Do you believe in miracles? I do because I’m living proof of it!

             Let’s start at the beginning. My birth, well, it wasn’t exactly your normal delivery. When my mother first laid eyes on me she fainted. Yeah, she did the whole eyes-widening thing and fainted. It might have had something to do with the split in my upper lip that extended to my nose, which was as flat as the xy-plane in three dimensions. But I still hold that it was because she was just tired after all the labor pains.

             Naturally, we’d all expect an explanation for my appearance at birth. In fact, I was born with a bilateral cleft lip. One in 700 to 1000 babies have this condition, and the causes are still unknown. Usually, these babies have a portion of their palate missing, and their speech is impaired for the rest of their lives.

             Here’s where the miracle comes into play. My palate was almost completely intact, a rarity that allowed me to retain my perfect speech. The doctors told my parents that it was a miracle and assured them of my 80% chance for full recovery in the future.

             So I was set to become an almost normal child. Even though I was born and raised in California, I never learned English till I entered kindergarten. One of my first memories is losing a gold star for stating my birthday as “August fi-fu-teen.” Thinking back, my lack of friends and confusion during class time finally make sense!

             Thank god for ESL programs. All I remember is making PB and J sandwiches and playing kickball for a few months after school in second grade. However, once third grade started, I made my first best friend, and things started to make sense at school.

             I tried out for many sports during intermediate school. I was on the basketball, volleyball, and flag football teams. The sad part though, is that I wasn’t good at any of them. Remember in the movies, when the nerdy kid gets picked last during PE? Well, at least I got to try many of the sports. Drama. That was my real passion. I am proud to have been an elf and a kid that helps Santa realize his importance in my school’s annual student-written Christmas play. I was so good, that by 8th grade, I won the role of Head Elf. Oh yeah, that was awesome.

             So high school came around, and I needed activities. Since I was a miracle child, I figured that I should use my speaking skills, so I joined speech, and became an HI-er, a Duo partner, and an Expos-er. Some of my best high school moments came from speech.

             Then there was tennis. Yes, I had finally found a sport in which I wasn’t bad. Doubles is awesome! Our team even won the first girls league championship for my school in 22 years. Go Spartans! If anyone’s ever up for a match, I always have my Ti-5 ready!

             Perhaps the most influential activity for me was journalism. See, my school newspaper had around 100 students involved. Being on the 30-member staff and getting to stay for late-nights (and I mean LATE nights) was an honor and loads of fun. With write-offs, nationals, and a tri-weekly 16-page paper to put out, journalism was our lives. And it was a great life.

             Then, it was time to leave and go to college. In late September 2004, I became a UCLA Bruin. Go Bruins! My time at the Westwood campus was filled with lots of crazy math classes and several wonderful activities.

             For all three years that I was a Bruin, I was a soprano I in the UCLA University Chorus. Of the nine concerts that I performed in, the highlight was when we sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with each day as an adaptation of a famous classical piece. Now I can say that I’ve performed in the world-famous Royce Hall!

             Aside from singing, I was also a DJ for 4 quarters at UCLAradio. My partner, Kim, and I were an awesome duo that brought great music, laughter, and life to the airwaves for two hours each week. Yay for me knowing how to work a soundboard! And because of UCLAradio, I got to watch Star Wars Episode III before it opened in theaters. What’s even better?! I didn’t have to wait in any of the absurdly long lines!

             In addition, I was a math tutor for the AAP Program at UCLA. Let me just say here that tutoring was not a job to me. It was much more like a hobby. It assisted me in keeping my sanity through some academically insane quarters. My tutees were hilarious and entertaining. Some quarters, I probably spent more time helping them than doing my own work, but that’s how much I loved teaching. AAP was truly my home on campus, and I miss my fellow tutors so much! 

             So in between all the activities and free movies at Ackerman Union, I managed to sneak in some class work and REUS. Then before I knew it, I graduated in June 2007.

             Now I’m at Wash U, and we’ll see what the future brings me!