how i got here
While I’m still pondering the level of discretion I need to exercise - I don’t know if I should care about being identified - it still is important to lay down the prologue to the exciting story of my college experience. I’ll spare the unnecessary details and highlight the ones that while may make me identifiable, are nonetheless essential for an understanding of who I am.
I was born in the suburbs in the Bay Area into one of those archetypal Asian-American families you read about – the ones that stress academic achievement and prepare their children while in the womb for the success that is, allegedly, their destiny. I lived there my whole life, relatively sheltered, and I can say that for the most part I had a happy albeit uneventful childhood. I attended a high achieving high school, which possessed a predominantly Asian demographic and was noted for the distinctive academic culture that characterizes many of the powerhouse schools in California.
Holding myself to a high academic standard was something ingrained in me from as far back as I can remember – I don’t know if it can be attributed to my parents, but I believe a lot of it just comes from my chief vice: pride. Eventually, my parents just stopped pushing me and let me go on my own. In that respect, I am thankful that I became the quintessential Asian kid by choice, and not by parental coercion. I took your standardized tests. I whored your school organizations. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I probably served to perpetuate the stereotypical image of an Asian student, but I did it because my actions aligned with who I was. I did what I did by being myself.
I had a fantastic high school experience, I think. I had trustworthy friends. I played a sport and was involved on campus. And to say it in the most truthful and least conceited way possible, people knew me. I don’t think it was a result of being a great guy or whatever, but rather for two reasons. The first is for my academic reputation (I’m rolling my eyes as I type this) – Asian mom network does exist. The second is that I’d been living in that same town for all eighteen years of my life. I was bound to know a lot of people.
I’m going to be honest. I did not want to come to Princeton.
If not for lack of financial aid, I’d be studying at a certain technological school in Cambridge. Or enjoying actually warm weather in California with my high school classmates and my girlfriend, J.
But nonetheless, here I am. Four years ahead of me. At this point, I don’t really question why I’m here anymore. But I am still trying to figure out how to play the hand I was dealt.
