导语
美本申请时，大多数家长都很关心各个学校的补充论文怎么写的出彩，但其实通用申请common app的论文也非常重要。毫不夸张地说，写出精彩的通用申请文书对于任何学生来讲，都是在争取进入理想学校的申请过程中的最重要的事情。这就需要详细了解通用申请文书的写法，以及招生人员究竟看重什么。
今天我们就为大家整理了十篇往届优秀学生的通用申请文书范文，了解一下其他人都是怎么写的。
2026-2027文书题目
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
有些学生的背景、身份、兴趣或才能非常有意义，他们认为如果没有这样的背景、身份、兴趣或才能，他们的申请就不完整。如果这听起来像你，那么请分享你的故事。
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
我们从所遇到的障碍中汲取的教训可能是日后成功的根本。请回忆一下你遇到挑战、挫折或失败的经历。它对你有什么影响，你从中学到了什么？
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
回想你质疑或挑战某种信念或想法的经历。是什么引发了你的思考？结果如何？
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
回想一下某人为你做的一件事，这件事以一种令人惊讶的方式让你感到快乐或感激。这种感激是如何影响或激励你的？
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
讨论一个成就、事件或感悟，它引发了一段时期的个人成长和对自己或他人的新理解。
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
描述一个你认为非常吸引你的话题、想法或概念，以至于让你忘记了时间。为什么它会吸引你？当你想了解更多信息时，你会向什么人求助？
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
分享一篇文章，题目自选。可以是你已经写过的文章，也可以是根据不同提示写的文章，还可以是你自己设计的文章。
01、中文版
一进双扇门，新鲜出炉的饼干香味立刻扑面而来。我顺着扇叶的轨迹，看着它们在我头顶上方旋转，发出低沉而重复的嗡嗡声，仿佛一首轻柔的旋律。父亲把我们常点的“Tailgate Special”端上桌后，开始和母亲、我以及我十一岁的姐姐讨论苹果股票最近的表现。Bojangle's 是一家以炸鸡和可靠的快餐闻名的南方餐厅，也是我家周五晚上常去的餐厅，我们经常一起去附近的 Eva Perry 图书馆。我一只手拿着裹着面包屑的炸鸡，另一只手放在《南希·朱尔：鳄鱼岛之谜》，随着惊悚故事的展开，我几乎坐不住了。它们被囚禁了！是爬行动物！不是敌人的船！我啜饮着甜茶，沉浸在故事中，感觉像在家一样……
“五、六、七、八！”我喊着节奏，十九位舞者开始旋转剑上的流苏，并脚跟对脚尖地走向中国古典剑舞的下一个队形。瞥一眼我的笔记本，发现一页页磨损的纸张上写满了精心设计的队形、节奏和动作。通过与亲戚分享我的表演视频，或者探索和编排某些地方舞蹈的细微差别及其对当地独特文化的体现，我加深了与父母、传统和社区的联系。当我登上舞台时，我花费在编舞、创造姿势、教学和打磨上的时间都变得值得，舞台成了我的家。
设定温度。校准。积分。分析。设定温度。校准。积分。分析。这个脉冲模拟了我的心跳，这是我每天走进实验室时持续存在的微妙节奏。无论是在通风橱下处理铂纳米粒子、处理原始积分数据，还是在铜片上喷涂铂薄膜，我都是在哈德森大厅的 304 实验室第一次感受到这种独特的感觉，然后我就回家了。在花了几个星期尝试合成直径在 10 到 16 纳米之间的铂纳米粒子后，在仔细监控硫酸槽后，我终于获得了直径为 14.6 纳米的纳米粒子。当我在笔记本上涂鸦时，那种独特的刺痛感在我的手臂上跳动：我被一种无拘无束的喜悦所淹没。
我身着T恤、短裤，系着一条做旧的深绿色挂绳，飞快地穿过院子，从选修课“用Rassias方法学习阿拉伯语”跑到“编织涅槃”。今天下午只是州长学校东校区众多下午中的一个，在这里，我从一个高中生蜕变成一个哲学家、一个思想家和一个充满热情的学习者。在梅雷迪思自然科学学院读研究生期间，我学到的教训和经验远远超出了物理概念、连续稀释和毒性。我学会了相信自己，能够就政治和经济形势进行艰难而必要的对话。州长学校孕育了一种包容和多维的文化，我从“勤奋的女孩”或“科学女孩”变成了一个沉迷于科学、参与心理学和经济学辩论、热爱摇摆和萨尔萨舞的人。当我打好活结，开始编织时，我感觉自己回到了家。
我的家充满活力，兼收并蓄。虽然我在北卡罗来纳州卡里市的同一栋房子里住了十年，但我找到并打造了充满传统、艺术家、研究人员和知识分子的家园和社区。虽然我可能并不总是住在离Bojangle's五英里以内的地方，也不总是住在304实验室附近，但学习如何成为一个更有洞察力的女儿和妹妹，分享我传承的美好，勇于冒险，重新定义科学和个人的期望，这些都将持续影响我对家的感觉。
英文版
As I enter the double doors, the smell of freshly rolled biscuits hits me almost instantly. I trace the fan blades as they swing above me, emitting a low, repetitive hum resembling a faint melody. After bringing our usual order, the “Tailgate Special,” to the table, my father begins discussing the recent performance of Apple stock with my mother, myself, and my older eleven year old sister. Bojangle’s, a Southern establishment well known for its fried chicken and reliable fast food, is my family’s Friday night restaurant, often accompanied by trips to Eva Perry, the nearby library. With one hand on my breaded chicken and the other on Nancy Drew: Mystery of Crocodile Island, I can barely sit still as the thriller unfolds. They’re imprisoned! Reptiles! Not the enemy’s boat! As I delve into the narrative with a sip of sweet tea, I feel at home.
“Five, six, seven, eight!” As I shout the counts, nineteen dancers grab and begin to spin the tassels attached to their swords while walking heel-to-toe to the next formation of the classical Chinese sword dance. A glance at my notebook reveals a collection of worn pages covered with meticulously planned formations, counts, and movements. Through sharing videos of my performances with my relatives or discovering and choreographing the nuances of certain regional dances and their reflection on the region’s distinct culture, I deepen my relationship with my parents, heritage, and community. When I step on stage, the hours I’ve spent choreographing, creating poses, teaching, and polishing are all worthwhile, and the stage becomes my home.
Set temperature. Calibrate. Integrate. Analyze. Set temperature. Calibrate. Integrate. Analyze. This pulse mimics the beating of my heart, a subtle rhythm that persists each day I come into the lab. Whether I am working under the fume hood with platinum nanoparticles, manipulating raw integration data, or spraying a thin platinum film over pieces of copper, it is in Lab 304 in Hudson Hall that I first feel the distinct sensation, and I’m home. After spending several weeks attempting to synthesize platinum nanoparticles with a diameter between 10 and 16 nm, I finally achieve nanoparticles with a diameter of 14.6 nm after carefully monitoring the sulfuric acid bath. That unmistakable tingling sensation dances up my arm as I scribble into my notebook: I am overcome with a feeling of unbridled joy.
Styled in a t-shirt, shorts, and a worn, dark green lanyard, I sprint across the quad from the elective ‘Speaking Arabic through the Rassias Method’ to ‘Knitting Nirvana’. This afternoon is just one of many at Governor’s School East, where I have been transformed from a high school student into a philosopher, a thinker, and an avid learner. While I attend GS at Meredith College for Natural Science, the lessons learned and experiences gained extend far beyond physics concepts, serial dilutions, and toxicity. I learn to trust myself to have difficult yet necessary conversations about the political and economic climate. Governor’s School breeds a culture of inclusivity and multidimensionality, and I am transformed from “girl who is hardworking” or “science girl” to someone who indulges in the sciences, debates about psychology and the economy, and loves to swing and salsa dance. As I form a slip knot and cast on, I’m at home.
