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The Birth of a Little Boy
I was born on August 15, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois. However, I moved to China because my parents needed to work, and they had no time to take care of me. My grandparents took care of me for the majority of my first five years. -
Disobedient Little Boy
I was very disobedient when I was young at my grandparents' place. I would throw things at my sister and break things. I would also take the toys of my sister. -
The Beginning of My Journey
A little after reaching five years old, I moved back to Chicago. My sister returned earlier because she was born two years earlier than me. Since I was very young, I did not remember that I had a sister when I arrived in Chicago. -
4th Grade Math Competition
In 4th grade, we had this special math competition between the two 4th grade classes. It was originally an idea of my 4th grade teacher, where a multiplication flashcard was shown to two students, and the first one to say the answer would proceed (elimination tournament). The competition was one student from one class against one student from the other class. A class will emerge victorious when a class was out of contestants. I was somehow able to take out the last three people in a row. -
First Time Riding a Bicycle
My parents bought a small, pink bicycle for my sister when was little. It was not really a bicycle because it came with two attachable extra wheels (making it four wheel-ed). We always rode it with 4 wheels because we were afraid of how hard riding a bike with 2 wheels would be. I was encouraged by my dad to try it, which he then took off the two extra wheels. To my surprise, it was extremely easy, and we bought my own bike soon after (its a pretty small bike now though). -
My Caring Personality
I gave my cousin Pokemon cards, and he was extremely happy. This encouraged him to start his collection, which became way bigger than mine since I became interested in Pokemon cards near the end of my childhood. He then encouraged my other little cousin to start collecting too. My cousins, for some reason, brought their Pokemon cards to China for our vacation (in 2017). Surprisingly, we used them a ton. We replaced regular playing cards with Pokemon cards, and played for a few hours everyday. -
My Forgetfulness
I worked at my family's restaurant for a few years. In the past, we had this third phone that was located below the computers used to type out orders. A customer called in through this phone since the other two phones were occupied, and I told that customer to wait. After taking care of the other phones, I completely forgot about the phone down there, and I left it hanging. I would have been fired if it was not my family's restaurant. -
Summer Vacation in China
I went to China during the summer after 7th grade. My sister, my two cousins, and my uncle came with me. We stayed over there for a month, and I talked to many of my family members that lived in China. -
New Year Celebration
My family celebrated the new year (we celebrate in February) with a hot pot (its like a steamer for raw foods) feast. There was a lot of seafood, and I really enjoyed it. I also received red packets that contained $400. -
8th Grade Graduation Trip
The graduation trip was one of the most memorable days of my life. My class went on the Odyssey, a cruise. We were given access to go to the top of the ship, and the view was spectacular. Afterwards, we were given the freedom to roam around Navy Pier before going to see a Blue Man Group performance. -
The Beginning of My Journey At Taft
This day was the first day of school for my freshmen year. I was worried that I would not make friends considering the type of person I am, but I somehow did. It was really awkward to see a group of new faces after being in kindergarten to 8th grade at my elementary school. -
My "Playful" Nature
I started to have this habit of saying "no" to my parents for fun. For example, my parents would tell me to clean the table, and I would quickly respond with a "no" (I still did everything though). My parents did not like this habit (they took my sarcasm seriously), but its too attached to me now. -
My Strong Competitive Nature
In AP US History, we had a team game that tested our knowledge of the 1900s. It was simply naming as many terms as possible that was relevant in a certain time period. My team was ahead in points, and I started to become loud (due to my competitive nature). I would say things like "let's gooo..." loudly, which contrasted my quiet nature outside of competitive things. -
My Lack of Courage
I was someone (I still am) that was scared of roller coasters and virtually every other attraction that involved height as its thriller in an amusement park. I had a cousin that came with me to this amusement park this day. He was, I believe, in 5th grade. I was about to enter my sophomore year. This little boy was not afraid of anything, and tried all of those attractions that I feared. I, on the other hand, could not do anything... -
My Laziness
I did not do any house chores without being told by my parents (my mom complained this day about this). I would not even throw out filled trash cans, and my parents would do it when they come back from work or tell me to do it. -
The Picky Eater and Sushi
I was a picky eater since I was born. I did not like vegetables, so I ordered plain hamburgers (this changed) I was the person that judged a book by its cover. This day, when I went to a seafood buffet called Royal (which I went to many times already), I decided to try sushi, something that my family encouraged me to try. After trying it, sushi quickly became one of my favorite foods. -
My Pessimistic Personality
My lack of optimism or pessimistic personality affected me greatly. For example, if I look down from somewhere high with my hands on the railings, I would think that I may fall. This was why I have not yet learned how to swim. During my sophomore year, I could not let myself to try to swim without a kick board because I constantly think of myself drowning. Now, I feel embarrassed because my mom told me that boys should learn how to swim when I was young. -
My Sister's HS Graduation Ceremony
My sister's graduation was a very memorable event. I was able to hear her valedictorian speech, and I am sure that she was nervous to speak in front of so many people. My sister left in August for college, and it was awkward because she was always there in my life before she moved. She was the person that guided me through my difficult times. -
My AP US History Score
I took AP US History, which I did quite bad in class. I fully expected a 2 or 3, but I got a 5. I was really happy that APUSH was finally over. I was so stressed out due to the delay and my lack of optimism. -
My Quiet and Nervous Personality
I was someone that could not overcome peer pressure, so therefore, I became a quiet person at school. I am also very nervous around others (except my family) to the point that I cannot even speak simple sentences without messing up the grammar when talking to others. This day, I had a Socratic Seminar in my PPS class. I realized that my quietness, my shyness, my nervousness would not get me anywhere. In the end, I did not talk as I felt like my mouth was zipped up.
