Even though I've donated over $230 in charity money to victims of AAPI hate crimes, and I've advocated for women's rights at many universities and colleges. However, my plan to make a positive impact on the world doesn't stop here. It is a lifelong journey that I will pursue for the rest of my time here on Earth. Even though I've planned to do beach cleanups and more work for non-profit organizations, the first thing that comes into my head when I plan to make a positive impact on the world is to be kind towards others daily. Even though it may be hard with someone cutting you off in traffic, or someone being rude towards you, or someone making an assumption about you, they have one thing in common; they are miserable in their hearts. If we would just be kinder towards each other, we would be less surprised at kind acts, and more accepting, and hopefully, we all would be able to fix the world that we currently live in, and better it to the grand positive potential it has. To bestow a kind act upon another is to make a decision that not only benefits others but yourself, and I integrate a kind act into my daily routine whenever I can. For example, I voluntarily took a class on tutoring special needs kids for my entire senior year of high school, and didn't take volunteer hours. Solely because I knew that being the person that encouraged them to stay in school and continue their journey of learning outside of class was rewarding enough. I also make sure to make extra food or bring extra snacks just in case I pass by someone in need of food. I plan to always have this optimistic mindset, so that I may continue to make a positive impact on the world. My second plan would be to keep up with my education. Keeping up with my education and taking care of my business would mean I would have enough money to donate more to various charities that need help. I want to make a difference, and not just say I will make a difference. In this world, we need money to help one another, which is why I will try my absolute best to pursue my education with this scholarship. With this scholarship, I will give back to the world through education!

An intellectual who cares more about being kind, has donated over $100,000 to various charities, and has had a full educational experience.

Being an Asian-American first-generation student pushes me to be at my highest. As, I am not just setting an example for other people to see how far I've come in life, but setting an example for those who were not able to attend college. My career goals are to become a very successful businesswoman so that I can continue to donate to AAPI charities. My mom never got the chance to go to university, and that haunts her every day. She has to work hard at our family store for me to pursue my education. This pushes me to work hard and try my best whether in a classroom or an office. I strive to be a businesswoman because I am a first-generation college student, and the generations before me have done so as well, without a degree. I want to see what I can do, with a degree. I've even already started my first business at 18, the only one to do so in my family's line of first-generation college students. Those older than me have never been to college, so being a first-generation college student is a little different, as they have no experience to pass down to me. However, it makes me want to be the best I can be in my state of unknowingness. It makes me want to become a better business-woman than I already am, and I will reach my career goals, with this scholarship.

Through watching Dead Poets Society, and even reading the book for further analysis of the concept, I learned that pursuing dreams and seizing the day versus following what others expect of me is far more vital to the true pursuit of happiness. Being the only daughter in an Asian household, a lot is expected of me. Working in the medical field was the predetermined "destiny" for me. However, I want to work in business and pursue my true dream of being one of the few female entrepreneurs in my family. This is similar to the concept taught in Dead Poets Society, as there are risks in my pursuit of business instead of medical ventures, and there are risks in standing up for education of the self/mind rather than abiding by standard education. Watching Dead Poet's Society taught me how words and actual ideas that you wish to pursue are far more important than the robotic standard society holds everyone up to be. But, this doesn't mean standard education is useless. It's still very valuable! However, you also need to think for yourself in society, as they do so in Dead Poet's Society. If you do not pursue anything (like literature, projects, volunteering, etc.), you will become just like everyone else, and not stand out from the crowd. Being your best self also means putting in the effort to be your best self, which is what Dead Poet's Society taught me. Dead Poet's Society reminded me just how much I loved reading, and it gave me the light that I needed to see in literature. Taking control of my own life started by forcing myself to do more healthy activities, like joining volunteering associations, book clubs, and more. It truly changed my life and perspective in terms of levels of happiness. My mental, physical, and social-well being became better. I was exercising more and going out more instead of staying cooped up in the house. Dead Poet's Society also taught me a lot about passion. To do what I'm passionate about is to take over the day myself, and work hard at my passions. Luckily, my passions are attainable! Writing, business management, and reading. I just need to put in the effort and hard work, which, Dead Poet's Society has helped me do. The meaning of the movie itself has always aided me, and I watch it every month to have the epiphany of the true impact its had on my life, and to remind myself to always work hard, and put effort into my studies.