My home is a dynamic and eclectic entity. Although I’ve lived in the same house in Cary, North Carolina for 10 years, I have found and carved homes and communities that are filled with and enriched by tradition, artists, researchers, and intellectuals. While I may not always live within a 5 mile radius of a Bojangle’s or in close proximity to Lab 304, learning to become a more perceptive daughter and sister, to share the beauty of my heritage, and to take risks and redefine scientific and personal expectations will continue to impact my sense of home.
02、中文版
那天是复活节，我们本该和家人一起庆祝，但我爸爸把我们锁在屋里了。如果他不出门，我和妈妈也一样。
我母亲从墨西哥来到美国学习英语。她曾经是个优秀的学生，前途一片光明。但她爱上了一个男人，后来成了我的父亲，并与之私奔。他爱她的方式很不健康，而且对她进行身体和言语上的虐待。我母亲缺乏重新开始的勇气，所以她和他在一起，慢慢地放弃了自己的梦想和抱负。但她不允许同样的事发生在我身上。
大三之前的那个夏天，我获得了去埃及留学的奖学金。不出所料，我父亲拒绝让我去。但我母亲不会让他也粉碎我的梦想。我愿意这样做，是为了我自己，也是为了我母亲未竟的梦想。我接受了奖学金。
我以为我终于可以在埃及拥有我渴望的所有自由，但最初并没有。每周我都会在街上听到侮辱和受到骚扰，但我没有屈服于社会对女性的期望而待在室内。我继续在埃及漫游，探索吉萨大金字塔，乘船游览尼罗河，前往卢克索和阿斯旺。在我返回美国之前，我获得了前往伦敦和巴黎的意外机会。这太不真实了：一个来自贫民窟的女孩独自一人手里拿着地图环游世界，没有任何男人或文化标准可以决定我该做什么。我乘坐地铁从剑桥大学到大英博物馆。我乘火车从伦敦到巴黎，两天内我参观了埃菲尔铁塔、卢浮宫、巴黎圣母院，并在塞纳河上乘船游览。尽管存在语言障碍，但我发现我有自信向任何人问路。
当我在欧洲享受自由时，我母亲搬了出去，租了一套自己的房子。我们仿佛同时获得了独立。我们彼此为彼此感到骄傲。当我给她发照片，讲述我的冒险经历时，她也仿佛体会到了我的感受。
最终，我们自由了。
我目前和母亲住在美国。父亲逐渐从一个冷漠的男人变成了我一直渴望的慈爱父亲。生活并非完美，但目前我和家人享受着宁静和稳定，沟通也比以往任何时候都更加顺畅。
我参与学校领导力委员会的活动委员会，担任活动委员会的负责人。我们负责策划和执行学校舞会，并撰写有效的捐款信。我把这视为我未来的基石，因为我计划修读女性研究和国际关系双学位，并专注于中东研究。阿拉伯之春的政治动荡之后，许多中东国家拒绝赋予女性平等的社会地位，因为这与伊斯兰教义相悖。通过压迫女性，他们压制了一半人口的声音。我认为这些伊斯兰教义一直以来都被误解，而我追求独立的历程也激励着我去帮助其他女性获得解放。
我的复活节将与往年截然不同。我和妈妈不再宅在家里，而是在户外庆祝我们的重生和新生。
英文版
It was Easter and we should’ve been celebrating with our family, but my father had locked us in the house. If he wasn’t going out, neither were my mother and I.
My mother came to the U.S. from Mexico to study English. She’d been an exceptional student and had a bright future ahead of her. But she fell in love and eloped with the man that eventually became my father. He loved her in an unhealthy way, and was both physically and verbally abusive. My mother lacked the courage to start over so she stayed with him and slowly let go of her dreams and aspirations. But she wouldn’t allow for the same to happen to me.
In the summer before my junior year I was offered a scholarship to study abroad in Egypt. Not to my surprise, my father refused to let me go. But my mother wouldn’t let him crush my dreams as well. I’d do this for myself and for my mothers unfulfilled aspirations. I accepted the scholarship.
I thought I’d finally have all the freedom I longed for in Egypt, but initially I didn’t. On a weekly basis I heard insults and received harassment in the streets, yet I didn’t yield to the societal expectations for women by staying indoors. I continued to roam throughout Egypt, exploring the Great Pyramids of Giza , cruising on the Nile, and traveling to Luxor and Aswan. And before I returned to the U.S. I received the unexpected opportunity to travel to London and Paris. It was surreal: a girl from the ghetto traveling alone around the world with a map in her hands And no man or cultural standards could dictate what I was to do. I rode the subway from Cambridge University to the British Museum. I took a train from London to Paris and in two days I visited the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and took a cruise on the Seine. Despite the language barrier I found I had the self-confidence to approach anyone for directions.
While I was in Europe enjoying my freedom, my mother moved out and rented her own place. It was as if we’d simultaneously gained our independence. We were proud of each other. And she vicariously lived through my experiences as I sent her pictures and told her about my adventures.
Finally, we were free.
I currently live in the U.S with my mother. My father has gradually transformed from a frigid man to the loving father I always yearned for. Life isn’t perfect, but for the moment I’m enjoying tranquility and stability with my family and are communicating much better than ever before.
I’m involved in my school’s Leadership Council as leader of our events committee. We plan and execute school dances and create effective donation letters. I see this as a stepping-stone for my future, as I plan to double major in Women’s Studies and International Relations with a focus on Middle Eastern studies. After the political turmoil of the Arab Spring many Middle Eastern countries refuse to grant women equal positions in society because that would contradict Islamic texts. By oppressing women they’re silencing half of their population. I believe these Islamic texts have been misinterpreted throughout time, and my journey towards my own independence has inspired me to help other women find liberation as well.
My Easter will drastically differ from past years. Rather than being locked at home, my mother and I will celebrate outdoors our rebirth and renewal.
03、中文版
八年级时，有人让我写下我的爱好和职业目标，但我犹豫了。我应该随便编个吗？我不好意思告诉别人我的爱好是收集化妆品，而且我想成为一名化妆品化学家。我担心别人会觉得我太女孩子气，能力不如那些想在联合国外交部门工作或监管网络打击黑客的朋友。我对自己的“爱好”缺乏自信，或许恰恰证明了化妆品是无关紧要的，而我热爱它，只是个肤浅的女孩。
但化妆品不仅仅是一种消遣，它更是我日常生活中不可或缺的一部分。早上，我早早起床，进行日常护肤，提亮肤色，遮瑕，这让我一整天都充满活力和自信。睡前，我会进行舒缓的清洁仪式，涂抹不同质地和香味的液体、面霜、喷雾和凝胶，放松身心。我的化妆品收藏是我的可靠伙伴——我没有把它们藏起来，而是决定学习和探索更多关于化妆品的知识。
然而，学校里没有化妆品科学这门课，所以我自己设计了培训课程。一开始，我找了一位当地的美容师教我化妆品的基础知识，每个星期天我都会去她的实验室配制有机产品。一年的实验室实践让我意识到自己对成分的了解是多么的匮乏，所以我继续进行着对毒素的独立研究。我发现，化妆品的安全性在科学家、政策制定者、企业和消费者群体中一直是一个争议话题，他们告诉我，有些有毒成分可能有害，也可能无害。这种不确定性让我感到沮丧，但也激励我去寻找与他人分享我所学知识的方法。
研究激发行动。我开始撰写关于有毒化妆品历史的文章，从伊丽莎白时代粉底中的铅到如今口红中的铅，并在网上与大量读者交流。数百名读者的积极反馈激励我提升写作水平，提高同龄人的环保意识。因此，我撰写了一份游戏化的调查问卷，用于在线发布，探讨化妆品中松散的天然和有机标签问题，这些标签既缺乏监管，也缺乏明确的定义。在学校，我看到了促成真正变革的机会，并发起了一系列绿色化学活动：绿色议程让学校社区积极参与，并吸引了众多学生的创意，例如最近一个向当地犬只收容所捐赠手工有机宠物洗发水的项目。到了高三，我很高兴我的探索取得了进展。
但最近一次回家度假，我整理行李时发现，这些年来化妆品占据了我不少空间。梳妆台和抽屉里塞满了没用过的管状和罐状化妆品——它们曾经是我用心挑选的——如今却成了垃圾。我仔细地翻看着每一瓶变硬的粉饼和褪色的乳液，回忆着它们曾经让我兴奋的原因，以及我是如何使用它的。审视这些纪念品让我意外地意识到：是的，我曾经是一个肤浅的女孩，痴迷于拥有干净无瑕的肌肤。
但还有更多的事情。
我的化妆品给了我自信和安慰，这没什么不好。我很高兴我没有抛弃那个肤浅的自己，而是接纳了她，并陪伴她，带她踏上一段充满启迪和回报的旅程。化妆品让我更深入地探究科学，帮助我培养出充满激情的声音，并成为我与他人联系的工具。总而言之，我明白了一段有意义的旅程之美在于迷失，因为正是在蜿蜒曲折中，我找到了自己。
英文版
In eighth grade, I was asked to write my hobbies and career goals, but I hesitated. Should I just make something up? I was embarrassed to tell people that my hobby was collecting cosmetics and that I wanted to become a cosmetic chemist. I worried others would judge me as too girlish and less competent compared to friends who wanted to work at the UN in foreign affairs or police the internet to crack down on hackers. The very fact that I was insecure about my "hobby" was perhaps proof that cosmetics was trivial, and I was a superficial girl for loving it.
