Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation, title and author at the beginning of your essay. (500 words about, no more than 650)
“You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.”
― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
Lights up on a couch potato. Literally.
When I was 9, I wrote my first play about a boy who ate so much junk food and watched so much TV that he turned into a starchy crop stuck to his sofa. A troupe of professional, traveling actors from The Imagination Machine performed my comedic skit in front of giggling elementary school students. As the audience laughed at my human-turned-couch-potato, I knew I was on the right path to winning a Tony Award--after all, a potato is like a play.
It begins underground. The roots push through darkness, reaching for nutrients and a strong grip on the earth. I am alone in my room with the seed of an idea that consumes me. Words fill the page in a frenzy that would make Samuel French flinch. Lights up on news articles and personal, intimate histories collected from hours of research. I dig until I can curl my fingers around what feels like a story: conflict, check. Biting dialogue, check. Characters I want to simultaneously hug and slap, check.
Because my perspective has shifted, sprouts spring from the seed’s eyes and the plant breaks the surface. I format and muster up the courage to send my words into the unknown, to collaborate with artists and bring it to life. My play no longer flourishes through willpower alone—it is a team effort to take care of the seedling. The countdown to opening night begins.
“You want to hear the backstory I came up with for my character?”
It is questions like these from actors that captivate me in rehearsal. The universe is no longer only mine--directors, actors, producers, stage managers live and breathe in a world I build. Cue the Italian runs, unscripted curse words, and giggles in an empty theater--yet theater without an audience is just rehearsal.
Life as a potato isn’t easy. There are powerful forces of nature to deal with and the struggle to grow, to emerge stronger than before. Every meeting with an artistic team of visionaries scrapes away an unnecessary scene, or discovers another layer, or goes off on a tangent entirely--and those are the best conversations. Conversations that deeply move me when an actor shares his own experience about losing a parent, that reaffirm me in my moments of soul-crushing doubt, that validate the reason why I write, in hopes that my stories may resonate with even one person in the audience.
The potato reaches maturation when it loses some of its leaves, vines changing color to something more beautiful. It is now ready to be presented to the public eye. Cue gasps, wet cheeks, and laughter from the audience, united in that moment. Everyone eats potatoes--theater equalizes the playing field. Just as the potato spreads across the globe, whether my plays are performed in a school’s church-turned-theater, a white box in New York, the Stella Adler theatre in Hollywood, or the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, we clap because we believe. After house lights go up, audience members approach me with their life stories in hand, and those are the moments I tear up and marvel at the power of words.
After experiencing imagination in action, I don’t think I’ll be turning into a couch potato anytime soon. After all, a potato is like a play, not a playwright, and one potato can yield an entire harvest more.
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you. (About 150 words)
If I describe to you my life, you’d assume I’m a spy.
After all, I was recruited when I was 11. My assignments require significant travel to infiltrate red carpets and junkets, relaying intel to bosses who sit atop skyscrapers.
Instead of X-Ray sunglasses, I’m equipped with only a mic and a notepad. Like an agent studying files all night, I research assets and brainstorm unique questions.
I work erratic hours and stay calm under pressure. Though I’m not setting traps for villains, I do talk with green monsters like the Hulk, Kermit, and Mike Wazowski. I train intensely as a Maze Runner, study How to Train Your Dragon, and venture Into The Woods. It pays off when I acquire exclusive insight into artists’ lives, revealing facets of depth to the public. I connect with another human and gain invaluable perspective.
Real spy or not--this job is just as cool.
Please tell us how you have spent the last two summers (or vacations between school years), including any jobs you have held. (About 150 words)
At the HOBY World Leadership Congress in Chicago, I became part of a family of 456 ambassadors from 11 different countries. After late night talks comparing lifestyles with my roommate from Beijing, afternoons packaging thousands of meals for needy families, and hugs from strangers who are now my lifelong friends from across the globe, I found that I could open my heart wider than ever before. HOBY taught us that we possess more courage and willpower than we ever imagined.
At JCamp, an all-expense paid weeklong seminar hosted by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), I was mentored by industry professionals of all ethnicities. I joined the 41 top student journalists from across the nation in a conversation about diversity in the newsroom. We discussed our different perspectives, from covering Ferguson to Capitol Hill politics to cultural appropriation, and emerged knowing our voices need to be heard. (148)
Your favorite book and its author: “House of The Spirits” by Isabel Allende
Your favorite movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Your favorite website: YouTube
Two adjectives your friends would use to describe you: passionate, optimistic
Your favorite recording: Hamilton soundtrack
Your favorite keepsake or memento: stuffed animals
Your favorite source of inspiration: works of art--plays, musicals, movies, books, museums, dance
Your favorite word: curio
Your favorite line from a movie or book and its title: “Second star to the right and straight on til morning” – Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie