraph of the essay? a) it tells how the writer improved upon the stereotype he faced. b) it tells how the stereotype wounded the writer. c) it tells how stereotyping is wrong. d) it tells how stereotyping is neither right nor wrong.