But cosmetics was not just a pastime, it was an essential part of my daily life. In the morning I got up early for my skincare routine, using brightening skin tone and concealing blemishes, which gave me the energy and confidence throughout the day. At bedtime I relaxed with a soothing cleansing ritual applying different textures and scents of liquids, creams, sprays, and gels. My cosmetic collection was a dependable companion - rather than hiding it away, I decided instead to learn more about cosmetics, and to explore.
However, cosmetic science wasn't taught at school so I designed my own training. It began with the search for a local cosmetician to teach me the basics of cosmetics, and each Sunday I visited her lab to formulate organic products. A year of lab practice taught me how little I knew about ingredients, so my training continued with independent research on toxins. I discovered that safety in cosmetics was a contested issue amongst scientists, policy makers, companies, and consumer groups, variously telling me there are toxic ingredients that may or may not be harmful. I was frustrated by this uncertainty, yet motivated to find ways of sharing what I was learning with others.
Research spurred action. I began writing articles on the history of toxic cosmetics, from lead in Elizabethan face powder to lead in today's lipstick, and communicated with a large readership online. Positive feedback from hundreds of readers inspired me to step up my writing, to raise awareness with my peers, so I wrote a gamified survey for online distribution discussing the slack natural and organic labeling of cosmetics, which are neither regulated nor properly defined. At school I saw opportunities to affect real change and launched a series of green chemistry campaigns: the green agenda engaged the school community in something positive and was a magnet for creative student ideas, such as a recent project to donate handmade organic pet shampoo to local dog shelters. By senior year, I was pleased my exploration had gone well.
But on a recent holiday back home, I unpacked and noticed cosmetics had invaded much of my space over the years. Dresser top and drawers were crammed with unused tubes and jars — once handpicked with loving care — had now become garbage. I sorted through each hardened face powder and discolored lotion, remembering what had excited me about the product and how I'd used it. Examining these mementos led me to a surprising realization: yes, I had been a superficial girl obsessed with clear and flawless skin.
But there was something more too.
My makeup had given me confidence and comfort, and that was okay. I am glad I didn't abandon the superficial me, but instead acknowledged her, and stood by her to take her on an enlightening and rewarding journey. Cosmetics led me to dig deeper into scientific inquiry, helped me develop an impassioned voice, and became a tool to connect me with others. Together, I've learned that the beauty of a meaningful journey lies in getting lost for it was in the meandering that I found myself.
04
中文版
变形金刚并非只有男孩才玩。我第一次在玩具店看到这些能变形成飞机和汽车的神奇机器人时，就爱上了它们。孩子们把所有样品都占了，不让我玩。我大声抗议，妈妈却温和地责备我说变形金刚丑陋不堪，缺乏女人味。她错了。
当我从中国搬到加拿大时，最初的兴奋变成了沮丧，因为我的同龄人并不像我希望的那样理解我的语言障碍。我加入了机器人团队，拼命地想找到一个社群，尽管我怀疑自己是否能融入这个男性主导的领域。当我用物理学来确定齿轮比，第一次拿起钻头，并跳进坑里修理机器人时，我就迷上了它。
那年夏天，我回中国把机器人技术带给朋友们。我邀请他们一起去母校的技术室，向他们演示如何使用电动工具制作机器人零件。我向校长和系主任们介绍了我的想法。我离开中国的时候，母校已经组建了一个团队。
在接下来的一年里，我借助社交媒体指导我的中国团队——当时中国仅有的三支团队之一。我翻译说明，设定搭建截止日期，并指导他们如何回答评委的问题。
一年后，我回到中国，带领我的团队参加了他们在中国举办的首届国际比赛。一到比赛现场，我就立即将一些重要文件交给了中方负责人，要求他们紧急分发。我知道所有中国团队都需要仔细了解比赛规则和流程。令我惊讶的是，比赛陷入了混乱。政府的政策阻碍了信息共享，导致中国团队无法获取信息，而中国组织者也没有分发我的文件。我决定为我刚刚起步的机器人团队创造另一个知识来源。
我花了几周时间创建了一个学生可以通过防火墙访问的共享平台。我在这个平台上分享了我的经验，并发布了一些实际的练习挑战。我收到了数百条分享，并发布了数十个讨论问题。
我的平台的受欢迎程度引发了一个意想不到的问题：它引起了中国机器人组织的关注和谴责。当一位主管官员联系我的加拿大导师，警告他们停止我与中国团队的合作时，我感到担忧。当一位中国官员在一个大型机器人论坛上公开谴责我时，我心碎不已。他们明确表示，我的性别、我的年龄以及我的信息分享方式都不符合他们的期望。
我考虑过放弃。但很多学生联系我寻求帮助。我想结束这种不必要的排斥。我努力提升平台的访问量。我说服亚马逊赞助我的网站，让它能够访问全球高速服务器。尽管我担心后果，但我还是继续翻译和分享重要文件。
在建筑旺季，我的平台上充斥着讨论、提问和下载。我组织了一群朋友帮我每天监控平台，确保所有问题或请求都能得到解答。我的一些担忧变成了现实：我被禁止进入几个中国机器人论坛。我不再被允许以导师身份参加在中国举办的中国机器人比赛。中国政府不止一次关闭了我的网站。
机器人技术让我第一次接触到科学、技术、工程和数学的奇妙世界。我致力于在需要和渴望机器人技术的领域推动其发展。我用我的双手和智慧打破了所有阻碍人们（无论性别或国籍）获得 STEM 灵感和探索的障碍。
即使在中国，变形金刚、机器人和 STEM 也适合男孩和女孩。
英文版
Transformers are not just for boys. I loved these amazing robots that could transform into planes and cars the first time I saw them in the toy store. The boys had all the samples, refusing to let me play with one. When I protested loudly to my mother, she gently chided me that Transformers were ugly and unfeminine. She was wrong.
When I moved from China to Canada, my initial excitement turned to dismay as my peers were not as understanding of my language barrier as I’d hoped. I joined the robotics team in a desperate attempt to find a community, though I doubted I would fit into the male-dominated field. Once I used physics to determine gear ratio, held a drill for the first time, and jumped into the pit to fix a robot, I was hooked.
