Pay Off College acceptance letters. Scholarships. Awards. Promotions. Public recognition. Leveling up in World of Warcraft. All of these things make our heart beat 10x faster. After all, we’ve worked so hard: we’ve studied hard, we’ve written and rewritten drafts for scholarship applications, we’ve played over 1000 hours in League [...]
Attaining Nirvana Rounding the bend on I-80 East, the summits of the snowy Sierras are magically unveiled like curtains parting to reveal a beautiful day; coasting along the spectacular vistas of Highway 1, the waves below crash against the cliffs, a signature landscape of Northern California beaches. Of course, there’s [...]
Project SERVE Look, I get community service. As an Eagle Scout and a former Boy Scout, I understand the value of giving back to the community that has helped raised you through adolescence. Giving back to one’s community provides an invaluable asset to any city, and should in every aspect [...]
Red, White, and Blue The hues of red, white, and blue reserve a sacred place in my heart. When I see the trifecta of our nation’s glorious colors, only one thought comes to mind: I am being pulled over right now. I feel it first in the acceleration of my [...]
Envisioning the Future The bright lights blind my tired eyes. As I sit waiting for my name to be called, the blank, white walls stare back at me. Breathing in the antiseptic air, I am immediately calmed. Someone calls my name. It is time. They hand me a dressing gown, [...]
Fear of Failure I always believed that failure was not an option, that if I worked hard enough, any failure could be overcome, until my swimming incident. I tell my teammates and my coaches that “It feels like floating.” But “floating” is simply a euphemism, a concealment for the terror, [...]
Friday Nights My room is a horror movie for electronics. Strewn across every surface are various resistors, capacitors, wires, screwdrivers, and other electronic parts. I am the mad scientist, the person who rips into every device I can get my hands onto. Unlike the cliche horror villain, I do not [...]
The Middle Lane Secret If I’ve learned anything throughout my life it is this: the middle lane was made for a reason. Yes, the middle lane, outlined in yellow dashed lines with one arrow pointing right, and another pointing left. Where you may see this lane as a simple tool [...]
I Am the Daughter I am the daughter of a skateboarder and a photographer, a guitarist and a backpacker, a college dropout and a high school dropout, and I could not ask for anything better. Some students are predetermined to do well academically before they are even born-- their parents [...]
Not an Olympian I always imagined my aspirations as tangible. I always imagined the people I socialized with as my "friends". I always imagined that I had a stronger support system. Yet, I soon realized that life is not simple; dreams are either impossible or difficult to achieve; people, regardless [...]