Open Question: Rate my Personal Statement :)?

Hi there, well im looking to study Chinese at Leeds University, and well that uni is quite popular. So what do you think of my PS? The more criticism the better, and everything is appreciated. Thanks a bunch! ---- The art of the Chinese language has long been a source of beauty, but contrasting this beauty is its mystery. The near endless amount of culture, history and philosophy that China holds has always left me in awe, and is a reason why I would gladly spend part of my life studying it. My interest in East Asia began when I was introduced to the phenomenon that is anime, Japanese animations. This was the seed that produced the roots of interest that grew further, diversifying my interest in East Asia. However, the country that always seemed to grasp me and hypnotize me was China. Because I did not have access to the Chinese language in school, I soon found myself taking up my own independent research, exploring other aspects of China such as its history, culture and philosophy to more modern aspects, such as the countries economic boom, until I had a good foundation of knowledge on subjects such as wushu and Taoism, as well as general knowledge of the society and its cultural norms. The ability to work independently soon enabled me to complete other tasks, including the Guardian Newspapers Newspaper Challenge. This significantly helped to improve my analysis and evaluation of text, writing ability, note taking skills and documentation ability. I then participated in Envision, a youth based charity, and successfully completed it, achieving an award in it. This improved and built upon my ability to actively work in a team, meet deadlines as well as organise meetings. Furthermore, I was twice a member of my school council which significantly bolstered my confidence and ability to speak and express opinions in front of people, as well as further expand my organisation and independence skills. I also learnt how to embrace the many opinions given out by my student peers and organise them in a manner that allowed me to discuss them in council meetings. This also led me to help out my school during open days, where I was in charge of parking cars. This was a demanding job that put my on-the-spot thinking skills and logic skills to the test. My ability to pursue extra curricular activities was cut after my mother fell pregnant twice to another man who struggled to maintain his responsibilities. I kept a responsible and mature attitude in an attempt to help my mother as well as maintain my performance at school, and at the same time pursue my interest in China and East Asia in general. Although my environment may have affected my overall performance, I have built up a strong mental mind and built up abilities, such as responsibility, determination and independence which are invaluable for an individual who wishes to study the Chinese language in an environment that requires high performance in all said areas. My lust for adventure led me to qualify as a junior open water scuba diver, which I absolutely love. I have a love for drawing and art and, through many years of practice, have developed my own drawing style, particularly influenced by Manga. I have a great interest in all types of music, and have learnt to appreciate the classical genre. Through this, I started to self teach myself how to play the piano, and have garnered a basic understanding of music theory and playing. From that, I have created my own musical compositions through the use of a virtual production studio, for my own listening pleasure as well as to satisfy my need for creation. I also have a great appreciation for movies that extends to Asian cinema in particular, with works by Takeshi Kitano and Park Chan-wook being my favorites. Once I graduate and have gained full proficiency in the language of Chinese, I seek to pursue a career in East Asia that makes good use of my English and Chinese language skills. I then wish to deeply explore Asia, and then restore myself with the Thai language and reunite myself with my lost heritage of the Thai and Asian culture. I idolize the future prospect of pursuing my ambitions, and am ready to embrace the challenge of university. ---- p.s. the PS has to kept within this word limit :S