I went back to China that summer to bring robotics to my friends. I asked them to join me in the technology room at my old school and showed them how to use power tools to create robot parts. I pitched my idea to the school principal and department heads. By the time I left China, my old school had a team.
Throughout the next year, I guided my Chinese team-only one of three that existed in the country-with the help of social media. I translated instructions, set building deadlines and coached them on how to answer judges’ questions.
I returned to China a year later to lead my team through their first Chinese-hosted international competition. Immediately upon arrival to the competition, I gave the Chinese head official important documents for urgent distribution. I knew all the Chinese teams would need careful instructions on the rules and procedures. I was surprised when the competition descended into confusion and chaos. Government policies against information sharing had blocked the Chinese teams from receiving information and the Chinese organizers hadn’t distributed my documents. I decided to create another source of knowledge for my fledgling robotics teams.
It took me several weeks to create a sharing platform that students could access through the firewall. On it, I shared my experience and posted practical practice challenges. I received hundreds of shares and had dozens of discussion questions posted.
My platform’s popularity created an unintended issue; it garnered the attention and reprimand of the Chinese robotics organizations. When a head official reached out to my Canadian mentors, warning them to stop my involvement with the Chinese teams, I was concerned. When a Chinese official publicly chastised me on a major robotics forum, I was heartbroken. They made it clear that my gender, my youth, and my information sharing approach was not what they wanted.
I considered quitting. But so many students reached out to me requesting help. I wanted to end unnecessary exclusion. I worked to enhance access to my platform. I convinced Amazon to sponsor my site, giving it access to worldwide high-speed servers. Although I worried about repercussions, I continued to translate and share important documents.
During the busy building season, my platform is swamped with discussions, questions and downloads. I have organized a group of friends to help me monitor the platform daily so that no question or request is left unanswered. Some of my fears have come true: I have been banned from several Chinese robotics forums. I am no longer allowed to attend Chinese robotics competitions in China as a mentor. The Chinese government has taken down my site more than once.
Robotics was my first introduction to the wonderful world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. I am dedicated to the growth of robotics in places where it is needed and wanted. I have used my hands and mind to tear down all barriers that separate people, no matter gender or nationality, from the inspiration and exploration of STEM.
Transformers, robotics and STEM are for boys and girls, even in China.
05
中文版
在“沉默围城日”那天，我高中的许多学生加入了“学生支持生命”俱乐部，并佩戴了写有“生命”字样的红色臂章。作为一名在天主教学校就读的非天主教徒，我知道在表达对堕胎辩论的看法时必须谨慎。然而，当我看到所有佩戴臂章的学生都是男性时，我再也无法保持沉默了。
我在 Instagram 上写道：“支持选择权并不一定意味着支持堕胎；这意味着我们尊重女性对自己身体做出选择的基本权利。”
有些同学表示支持，但也有人用“蠢婊子”之类的词来回应我。我要求对方为辱骂道歉，对方却说我需要学会接受笑话：“你脾气这么大，我觉得你需要找个男朋友。” 另一位同学显然觉得这条帖子很讽刺（？），并说：“我不知道女人居然会讽刺别人。”
我一个接一个地回复。我很高兴能引发讨论，但到了午夜，我的精神和情感都疲惫不堪。
140多条评论让我应接不暇，我向父母寻求安慰，以为他们会为我坚持自己的信仰而感到骄傲。但他们却告诉我，鉴于大家的围观，删掉帖子，保持沉默。我拒绝删帖，决定保持沉默。
几个月来，我听到学生们谈论《华盛顿邮报》，一种新的自我意识就像胶带封住了我的嘴。当我研究计划生育的历史（为了回应有人指责它“对黑人婴儿进行种族灭绝”）时，我开始对女权运动的历史感兴趣。与此同时，我在历史课上学习民权运动，并研究我对易卜生《玩偶之家》的女权主义批判。我逐渐意识到，拒绝遵从社会习俗才是推动我们走向平等的动力。马丁·路德·金因“公民抗命”被捕近三十次，苏珊·B·安东尼因“非法投票”被捕。让社交媒体的强烈反应压制我自己为社会正义而战的努力，似乎是愚蠢且不可接受的。
在《华盛顿邮报》之前，我天真地以为性别歧视已经消亡，但后来我意识到它无处不在，无论它多么显眼，还是看似无害。我知道年轻女孩尤其容易受到性别刻板印象的影响，于是我在谷歌上搜索了“女孩赋权项目”，并联系了“奔跑的女孩”组织，看看我能如何提供帮助。作为一名青少年教练，我每周一和周四下午都会和初中女生们一起跑步、唱泰勒·斯威夫特的歌、讨论我们每天取得的成就（我的数学考了100分！），并为第二天设定目标。女孩们庆祝她们的成就，积极地谈论自己，充分表达了她们的自尊。
在《华盛顿邮报》之后，我还在谷歌上搜索了“如何积极参与政治”，并签署了支持《全民医保法案》、《提高工资法案》和《平等对待女性法案》等的请愿书。为了回应跨性别者参军禁令，我给白宫打了电话（我刚说完“作为一名人权倡导者……”，他们就挂断了，但我还是尽力了）。签署请愿书感觉很好，但我做得还不够。我想在法庭上为社会正义而战。
我的榜样露丝·巴德·金斯伯格曾说：“异议者谈论的是未来……他们写作不是为了今天，而是为了明天。” 回想起来，我意识到《华盛顿邮报》就是我表达异议的声音——通过它，我发起了一场全校范围的讨论，并第一次公开挑战了学校的多数意见。我渴望成为一名民权律师，并成为最高法院的首位亚裔女性（希望这不要花太长时间！），我相信我会继续写作，为正义发声——为了明天。
英文版
On “Silent Siege Day,” many students in my high school joined the Students for Life club and wore red armbands with “LIFE” on them. As a non-Catholic in a Catholic school, I knew I had to be cautious in expressing my opinion on the abortion debate. However, when I saw that all of the armband-bearing students were male, I could not stay silent.
I wrote on Instagram, “pro-choice does not necessarily imply pro-abortion; it means that we respect a woman’s fundamental right to make her own choice regarding her own body.”
Some of my peers expressed support but others responded by calling me a dumb bitch, among other names. When I demanded an apology for the name-calling, I was told I needed to learn to take a joke: “you have a lot of anger, I think you need a boyfriend.” Another one of my peers apparently thought the post was sarcastic (?) and said “I didn’t know women knew how to use sarcasm.”
One by one, I responded. I was glad to have sparked discussion, but by midnight, I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.
Completely overwhelmed by the 140+ comments, I looked to my parents for comfort, assuming they would be proud of me for standing up for my beliefs. But instead, they told me to remove the post and to keep quiet, given the audience. I refused to remove the post, but decided to stay silent.
For months, I heard students talking about “The Post,” and a new sense of self-consciousness felt like duct tape over my mouth. As I researched the history of Planned Parenthood (to respond to someone accusing it of “the genocide of black babies”), I became interested in the history of the feminist movement. At the same time, I was studying the Civil Rights Movement in my history class, and researching my feminist critique of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. I gradually began to realize that refusing to conform to the conventions of society is what propels us toward equality. Martin Luther King was arrested nearly thirty times for ‘civil disobedience’ and Susan B. Anthony for ‘illegal voting.’ Letting the social media backlash silence my own fight for social justice seemed silly and unacceptable.
Before The Post, I naïvely thought that sexism was dead, but I came to see its ubiquity, whether it’s painfully conspicuous or seemingly innocuous. Knowing that young girls are especially vulnerable to constricting gender stereotypes, I Googled “girls empowerment programs” and called Girls on the Run to see how I could help. As a junior coach, I spend my Monday and Thursday afternoons with middle school girls, running, singing Taylor Swift songs, discussing our daily achievements (I got 100 on my math test!), and setting goals for the next day. The girls celebrate their accomplishments and talk about themselves positively, fully expressing their self-esteem.
After The Post, I also Googled ‘how to be politically active,’ and signed petitions for the Medicare for All Act, the Raise the Wage Act, and the EACH Woman Act, among others. In response to the transgender military ban, I called the White House (they hung up as soon as I said “as a human rights advocate...,” but I tried). It feels good to sign petitions, but I’m still not doing enough. I want to fight for social justice in the courtroom.
My role model Ruth Bader Ginsburg says, “dissent[ers] speak to a future age... they are writing not for today but for tomorrow.” Retrospectively, I realize that The Post was my voice of dissent―through it, I initiated a campus-wide discussion and openly challenged the majority opinion of my school for the first time. As I aspire to become a civil rights attorney and the first Asian woman on the Supreme Court (I hope it doesn’t take that long!), I am confident that I will continue to write and speak out for justice ―for tomorrow.
06
中文版
“Mijo！Ya levantate！Se hace tarde！”（儿子！醒醒！已经很晚了。）我努力睁开眼睛，父亲的声音刺穿了我的房间。我们那天应该早点开餐厅的。
从五年级开始，我就成了父母在墨西哥埃莫西约家乡的鸿林餐厅的得力助手。有时，他们需要我当收银员；有时，我是餐厅里最年轻的服务员。后来，等我长大了，就被叫到厨房当洗碗工和厨师助理。
餐厅的工作让我和父母承受了巨大的压力。我每天工作超过12个小时（即使节假日也不例外），缺乏父亲的指导，因此不得不从小就培养独立性。平日里，我学会了自己做饭、洗衣服、照顾两个妹妹，还要兼顾学业。
一个圣诞夜，因为父亲想为他的顾客们办一场圣诞庆祝活动，我们不得不准备135只火鸡。我们从晚上11点开始一直忙到凌晨5点。有一次，我注意到父亲眼窝下方出现了大大的黑眼圈。正是这一幕，让我不禁思考：“难道这就是我想要度过余生的方式吗？”
答案是否定的。
于是我开始列目标。我的第一个目标是加入学校的英国英语奥林匹克队，参加英国一年一度的英语比赛。两次尝试失败后，我终于成功了。八个月的严格训练终于有了回报，我们击败了150多所国际学校，捧起了亚军奖杯；我的家乡充满了自豪感。
尽管胜利带来了喜悦，但我的稳定感将再次受到考验，因此我的目标必须适应不断变化的模式。
2014年夏天，为了寻求更好的教育机会，父母把我送到美国独自生活。我和祖父母住在一起，他们说的是台山话（一种我不流利的中国方言）。那个夏天，我忙着办理文件、入学，以及在新家安装水电，新的责任也随之而来。15岁时，我成了家里的财务经理，管理父亲的银行账户，支付账单和保险，同时还要给祖母做翻译，打扫房间。
在搬到一个陌生的国家，肩负着随之而来的重担的过程中，我找到了一项活动，它不仅能帮助我摆脱周围的压力，还能让我发现自己。MESA 让我接触到了 STEM，滋养了我的身心，并让我对数学有了全新的视角。最终，我发现我在数学方面的潜力远不止于帮我爸爸平衡支票簿。
我在墨西哥的15年，塑造了我生活中不可或缺的一部分文化。为了填补对熟悉社区的空虚，我加入了拉丁美洲学生协会，现在担任该协会的执行官。我自豪地拥抱我曾经抛弃的身份。我从俱乐部内部的小辩论开始，到在加州州议会大厦与124名奇卡诺人/拉丁裔人一起讨论法案。
我的目标清单上划掉的越多，就越让我回想起那些拿着锅铲的日子。我再次问自己：“这就是我想要度过余生的方式吗？”我想要一种由激情驱动的生活，而不是被劳作所累。我想探索新的道路，在我的社区中成长，消除对拉美裔的偏见。所以，是的，这就是我想要度过余生的方式。
英文版
“¡Mijo! ¡Ya levantate! ¡Se hace tarde!” (Son! Wake up! It's late already.) My father’s voice pierced into my room as I worked my eyes open. We were supposed to open the restaurant earlier that day.
Ever since 5th grade, I have been my parents’ right hand at Hon Lin Restaurant in our hometown of Hermosillo, Mexico. Sometimes, they needed me to be the cashier; other times, I was the youngest waiter on staff. Eventually, when I got strong enough, I was called into the kitchen to work as a dishwasher and a chef’s assistant.
The restaurant took a huge toll on my parents and me. Working more than 12 hours every single day (even holidays), I lacked paternal guidance, thus I had to build autonomy at an early age. On weekdays, I learned to cook my own meals, wash my own clothes, watch over my two younger sisters, and juggle school work.
One Christmas Eve we had to prepare 135 turkeys as a result of my father’s desire to offer a Christmas celebration to his patrons. We began working at 11pm all the way to 5am. At one point, I noticed the large dark bags under my father’s eyes. This was the scene that ignited the question in my head: “Is this how I want to spend the rest of my life?”
The answer was no.
So I started a list of goals. My first objective was to make it onto my school’s British English Olympics team that competed in an annual English competition in the U.K. After two unsuccessful attempts, I got in. The rigorous eight months of training paid off as we defeated over 150 international schools and lifted the 2nd Place cup; pride permeated throughout my hometown.
Despite the euphoria brought by victory, my sense of stability would be tested again, and therefore my goals had to adjust to the changing pattern.
During the summer of 2014, my parents sent me to live in the United States on my own to seek better educational opportunities. I lived with my grandparents, who spoke Taishan (a Chinese dialect I wasn’t fluent in). New responsibilities came along as I spent that summer clearing my documentation, enrolling in school, and getting electricity and water set up in our new home. At 15 years old, I became the family’s financial manager, running my father’s bank accounts, paying bills and insurance, while also translating for my grandmother, and cleaning the house.
In the midst of moving to a new country and the overwhelming responsibilities that came with it, I found an activity that helped me not only escape the pressures around me but also discover myself. MESA introduced me to STEM and gave me nourishment and a new perspective on mathematics. As a result, I found my potential in math way beyond balancing my dad’s checkbooks.
My 15 years in Mexico forged part of my culture that I just cannot live without. Trying to fill the void for a familiar community, I got involved with the Association of Latin American students, where I am now an Executive Officer. I proudly embrace the identity I left behind. I started from small debates within the club to discussing bills alongside 124 Chicanos/Latinos at the State Capitol of California.
The more I scratch off from my goals list, the more it brings me back to those days handling spatulas. Anew, I ask myself, “Is this how I want to spent the rest of my life?” I want a life driven by my passions, rather than the impositions of labor. I want to explore new paths and grow within my community to eradicate the prejudicial barriers on Latinos. So yes, this IS how I want to spend the rest of my life.
07
中文版
我对各种对比并不陌生。一个说着带口音中文的美籍华人，一个出生于佛罗里达的德克萨斯人，一个拿着英国护照的第一代美国移民：没有哪个标签能毫无保留地适合我。
但我一直努力在差异中寻找联系。在大洋彼岸的家乡，虽然亲戚们流利的普通话在我耳边萦绕，但我在他们身上看到了同样的职业道德，正是这种道德让我的父母从上海农村来到美国，也让我在闷热的乐队练习和咖啡因泛滥的深夜里保持着活力。我甚至会在空闲时间玩非图形拼图（nonograms），这是一种基于网格的逻辑谜题，通过线索填充看似随机的像素来拼出一幅图。
这一切始于我小时候。有一天，我爸爸吸引了我这个幼儿园小朋友的注意力（这可是个巨大的挑战），教我数独。随着他解释规则，我经常在他电脑屏幕上看到的那些神秘的数字框架，变成了由精心策划的策略构建起来的复杂逻辑结构。
从那时起，我开始好奇自己能否揭开生活中其他事物背后隐藏的秩序。小学时，我开始辨别周围世界的规律：薄薄的乌云预示着下雨，月亮每周都会变换形状，而最美味的零食总是最先被吃掉。我想知道究竟是哪些不为人知的规则影响着这些事物，以及它们是如何运作的。我的父母都是管道工程师，他们鼓励我的好奇心，有时还会试着向我解释他们自己是如何在工作中解谜的。虽然我并不理解其中的细节，但他们分析性的思维方式帮助我顺利完成了数学作业，并在《糖果粉碎传奇》中优化了匹配。
高中时，我学习时会把不同学科的概念联系起来，就好像我的课程作业是另一个需要解决的难题。PEMDAS 帮助我理解同位语短语，而革命的催化剂就像化学同位素，名义上不同，但性质相同。
随着年龄的增长，我的兴趣也逐渐扩展，涵盖了精妙的生物系统、复杂的动画以及语言的细微差别。尽管这些学科看似迥异，但它们都以色彩理论和进化论等方法，为观察世界提供了全新而迷人的视角。我过去（现在依然）对新奇事物充满渴望，会花费大量时间钻研维基百科上关于冷门话题的文章，例如古典密码或龙，还会分析一些荒诞的YouTube视频。
毫不奇怪，就像领航鱼和鲨鱼一样，我的职业志向也随着我不同的兴趣爱好而变化：今天我想成为一名插画家，明天想成为一名生物化学家，然后又想成为一名单口喜剧演员。当我缩小选择范围，缩小自我定位时，我感觉没有什么能满足我那不断变化的求知欲。
但当我发现编程之后，一切似乎都尘埃落定。在计算机科学领域，我找到了一个可以发挥创造力、探索不同语言类型，以及（没错）解决难题的领域。编程让我既能分析最纯粹的逻辑，又能运用它完成各种任务，从简单的“打印‘hello world’”到创建功能性游戏，无所不能。即使控制台里充斥着一行行红色的错误信息，调试也能带给我如同完成一个特别精彩的谜题一样的刺激。现在，当我看到文件中有 bug 的贪吃蛇、画图和吃豆人游戏时，我既感到满足，又渴望改进代码，编写新的、更好的程序。
在别人眼中，我的生活或许像一堆互不相容的碎片，像拼图一样杂乱无章，但每一块都能拼凑起来，构成更完整的整体。然而，边缘仍然有一些缺失的部分：需要拥有的经历，需要获取的知识，需要讲的冷笑话。我希望有一天能解开这些无法解开的谜题。但就目前而言，我已经有了一张写着我名字的数图。
英文版
I’m no stranger to contrast. A Chinese American with accented Chinese, a Florida-born Texan, a first generation American with a British passport: no label fits me without a caveat.
But I’ve always strived to find connections among the dissimilar. In my home across the sea, although my relatives’ rapid Mandarin sails over my head, in them I recognize the same work ethic that carried my parents out of rural Shanghai to America, that fueled me through sweltering marching band practices and over caffeinated late nights. I even spend my free time doing nonograms, grid-based logic puzzles solved by using clues to fill in seemingly random pixels to create a picture.
It started when I was a kid. One day, my dad captured my fickle kindergartner attention (a herculean feat) and taught me Sudoku. As he explained the rules, those mysterious scaffoldings of numbers I often saw on his computer screen transformed into complex structures of logic built by careful strategy.
From then on, I wondered if I could uncover the hidden order behind other things in my life. In elementary school, I began to recognize patterns in the world around me: thin, dark clouds signaled rain, the moon changed shape every week, and the best snacks were the first to go. I wanted to know what unseen rules affected these things and how they worked. My parents, both pipeline engineers, encouraged this inquisitiveness and sometimes tried explaining to me how they solved puzzles in their own work. Although I didn’t understand the particulars, their analytical mindsets helped me muddle through math homework and optimize matches in Candy Crush.
In high school, I studied by linking concepts across subjects as if my coursework was another puzzle to solve. PEMDAS helped me understand appositive phrases, and the catalysts for revolutions resembled chemical isotopes, nominally different with the same properties.
As I grew older, my interests expanded to include the delicate systems of biology, the complexity of animation, and the nuances of language. Despite these subjects’ apparent dissimilarity, each provided fresh, fascinating perspectives on the world with approaches like color theory and evolution. I was (and remain) voracious for the new and unusual, spending hours entrenched in Wikipedia articles on obscure topics, i.e. classical ciphers or dragons, and analyzing absurdist YouTube videos.
Unsurprisingly, like pilot fish to their sharks, my career aspirations followed my varied passions: one day I wanted to be an illustrator, the next a biochemist, then a stand-up comedian. When it came to narrowing down the choices, narrowing down myself, I felt like nothing would satisfy my ever-fluctuating intellectual appetite.
But when I discovered programming, something seemed to settle. In computer science, I had found a field where I could be creative, explore a different type of language, and (yes) solve puzzles. Coding let me both analyze logic in its purest form and manipulate it to accomplish anything from a simple “print ‘hello world’” to creating functional games. Even when lines of red error messages fill my console, debugging offered me the same thrill as a particularly good puzzle. Now, when I see my buggy versions of Snake, Paint, and Pacman in my files, I’m filled paradoxically with both satisfaction and a restless itch to improve the code and write new, better programs.
While to others my life may seem like a jumble of incompatible fragments, like a jigsaw puzzle, each piece connects to become something more. However, there are still missing pieces at the periphery: experiences to have, knowledge to gain, bad jokes to tell. Someday I hope to solve the unsolvable. But for now, I’ve got a nonogram with my name on it.
08
中文版
在我的成长过程中，篮球是我的全世界。我的夏天都在篮球的两条黑线之间度过。我的皮肤总是晒成褐色，到处都是斑点，还不时留下抓痕。我的衣柜里主要装着运动短裤、耐克鞋和比赛T恤。佳得乐和趣味蘸酱是我赛前的零食。喧闹的观众、裁判的哨声、吱吱作响的鞋子和记分牌蜂鸣器发出的嘈杂声，这些声音对我来说再熟悉不过了。我几乎是每支球队的队长——熟悉比赛的战术、球场的指挥官，以及教练的得力助手。
但那只是表面上的我。
内心深处，我是一个受东亚影响的藏书家和青少年小说作家。
一位初出茅庐的大学运动员，潜藏着一个文学狂魔。我白天如饥似渴地读书，晚上则创作故事。比赛、训练、体能训练之后，我找到了独处的角落。在这些时刻，我沉浸在自己的创作世界中。起初，我只读青少年文学，但后来逐渐喜欢上了文学小说和自助类书籍：卡夫卡、陀思妥耶夫斯基、布兰登、契克森米哈赖。我拓展了我的圈子，加入Google+评论小组、在线讨论小组、博客、写作比赛和俱乐部。我五年级写了第一部小说，七年级写了第二部，九年级开始写第三部。阅读是本能，写作是冲动。
我年轻时偶然接触了宫崎骏的电影。他电影中蕴含的东亚哲学让我感同身受。我对人生、成长和变化的理解也与他的故事叙述产生了共鸣。于是，我读了他的自传，看动漫，并研究古代文献—— 《论语》、《道》、《孙子兵法》。后来，我发现了村上春树的作品，现在我以他为榜样，以提高我的写作水平。
就像一枚硬币的两面，我生活在两个世界里。一个世界是外在的——充满侵略性、喧嚣、充满活力；另一个世界是内在的——狂暴、宁静、微妙。
内心和外部的冲突接踵而至。很多时候，我只被视为一名运动员，并被随之而来的刻板印象所评判：以自我为中心、不聪明、听说唱。但在球场之外，我更善于反思，更富有同理心，我听像Florence and the Machine这样的音乐。有时，我甚至因为行为举止“不够黑人”而受到欺凌。我的队友们觉得我应该专注于篮球，并觉得我参加这么多课外活动很奇怪。
但我为什么要如此单调？我一直渴望在自己感兴趣的事情上达到极致的潜能。为什么我的生活只能被单一的方面所定义？我感觉我必须选择一个世界。
然后我的前交叉韧带又受伤了。然后又一次。然后又一次。
第一次前交叉韧带手术后，我和家人决定在家教育孩子。我知道我想同时探索我的众多兴趣——文学、小说写作、东亚文化和篮球。所以我就这么做了。我抽出时间分析《黑暗之心》，并用我的博客指导成年作家如何成为自出版作家。我研究了神道教，阅读了几十本关于写作和自我提升的书籍。我和姐姐一直在讨论创办一个专注于社会意识、教育和社区拓展的非营利组织。终于，我们有时间了。
虽然篮球赋予了我领导能力和人生经验，但它只是我的一部分。作为一个具有社会意识、睿智且善于内省的人，我重视创造性表达和独立性。我的人生使命是充分发挥自己的潜能，以帮助他人发挥他们的潜能。
英文版
Growing up, my world was basketball. My summers were spent between the two solid black lines. My skin was consistently tan in splotches and ridden with random scratches. My wardrobe consisted mainly of track shorts, Nike shoes, and tournament t-shirts. Gatorade and Fun Dip were my pre-game snacks. The cacophony of rowdy crowds, ref whistles, squeaky shoes, and scoreboard buzzers was a familiar sound. I was the team captain of almost every team I played on—familiar with the Xs and Os of plays, commander of the court, and the coach’s right hand girl.
But that was only me on the surface.
Deep down I was an East-Asian influenced bibliophile and a Young Adult fiction writer.
Hidden in the cracks of a blossoming collegiate level athlete was a literary fiend. I devoured books in the daylight. I crafted stories at night time. After games, after practice, after conditioning I found nooks of solitude. Within these moments, I became engulfed in a world of my own creation. Initially, I only read young adult literature, but I grew to enjoy literary fiction and self-help: Kafka, Dostoevsky, Branden, Csikszentmihalyi. I expanded my bubble to Google+ critique groups, online discussion groups, blogs, writing competitions and clubs. I wrote my first novel in fifth grade, my second in seventh grade, and started my third in ninth grade. Reading was instinctual. Writing was impulsive.
I stumbled upon the movies of Hayao Miyazaki at a young age. I related a lot to the underlying East Asian philosophy present in his movies. My own perspective on life, growth, and change was echoed in his storytelling. So, I read his autobiographies, watched anime, and researched ancient texts—Analects, The Way, Art of War. Then, I discovered the books of Haruki Murakami whom I now emulate in order to improve my writing.
Like two sides of a coin, I lived in two worlds. One world was outward—aggressive, noisy, invigorating; the other, internal—tempestuous, serene, nuanced.
Internal and external conflict ensued. Many times I was seen only as an athlete and judged by the stereotypes that come with it: self-centered, unintelligent, listens to rap. But off the court, I was more reflective, empathetic and I listened to music like Florence and the Machine. I was even sometimes bullied for not acting “black enough.” My teammates felt that my singular focus should be basketball and found it strange that I participated in so many extracurriculars.
But why should I be one-dimensional? I had always been motivated to reach the pinnacle of my potential in whatever I was interested in. Why should I be defined by only one aspect of my life? I felt like I had to pick one world.
Then I had an ACL injury. And then another. And then another.
After the first ACL surgery, my family and I made the decision to homeschool. I knew I wanted to explore my many interests—literature, novel writing, East Asian culture, and basketball—equally. So I did. I found time to analyze Heart of Darkness and used my blog to instruct adult authors how to become self-published authors. I researched Shintoism, read dozens of books on writing and self-improvement. My sister and I had been talking for a while about starting a nonprofit focused on social awareness, education, and community outreach. Finally, we had the time to do it.
While basketball has equipped me with leadership skills and life experiences, it is only one part of who I am. As a socially aware, intellectual, and introspective individual, I value creative expression and independence. My life’s mission is to reach my full potential in order to help others reach their own.
09
中文版
小时候，我幻想自己拥有超能力。致命的激光会从我的眼睛射出，粉碎藏在我床底下的怪物。妈妈强迫我吃掉那盘西兰花时，总是想知道我隐身后究竟神奇地消失到哪里去了。这是我在每根生日蜡烛和每颗璀璨的星星上许下的愿望。
谁知道我的梦想会实现。
14岁时，我发现自己的第一股力量。高一那年，妈妈被诊断出卵巢癌。我独自坐在房间里，陷入了焦虑和恐慌的循环。在这种低落的情绪中，我伸出一支小鬃毛画笔，引导它在画布上挥舞——这种动作给了我平静。我的情绪倾泻在画布上，在衣服上染上了一层蓝黑色。一种平静的感觉取代了几个月来一直紧紧攫住我的焦虑和恐惧。绘画赋予我治愈自我的力量，让我在恐惧的境遇中找到平静。
我当时并不知道，分享我的超能力会让我来到这座城市陌生的地方。我得知达拉斯一所小学出现了问题，由于预算削减，学生们接触艺术的机会受到了威胁。我与校长和学校的社区服务代表联手，创建了一个课后艺术项目。从十月份的纸质口罩到三月份的阳光花盆手工，这个项目不仅教会了学生们自由地绘画和涂色，还创建了一个社区，让孩子们能够与艺术的力量连接，表达快乐、希望和自我认同。这个项目现已进入第三个年头，成功地帮助了那些缺乏艺术基础的孩子们。与这些学生分享艺术，让我有能力走出熟悉的环境，与那些我原本可能永远无法遇到的孩子们建立联系。我感谢艺术的力量，它不仅能治愈伤痛，还能与他人建立联系。
我知道我的力量在地方层面有效，但我希望触及全球。四年来，我一直在寻找一种方法来战胜童婚的祸害，这是印度农村贫困的主要原因。在我学校全球研究学院（AGS）项目的毕业设计中，我发现了一个方法，通过女孩的教育可以成功战胜童婚。
我带着我的力量飞越海外，飞行了8535英里，来到印度斋浦尔贫民窟的一所破旧学校。在采访挤在尘土飞扬的教室里的青春期前女孩时，我了解到她们灰暗的日常生活：早起打井水、做饭、打扫卫生，照顾年幼的弟妹，然后匆匆赶去学校。尽管学校努力防止童婚，让这些女孩继续上学，但她们的学校却依赖于死记硬背，没有任何创造性的艺术课程。当我为这些女孩组织我的艺术项目时，我不确定我的力量能否触及她们。当她们将色彩鲜艳的纸鱼剪纸赋予生命时，最初的怀疑和不确定逐渐转化为惊奇和喜悦。这段经历让我看到了艺术的力量，它能够建立普遍的联系，并激励我在所有孩子的生活中分享和增强它的力量。
小时候渴望超能力的那份渴望，至今仍深深地烙印在我的心中。但如今，我已不再只是渴望超能力，而是对超能力的运作有了更深入的理解。虽然我从未实现过以闪电般的速度奔跑或从指尖射出蜘蛛网的愿望，但我的艺术经历告诉我，最伟大的超能力就蕴藏在我们每个人心中——以有意义的方式创造、表达和联系的力量。每个女孩都值得拥有梦想的机会，而我很幸运，我的梦想实现了。
英文版
When I was a little girl, I imagined I had superpowers. Deadly lasers would shoot from my eyes pulverizing the monsters hiding under my bed. Mom would wonder where I had magically disappeared to after I turned invisible as she forced me to eat that plate of broccoli. It was the wish I made on every birthday candle and upon every bright star.
Who knew my dream would come true.
I discovered my first power when I turned 14. My mom had been diagnosed with Ovarian cancer my freshman year of high school. Seated alone in my room, I became lost in a cycle of worry and panic. In the midst of my downward spiral, I reached out for a small bristled paintbrush, guiding it across the canvas—the motion gave me peace. My emotions spilled out onto the canvas, staining my clothes with a palette of blues and blacks. A sense of calm replaced the anxiety and fear which had gripped me tightly for so many months. Painting gave me the power to heal myself and find peace in a scary situation.
Little did I know, sharing my superpower would lead me to unfamiliar parts of my city. I was alerted to trouble at an elementary school in Dallas where students’ access to the arts was under threat from budget cuts. I joined forces with the principal and the school’s community service representative to create an afterschool arts program. From paper masks in October to pots of sunshine crafts in March, it did more than teach students to freely draw and color; it created a community where kids connected with the power of art to express joy, hope, and identity. The program, now in its third year, has succeeded in reaching kids deprived of art. Sharing art with these students has given me the power to step outside of my familiar surroundings and connect with kids I never would have met otherwise. I am grateful for the power of art to not only heal but to also connect with others.
I knew my powers worked on a local level but I wanted to reach out globally. For four years, I have been searching for a way to defeat the scourge of child marriage, a leading cause of poverty in rural India. I discovered a formula in which girls’ education successfully defeats child marriage as part of my capstone project through the Academy of Global Studies (AGS) program at my school.
I took my powers overseas, flying 8,535 miles to arrive at a dilapidated school in the bleak slums of Jaipur, India. While conducting interviews with pre-adolescent girls stuffed into dusty classrooms, I learned of their grey routines: rising early to obtain well-water, cooking, cleaning and caring for younger siblings prior to rushing to school. Despite the efforts of keeping these girls in school to prevent child marriage, their school relied on rote memorization without any creative arts programming. As I organized my art project for these girls, I was unsure if my powers would reach them. Their initial skepticism and uncertainty slowly transformed into wonder and joy as they brought their bright paper fish cut-outs to life. The experience opened my eyes to the power of art to form universal connections, and it inspires me to share and strengthen its force within the lives of all children.
Much of the little girl yearning for superpowers remains a part of me. But now I have moved beyond wishing for powers to acquiring a deeper understanding of how superpowers work. While I never fulfilled my wish to run at lightning speeds or shoot spiderwebs from my fingers, my experiences with art have taught me that the greatest superpowers lie within each of us—the powers to create, express, and connect in meaningful ways. Every girl deserves the chance to dream, I am just lucky mine came true.
10
中文版
每个生命都重要吗？因为似乎有些生命比其他生命更重要，尤其是在金钱方面。
在我八年级的时候，我父亲带领的一个医疗志愿者小组前往泰国北部，面临着一个两难的境地：是治疗一名耐多药结核病患者，还是为未来的患者节省 5000 美元（这笔患者的预计治疗费用）。我记得当时听到总部帐篷外面传来激烈的争论。我父亲和他的朋友认为，无论治疗费用多少，我们都应该治疗这名妇女，而其他人则认为治疗她的费用太高了。回想起来，这是两种理念的冲突——一方认为每个人都应该接受治疗，而另一方则认为干预措施应该基于成本效益。我生气有两个原因。首先，因为我父亲输掉了这场争论。其次，因为我无法从逻辑上捍卫我直觉上相信的东西：每个人都有权享有健康。简而言之，每个生命都很重要。
在接下来的四年里，我阅读了大量关于社会正义和全球健康公平的书籍，以便用逻辑的方式证明我的直觉。我甚至参加了本科和研究生阶段的在线课程。但我没能找到一个清晰、合乎逻辑的论据来解释为什么每个生命都重要。不过，我找到了支持相反观点的有力论据，支持社会应该追求最大多数人的福祉，干预措施应该在每一美元的投入中最大程度地减少死亡和残疾。本质上，我的研究在呐喊：“孩子，一切都关乎数字。”
但我继续寻找，甚至攒下零花钱去布朗大学参加一个全球健康暑期课程。在那里，我遇到了凯特·奥斯瓦尔德，她是“健康伙伴”（PIH）的项目总监。这个组织认为“有些人的生命不那么重要，是这个世界所有问题的根源”。这就像在黑暗中找到了一线光明。
满怀希望，我回到过去寻找答案。但这一次，我没有埋头于书籍或讲座之中。我搜寻着记忆。为什么我坚信每个生命都很重要？
那位患有耐多药结核病的女士来到我们团队时，还带了一个和我年纪相仿的男孩。我认识他已经六年了，但我仍然记得他和母亲离开时看我的眼神。那眼神既不愤怒，也不悲伤。某种程度上，那是一种宁静。仿佛他早就料到这一切会发生。这让我感到压力重重。我内心深处知道这不对劲。就是感觉不对劲。或许是因为我曾有一瞬间设身处地为他着想，想象如果我的母亲是那位患有耐多药结核病的女士，我会是什么感受。
经过反思，我发现我的答案并非存在于书本或研究中，而是从一开始就存在于某个非常接近的地方——我的直觉。换句话说，我不需要一个复杂而精妙的理由来证明健康是每个人不可剥夺的权利——我需要的是自我反思。
于是我又问：“每个生命都重要吗？”是的。“我有确凿的书面证据吗？”没有。
保罗·法默曾说过：“权利的本质在于，最终你无法证明什么是权利。” 对我来说，全球健康不仅仅是一门研究。它是一种态度——一个我看待世界的视角——也是一种关于我致力于将健康视为自由和公平基本特质的承诺的宣言。
英文版
Does every life matter? Because it seems like certain lives matter more than others, especially when it comes to money.
I was in eighth grade when a medical volunteer group that my dad had led to Northern Thailand faced a dilemma of choosing between treating a patient with MDR-TB or saving $5000 (the estimated treatment cost for this patient) for future patients. I remember overhearing intense conversations outside the headquarters tent. My dad and his friend were arguing that we should treat the woman regardless of the treatment cost, whereas the others were arguing that it simply cost too much to treat her. Looking back, it was a conflict between ideals—one side argued that everyone should receive treatment whereas the other argued that interventions should be based on cost-effectiveness. I was angry for two reasons. First, because my father lost the argument. Second, because I couldn’t logically defend what I intuitively believed: that every human being has a right to good health. In short, that every life matters.
Over the next four years I read piles of books on social justice and global health equity in order to prove my intuitive belief in a logical manner. I even took online courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. But I failed to find a clear, logical argument for why every life mattered. I did, however, find sound arguments for the other side, supporting the idea that society should pursue the well-being of the greatest number, that interventions should mitigate the most death and disability per dollar spent. Essentially, my research screamed, “Kid, it’s all about the numbers.”
But I continued searching, even saving up pocket money to attend a summer course on global health at Brown University. It was there that I met Cate Oswald, a program director for Partners in Health (PIH), an organization that believed “the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” It was like finding a ray of light in the darkness.
Refueled with hope, I went back to find the answer, but this time I didn’t dive into piles of books or lectures. I searched my memories. Why was I convinced that every life mattered?
When the woman with MDR-TB came to our team, she brought along with her a boy that looked about my age. Six years have passed since I met him, but I still remember the gaze he gave me as he left with his mother. It wasn’t angry, nor was it sad. It was, in a way, serene. It was almost as if he knew this was coming. That burdened me. Something inside me knew this wasn’t right. It just didn’t feel right. Perhaps it was because I, for a second, placed myself in his shoes, picturing what I’d feel if my mother was the woman with MDR-TB.
Upon reflection, I found that my answer didn’t exist in books or research, but somewhere very close from the beginning—my intuition. In other words, I didn’t need an elaborate and intricate reason to prove to myself that health is an inalienable right for every human being—I needed self-reflection.
So I ask again, “Does every life matter?” Yes. “Do I have solid, written proof?” No.
Paul Farmer once said, “The thing about rights is that in the end you can’t prove what is a right.” To me, global health is not merely a study. It’s an attitude—a lens I use to look at the world—and it’s a statement about my commitment to health as a fundamental quality of liberty and equity.
