Eager to learn about jazz, but with limited access, I traveled for hours each week to attend one of the few jam sessions in Taiwan. I would stay late into the night, listening to musicians play and trying to absorb everything I could. For six months before coming to the United States, this became my routine. I was determined to understand a music that felt so alive, even though I had no formal teacher to guide me. I have always tried to find jazz on YouTube, but I never had someone who truly knew jazz to teach me. Instead, I taught myself by listening carefully, mimicking the sounds I heard, and integrating them into my own compositions. Jazz became more than just music to me—it became a way to express myself and share light with others. Even after I transferred to the United States last year to study music composition, I continued to surround myself with people who love jazz and to learn from every opportunity I could find. Growing up homeschooling, and being self-taught in jazz and pop, made me passionate about education. I believe education is the key to the prosperity of a person, a home, and a nation. With the development of AI, creativity and the arts will become more and more important. I believe education in the future cannot only focus on technique and knowledge, but rather on creativity and critical thinking. Jazz, in particular, is one of the best ways for future generations to develop creativity. In jazz, one can do whatever he or she wants—there are almost no limits. In fact, jazz encourages people to break limits and explore new sounds. A jazz musician is a natural creator, constantly thinking about how to make simple material more interesting. With so many benefits to learning this genre, it sometimes still surprises me how little access many people have to jazz. To many, it is still a mystery. That is why I want to create a YouTube channel that promotes jazz, pop, classical, and Chinese music, showing how these styles can be fused together while fostering interest and passion for music. Being involved in both jazz and classical music has also shaped how I see the world. It makes me sad to see that people from these two musical worlds sometimes do not appreciate each other’s work, even though their approaches are not as different as they might think. So much of this division could be resolved if people simply set aside their prejudices and try to understand another perspective. Like many things in life, people often judge those who are different from them. Having been born and raised in Taiwan and now studying in the United States, I have experienced both the beauty and the differences between these two cultures. Unfortunately, these differences are often met with misunderstanding rather than curiosity. With Chinese as my mother tongue, deep roots in my cultural heritage, and my experience studying abroad, I believe I am uniquely positioned to help bridge these gaps. One of my favorite artists, Jacob Collier, is deeply influenced by jazz as well as many other genres. Jazz gives him a versatile compositional approach that allows him to express complex and detailed emotions through his music. However, what truly touches people is not just his musical genius—it is the tenderness, love, and peaceful message within his music. He is a light to me, and I want to be a light to others. I want people to feel joy and love when they listen to my music. I believe the best way to promote something is not by giving lectures, but by helping others fall in love with it—by allowing them to feel joy, love, value, and peace through the experience. I believe this is why the gospel is so powerful: people feel loved, heard, and valued through its message. I want to create music that serves a similar purpose. Through my music, I want to bring people together. By fusing jazz, classical, and Chinese musical elements, I hope to create works that encourage understanding across cultures and communities. My goal is not only to grow as a composer, but also to use my music to build bridges—between genres, between cultures, and between people. In a world that is becoming more advanced yet sometimes more divided, I believe music can be a source of connection, creativity, and light.