Having struggled in school most of my life after moving to the united states at the age of 5 and my parents being absent most of my life due to harsh working schedules, I had a hard time finding my place, navigating through a world that was very unfamiliar by myself. I found solace in learning more about the world around me and science class because it allowed me to understand the unfamiliar things around me, which made me feel more secure. In addition to that, I feel really grateful to the people that I have encountered along my journey. Some were the most compassionate, kindhearted, and understanding people I have ever met. Without my first-grade teacher, I would not have learned about the significance of an urgent medical problem, things can happen that could change the trajectory of not only someone's life but a whole family. Without my six-grade health teacher, I would never have learned about the significance of looking ahead in life and making sure to make the most of your life because you never know what could happen, whether it's an accident or diagnosis, "don't live a life you will regret". I feel lucky to have such important figures in my life that I still look up to this day, without those encounters, I would never have grown up into the person I am today. With that and a combination of my love of science, I was slowly drawn towards pre-med ever since I could remember. Spending so much of my childhood alone, solving problems on my own made me really drawn to helping others in their time of need, and the beautiful people I have encountered. I want to help others understand more about themselves and comfort them as I would have wanted for my younger self. All these experiences have taught me the important lesson to be more compassionate toward others' situations and the need to protect other people because the human lifespan is so much shorter than most people think. If I could just extend that for as long as I could that would mean the most to me.

I am pursuing Biology, on the pre-med route, studying at New York University. I know you probably have heard this response from so many other people, however, it is such an underrated major. People automatically assume, "oh, you probably want to be a doctor because of your parents" or "what a basic answer". I would like to prove them wrong. First, I am studying Biology because I love to learn all kinds of new things, especially things that will help me further understand the nature of things around me and my body. Second, Biology is just the first stepping stone to a wide variety of subjects like agriculture, astrobiology, ecology, molecular biology, etc. Not only does biology cover the study of humans, whether it is about our genetic information, body functions, or mentality, but it also covers the study of nature and living things in outer space. I can go on for hours but the biggest takeaway is that each is important in its own way. Science is important to society as it allows us to explore and study things to advance our understanding of things that confuse and complex us. These studies then help us develop and reevaluate our understanding of countless things for as long as humans could form thought processes. So the next time someone says science is boring and basic, tell them that the world around them would not be the way it is now without the constant trial and error of humans for millenniums. And it all starts with biology.

My father moved to America at the young age of about twenty-one before I was born, my family was mainly reliant on his income because we came from a family of farmers who did not make much. Hoping to live a better life, I then moved to the states at five years old with my frightened mother who didn’t know anything about America. Scared and clueless, we waited at the airport for my father, who was stuck in traffic, to pick us up. The long-awaited reunion was quite melodramatic because I was too scared to approach him. From what I can remember, I have spent most of my life by myself and talking to myself because my parents were off to work basically all the time. I struggled to learn the new language and do the schoolwork when I first arrived in the US. At a young age, I learned how to cook and dress for school. Since my parents were academically and physically unavailable for most of my childhood, I did not, at first, put effort into doing my schoolwork. My parents only realized that I had begun getting C’s in elementary school during parent-teacher conferences when I tried to translate what my teacher said with my broken English and Chinese. They began doubting whether I could achieve the American dream they had envisioned when moving here. Being the first-born female in this patriarchal culture, their approval meant a lot to me. From then on, I vowed to regain their trust and prove my worth through my achievements. It took me a while until I got the hang of it but the language barrier was hard to overcome because I only spoke Chinese at home. In middle school, my parents asked me what career I wanted: “Do something you love,” suggested my mother. Those words stuck with me. Besides focusing more on my grades, I also paid more attention to what I was passionate about and recalled childhood memories of being home alone playing with bubbles: fascinated by the floating translucent spheres, I wondered about the science behind them. Whenever I examined something, I felt an overwhelming sense of curiosity; I sought to answer my many unresolved questions in my quest for knowledge. I have been put outside my comfort zone all my life. I have learned to adapt to new environments and take control of my life when everything may seem out of place. If I want to get something done, I have to personally take charge of what I am doing. That is the reason why I love work that requires me to work hands-on. From arts and crafts to writing research papers, I feel accomplished knowing that I did that myself, something I can show my parents and proudly say that I was the one who did that. Being the first person in my family to go to college, I want to be able to achieve the American dream my parents had dreamt of when moving to America. While at the same time, I want to take in my parents’ advice to do something I love. Being an immigrant and a child of immigrants has made me be the independent, strong-willed, and leader I am today. The drive of my parents for a better life motivates me to do the same.

The article, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Fueling Fear and Hate Across America”, published on March 30, 2020, by the Center for American Progress, came out around the time the whole world changed. Just a few weeks after announcing the country was going to shut down, multiple Asian Americans had already been attacked in public, denied access to services, and verbally abused. What I saw on the news was absolutely terrifying because people like me were getting beaten for no reason, while others blamed my country for this unfortunate event, and degraded and made fun of my culture. This topic engages my attention because I have so much I want to say about this issue and I want others to know about it as well. I have noticed the effects of this in my everyday life for years now. Living in a neighborhood with a large demographic of Chinese people, the businesses around me struggled to make enough to sustain themselves because of the damaged reputation of my country. My parents' business was heavily affected by COVID: the negative associations of Chinese people spreading around the news, plus the increase in hate crimes in NYC, made customers wary of Chinatown. People who would commute to Chinatown every day became afraid of taking the subway. Paranoia began to fill our lives, our normality was thrown out of proportion, and something so simple as traveling became a fear for many. Our rights to safety have been violated and I have had enough of this. I am outraged that my culture is being misrepresented on social media and on the news. Why must we feel the need to be careful from getting beaten for no reason just because of our skin? This sentiment is extremely relevant to the cause the Black Lives Matter movement is fighting for at this moment. We are one and the same. Our origins and the color of our skin should not be the determining factors for whether we have the basic opportunities to live comfortably. I find this very interesting because we are seen as intellectual and model citizens only when it is most beneficial to others. But when our country is under fire, we become the scapegoats and the walls of stereotypes slowly start to crumble, revealing all the suppressed racism towards Asian Americans that was hidden. This is also well known as the Model Minority Myth. People put us on a pedestal with extremely high expectations just for being Asian. We are constantly grouped together with no individuality whatsoever, and our struggles are pushed aside because we are seen as foreigners who have achieved the “American Dream”. The increase in xenophobia was due to the fact that Asian Americans will forever be seen as foreigners no matter how long we may have lived here. This statement can be proven by people who have been constantly telling us to “go back to your country” even though we may be born and raised in America. Especially as a Chinese female, I am constantly being pushed down by my own cultural patriarchy and society. Always seen as less valued over men and given few opportunities to show my capabilities as an equal. My father moved to America at the young age of about twenty-one before I was born, my family was mainly reliant on his income because we came from a family of farmers who did not make much. Hoping to live a better life, I then moved to the states at five years old with my frightened mother who didn’t know anything about America. I taught myself at a very young age how to be independent and usually dealt with my own problems all alone. Since my parents were academically unavailable, I struggled to learn the new language and do the schoolwork when I first arrived in the US. It took me a while until I got the hang of it but the language barrier was hard to overcome because I only spoke Chinese at home. I have been put outside my comfort zone all my life. I have learned to adapt to new environments and take control of my life when everything may seem out of place. Growing up, I have learned to depend on and respect myself because no one else will. In a world like this, the only way is to fight back with our own strengths and make a statement they will never forget. Being the first person in my family to go to college, I want to be able to achieve the American dream my parents had dreamt of when moving to America. While at the same time, I want to take in my parents’ advice to do something I love. Being an immigrant and a child of immigrants has made me be the independent, strong-willed, and leader I am today. The drive of my parents for a better life motivates me to do the same.

I used to jump around the lonely living room late at night, waiting for my parents to come home from work. At a young age, I learned how to cook and dress for school. Since my parents were academically and physically unavailable for most of my childhood, I did not, at first, put effort into doing my schoolwork. My parents only realized that I had began getting C’s in elementary school during parent-teacher conferences when I tried to translate what my teacher said with my broken English and Chinese. They began doubting whether I could achieve the American dream they had envisioned when moving here. Being the first-born female in this patriarchal culture, their approval meant a lot to me. From then on, I vowed to regain their trust and prove my worth through my achievements. In middle school, my parents asked me what career I wanted: “Do something you love,” suggested my mother. Those words stuck with me. Besides focusing more on my grades, I also paid more attention to what I was passionate about and recalled childhood memories of being home alone playing with bubbles: fascinated by the floating translucent spheres, I wondered about the science behind them. Whenever I examined something, I felt an overwhelming sense of curiosity; I sought to answer my many unresolved questions in my quest for knowledge. For the fifth-grade science fair, I organized a research project comparing the effects of soap versus hand sanitizer on germs. My partner and I gathered volunteers and conducted our experiment in the school’s restrooms with the teachers’ permission. I felt so professional with my clipboard in hand as I collected the data. After analyzing the results, we printed them on charts for display at the fair. The next day, I dressed up to impress the judges who would listen to our presentation. Although I was the least outspoken kid in my grade, I mustered my most enthusiastic voice to anyone who stopped by our table. I then presented my heart out, hoping I impressed the judges with my weeks of hard work. Whatever the outcome was, I still felt proud of our project. When they announced that we came in fourth place, my partner and I gladly took the ribbon with our confidence soaring. When I didn’t get into the high school that I wanted, started to feel like I would not fulfill the American dream my parents had hoped for. I felt the pressure of college and re-evaluated what I wanted to do: I thought of the advice again -- do something you love. So I started attending STEM programs and a weekly STEP Program at the NYU School of Medicine. Every staff member who spoke at my program brought extensive knowledge and advice that made me change my perspective. Rather than bombarding us with slideshows, they shared their unique stories and taught us valuable lessons they had learned along their journey to becoming a physician. They made me feel like I belonged there. This program specifically focused on opening opportunities in medicine to women of color, which I appreciate because we are not represented enough in this field. Over these three years, I conducted research projects about the negative impacts of food deserts on obesity and about mental health in my high school. I began to fall in love with science again, rekindling the fascination I had as a young scientist. The limitlessness of science has inspired me to pursue a career in STEM where I can continue my research on the many questions no one has answered yet.