My favorite Disney character is Mulan. Yes, I know, stereotypical of an Asian girl to pick her for the amazing women empowerment she cultivated, the odds she defied, and the gender roles she shattered. But, while the feminism portrayed in Mulan is important to little girls all around the globe, I think she's the best Disney princess because she changed her own life. Mulan did not wait for a prince charming to fix her issues. Instead, she got up and fought for herself, her father, and her family in general. She saved all of China, because she put her mind to it and put her plans into action. Her selflessness was incredibly admirable and inspiring to girls AND boys around the globe. In my opinion, it's more important to strive for your goals and pursue what you either need to fix or improve in your life and others' lives. Another reason why Mulan is the best Disney character to me, is the pure fact that she risked her life for others. Again, the selflessness taught many others besides myself around the world that selflessness, will rise above all, and pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of others' happiness. Mulan's values of family are similar to mine, in fact, one of the reasons I'm pursuing education is to take care of my family in the future, when I have a stable job. I believe that family value is important to build a sense of unity for future endeavors, and it's one of the biggest reasons why Mulan is a great role model. Mulan's individualistic independence inspired me to take care of my mom while she was suffering from depression, and to still study hard while doing so, which is why I think of her when I am struggling through a difficult task/time. Overall, Mulan has inspired me to try my best in life, and especially in my studies.

What motivated me the most to go to college were the xenophobic attacks on Asian people, racism towards Asian people, and belittling of Asian people during the first uprisings of COVID-19. I did everything in my power to help, including donating some of my college fund to elders in the hospital that were brutally attacked by ignorant people. Witnessing this, I knew and still do know, something needs to be done about the unfair treatment of Asian people. Therefore, I need to learn more about the world, through an education, and obtain a respectable voice through the world of business management. I plan to open my own charity work that supports Asian equality, and unity. Pursuing an education would be a big step in the staircase of my goal to aid those around me that are affected by the lack of equality in our world today.

But so goes as the night I have gone to many places, and seen many faces that I would never have seen if you were here. I have tried to forget that you weren’t here to stop me from going to those places I have drunken you away, I who has adopted this reality, a thirsty child that wanders has met the ocean. I lay down, and see you in my ceiling. I see us running and playing in fields of sunflowers and falling asleep on a tree we have engraved our initials into in autumn. I see us laughing at my teeth chattering as you lay your jacket onto my shoulders in snow and throwing water onto each other like children at a sandy shore. I turn my back, and hear you in my walls. I hear your laughter as you chase me in the fields of sunflowers, and your breath as we fall asleep on a tree in autumn, with leaves crinkling beside us, a soothing lullaby. I hear your laughter at my trembling in the snow that falls besides us, and the soft noises from your jacket laying on my shoulders. I hear the waves crash as we yell and splash one another in the ocean we called ours. I close my eyes and throw my hands over my ears in a desperate manner. I feel your touch as you catch up to me in the sunflower field. I feel your breath on my neck as your arms wrap around me as we fall asleep. I feel you zipping up my jacket and the snow that falls on my body. I feel your giggles as we fall in the water and I lay on your chest in the sand and hug you. I have gone to many places, with you in my walls, ceiling, and mind. I have tried to engrave you, in all of the corners of this house. I drank with you, I who adopted our reality.

My goal for my life is to aid those in need whenever I can. I currently strive to help those in need every day, I donate to multiple charities, and stream games towards AAPI struggle.

The biggest issue facing the world right now is violence against Asian-Americans due to xenophobic stereotypes that stem from COVID-19. I should never have to worry about my mother being targeted by a violent person due to her appearance. I should never have to speak only in English in order to avoid confrontation. I should never have to hide my traditional foods to avoid comments from strangers. We can work on stopping hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through educating the world, and helping others be cognizant of the fact that we are not a virus, we are people. We can also donate to charities that work towards teaching our Asian elders self-defense, as we understand that not everyone will listen, we can still prevent attacks being made. We can teach our Asian community as a whole how to defuse situations and defend themselves when they cannot defuse certain circumstances. Through education, we can stop hate from being spread, as hate is a more deadly virus than COVID-19. The reason I know this method works is because I've educated someone who has hated me. In 2020, I was the victim of a hate crime. Someone attempted to hit me, and I defended myself, as they were calling me all types of slurs, all I could say was 'stop'. After the police came, I asked if I could speak with him for a bit. I spoke with him about hate. He did not hate me, he hated what his family had to go through because of the virus spread. I explained that I did not cause COVID-19, and that I care about his family and send them my best wishes. As a result, he was educated. One step at a time, making this issue solvable, globally.

Confidence means to believe in yourself, to trust yourself, and to forgive yourself for any past mistakes, as you are confident you will improve from said mistakes. I am working on being confident in myself through putting myself in more social groupings, I go out more frequently than before and say exactly what is on my mind in front of my peers. I state my opinion, whether unpopular or popular. I am working on trusting myself during my exams, and going with my first gut-instinct. I am also working on trusting myself in my relationships with others, and trusting that I will lift them up instead of putting them down. I am successfully working on forgiving myself for my past mistakes, by effectively making my present self the best it can be. I am cognizant of my sense of self, and I do my best to make my past self feel envious of my future self. To strive to be a better person is to have a REASON to forgive yourself for past mistakes.

My study strategies I use are stemmed from AVID. AVID is a program that is designed to help you achieve academic success through note-taking, revision, and push towards excellency. AVID has taught me how to take cornell notes, which is a mini-cheat sheet. First, you record lecture notes, then, you review the notes and create a 'self test' column. You summarize your notes, test yourself, and rehearse the information if you do well on your self test. It is an effective strategy because it displays the actual usefulness of your own note-taking, as the self-test correlates with the actual exam you will take later on, in the course. I also use collaborative critical thinking. Each week, I get together every tuesday and thursday with my peers and go through what we are each struggling with, we take notes on what we're all struggling with, and show what we do know on a board. Then, we help each other understand the full extent of what we are learning in the course in order to understand the questions we have. Thus, making my study strategies the most effective, and aiding me in achieving academic success.

"Even if we could turn back, we'd probably never end up back where we started."- Haruki Murakami. I would share this quote with the world because turning back to your past, is not going to change the outcome that occured, and even if we had a time machine of some sort, we'd never be able to achieve the outcome we wanted, because life is about taking the outcome, and learning from it for the future. Life is about treading over the outcome, to persevere over negative outcomes, to learn from them, and to simply keep them in your memory, to not live in the bad memory, but to rearrange it so it is instead a lesson to be learned. Taking past mistakes and learning from them is more progressive and productive than crying over a past, taking the initiative to rise up from your past is what keeps the world spinning. Failure is never the end of your life, it is the start of a lesson to be learned. This sentence also reminds the world that they are still worthy of love and peace within their lives if they are willing to accept their past and learn from it. This sentence, reminds us that we cannot change our past, but we can change the future.

I wish to travel the world and help people all over the world. I've helped people in different places in the U.S, by donating to charities that support AAPI communities. However, the biggest thing on my bucket list, is to achieve peace within myself. I wish to do that through helping my family get through their struggles, and to give my mother the best life I can give her, to love her unconditionally and to support her through a pursuit of education, to get an amazing job that will pay for her bills, and anything else she needs. My mother has been my rock since day one, and has always been there for me through difficult times, which is why the biggest thing on my bucket list is to help her, and be at peace when she passes, knowing that I did what I could for her, and my family.

I've stayed optimistic through helping others and following my mother's example. Being optimistic has taught me that staying positive through all of my hardships has greatly benefitted me, as it helps to think more logically and defuse situations accordingly. Staying optimistic can typically ameliorate difficult situations, which has taught me that keeping a smile through strenuous issues can be beneficial. An example of how being optimistic has benefitted me was when my uncle had fallen sick after having a stroke. He was in a coma, yet I was more focused on his progress throughout his recovery. Being more focused on his progress helped me to stay hopeful, and to encourage instead of discourage others around me that were also monitoring his recovery. Being optimistic helps me to encourage others, and it has taught me that encouragement to others helps them have a better mindset, and makes the environment around them much more productive, which makes for better situations.

My favorite book of all time is Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. As I've stated in a previous essay about this book, it's awe-inspiring and projects themes that can be applied to life today. The book is about a young man who embarks on a journey to run away from a curse his father had placed on him, and dwells in his past every day. He continues to live in his past until he eventually fulfils his curse, sleeping with his mother and sister. The reason I truly love this twisted storyline is because Kafka on the Shore holds many messages in the bizarreness of it, one of the many being to stop running away from destiny and to fulfil it in order to truly move from your past and to learn more about who you are. This message applies to everyone that is too afraid to fulfil their own prophecy, whatever it may be. Many of us today are still afraid to move from our past as it provides a comfort for us, and we run from our future destinies. It applied to me when I first saw my mother fall sick, I lived in the past, just hoping and praying she would be the same and continued to live life the way I did before. This was extremely unhealthy, and truly disrupted her life. I had to learn to adjust my schedule and take care of her, but refused, as I was not ready for change. Picking up this book aided me in picking up myself from my own selfish ways and guided me to seek change, and to change what was needed. Kafka on the Shore has taught me how to be a better person than my past self, and for that, I thank Murakami.

The most inspiring book I've read is Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. Kafka on the Shore is a tale that follows a young man's journey that entails running away from his destiny and focusing solely on his past, he has been cursed by his father to fulfill this destiny and has ran away to avoid it. Kafka on the Shore holds a special place in my everyday life, and inspires me every day through its clear message of focusing on what the future holds, and to face your fate, in order to grow from your fate and move forward instead of being stuck in your past. The reason this is such a dear book to me is because I had picked up this book during many struggles in my life, which I overcame due to Kafka on the Shore's message, of picking yourself up, and trudging through the muck that is your reality and fate. This book inspires me to be better than my past self, every single day.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is someone I admire and aspire to be like every single day. He was a leader of a nonviolent movement in India against British rule, a political ethicist, and someone who followed morals civilly. I admire Gandhi because he was civil about his desires, yet firm. He was an outstanding writer who wrote many times to the British imperial government and contributed to peaceful protests against British rule. My favorite piece of writing that Gandhi has written was his letter to Lord Irwin, where he used logos, pathos, and ethos, whilst still holding a grip on his tone. His emotional appeal eventually got change done, and all while being respectful. His fight for independence in India eventually ended British rule, he got the work done while still being peaceful the entire time, and my admiration for Gandhi goes far beyond just his work for Indian independence, Gandhi promoted the philosophy of the Golden Rule. To do unto others as you would have them do unto you. A philosophy I follow every single day. A philosophy that has the idea of bringing the world together, even in conflict, is entirely masterfully orchestrated. Gandhi is an influential figure that should be followed by all. To create a peaceful environment during such a hectic time, Gandhi is truly an admirable person. I admire Gandhi for his aid with the diffusion of this rule, his peaceful means to protest, and his wise planning that does not display any wishful thinking whatsoever. His civil obedience has been a story told for decades, yet still applies to conflict today.

The work I have done for the AAPI community is incomparable to the work I am currently doing for the BLM community. Donating to their charities and using my social media platform daily to educate those that are ignorant to the person, and instead focus on the color of skin has widened my eyes. I have learned that unification between races that are being targeted is vital to learning and growing between both communities, the AAPI community and black community forming a bond together has truly shown a passionate understanding of struggles. Rising up from the hatred due to xenophobia and racial discrimination for both communities, I and many others have learned that struggles truly make up a family. Blood does not have to relate in order to forge family bonds between one another. I have also learned that allyship and love will always overcome hatred. It has truly impacted me to know that I always have another family to go to for my troubles, rather than uncomfortably hating another being that goes through the same hardships that I do, daily. Understanding, rather than ignoring, has been proven to be one of the most important lessons I've learned through aiding different communities. Showing up for my own community, has impacted me greatly. It has displayed the worries that other people go through, and it has taught me to treat others the same way I would like to be treated. It has taught me that someone will rescue you in hard times, because that's the world we live in, we help each other. Streaming video games on twitch and donating my earnings has been a journey that is irreplaceable. It's a fun, interactive way to donate to communities. However, being in person for damages to different stores and seeing real riots in person and helping to clean up the mess and donate in the flesh really helps you truly understand and connect with the impact you are bestowing onto others. It looks you in the eye and reminds you what you're performing, and that has impacted me in many ways. Such as, making me want to help more, teaching me new ways to help others, and even giving me new ideas on how to rally my peers to aid me in helping communities around the nation. I have many experiences helping others. But, each of them has greatly impacted me in a hallucogenic mannerism. I will forever be grateful for the experiences handed to me throughout my charitable givings.

My mother makes me the happiest I could ever be. She has taught me to give, how to cook, and even when to let my emotions out. She has given me the greatest gift, her smile. Her smile makes me feel so many positive emotions all at once. However, this year, my mother has fallen sick. Yet, she still smiles at me when I come home from a hard day at school. Taking care of her, is when I am happiest, as she has done nothing more than take care of me since my birth. Laying out a reflection of my life, my mother has always been there to cheer me up throughout the depressing times in my life, and I would love to be able to give that happiness back to her through an education, leading to a job, so I have enough money to take care of her.

Growing up with a selfish father, I was taught to take and never give back, in order to further advance my own position in the world. However, as I got older, I had an epiphany. I realized, that I needed to instead help others. We as people are all in this world together, and we should prosper together in order to better the planet that we currently all surviving on. Last year, I began to donate to charity, which my father called a waste of money. I took time out of my life to stream games on twitch.tv/xbuniko and decided to donate all of my earnings to AAPI-related foundations that strive to protect Asian lives during this xenophobic period of time. Despite being kicked out of my home for a bit due to my donations and 'wasting of money', I still scraped by with what I gave, versus what I had. Giving, in a world that's taking so much from us, is so incredibly important to me. I will always aim to give, rather than receive. It's shown from my charity streams to my paychecks being deducted each month to different charities.

I hope to leave a sanguine mark on the people of the world, as people are the ones that truly make a difference. I hope to inspire others to donate to charity with my donations, and to continue to stream for AAPI-related foundations. I aspire to work with others that share my goal, and to reach those that have been surrounded by darkness for far too long. I aim to strive every day and do more than just donate to charity, I plan to volunteer in person for different organizations, including Feeding America, DoSomething.org, and the Wounded Warrior Project. Actually doing something about current issues is extremely vital to my personality, and if I am passionate about something, I assure myself that I will get it done, or do something about it. I will contribute all I can to charities, and do as much as possible, thus, actually performing actions that make a difference in the world.

When I was a freshman in high school, I was groomed by a pedophile at the age of 15. He was a 24 year old abuser of power. Every single day, I was told I could not and would never be worthy of living, let alone education. I’ve never taken a stand against him, until now. My court date is in June, and I will stand against him. The reason why education is important to me is not to take a stand against him however. When I told my mother about the year and a half that was taken away from me from him, she went into a shock she has not yet recovered from. She had gotten more and more frail, and ill, and even had to drink protein drinks to breathe. Education is vital for many factors of building oneself, developing personality, knowledge, and a future. However, education is important to me because of one person. My mother. My mother who was with me throughout my childhood, to my adulthood, has always pushed me to educate myself. Even on her deathbed this year, my mother has pleaded with me to pursue education to take care of other family members as they grow old and get sick. Her frailness evokes an emotion inside of me I cannot put into words, her tender yet weak voice calling out to me for anything hurts me to a degree I cannot explain, and her eyes break me into millions of pieces. These all push me forward to get an education, so I can take care of her, and pursue her dying wish of taking care of my other family members when she eventually passes. Why education is important to me is because of my mother’s last wish. To obtain an education in order to take care of others, and give back to my family and community. Why education is important to me is because each time I was sick, my mother spoon fed me, put towels on my head, and checked my temperature. Why education is important to me is because each time I cried, she held me in her chest, took me out to have fun, and gave me whatever she could to make me smile again. Why education is important to me is because I cannot do the same for her without an education. I have been working at different odd jobs for years of my life, and still cannot raise enough money to go to college to pursue her dream, and mine. This is an aching pain, to not even show my mother the first step in our dream together. The pain, the goodbye I will have to endure, and the future of my community and family, is why education is so incredibly important to me. The promise I’ve whispered to my mother every night since she’s fallen sick, and the last words I shall whisper to her before she passes, is what strives me to educate myself.

Tossed into a world that was crawling with xenophobia and intense hatred for those that were of Asian descent, I taught myself to push hatred onto those that threw bounds of hatred onto me. I kicked back, I flung insults towards them, and I projected insecurities onto others. I cursed those that even dared to threaten Asian-Americans, I even damned those that even came close to me. But eventually, I learned to take what was tossed at me with a grain of salt, and love. Loving someone that loathes your very existence was a seemingly impossible task for me to accomplish. However, I learned, and grew. Day by day, I loved someone new. I gave love to those that aimed slurs at me, and I handed it out in clumps the best I could. Being a better person than I was yesterday was not an important concept to me in my past, I was a vindictive entity, who hated those that hated me. I seeked revenge, and recrimination upon those that injured me. I had to learn to love, learn to understand, and learn to listen. However, my perspective began to change. I love to read, and I read ‘Bleak House’ by Charles Dickens. It changed my life. I learned that being equal was establishing equality itself, it was being understanding of the other person, and trying your best to aid them in understanding you. I took it upon myself to research how to handle hate, so I could teach instead. I found a quote that gave me an epiphany. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Taking this quote, I learn each day, something I truly value.