I wanted to blend in. Peer pressure and I have met on several different occasions. My psychology and biology classes always emphasized that there is an evolutionary purpose behind this phenomenon—to help humans survive by helping them belong in a group instead of being an outsider. But does it really optimize the quality of someone's life? Should I defer to the majority by dault? Is my opinion worth fighting for? My struggle to answer convincingly to these questions has become an obstacle to carving out my own path in higher education. I should have expected this from the multiple precedents in high school. For example, when I joined the chess club at my high school, there were only two girls—including me—among twenty boys, and I was the only member of Chinese heritage. It took a lot of courage to attend every lunch meeting without feeling like an outsider. My friends saw the stress it elicited in me and, with their best intentions, encouraged me to quit. This is similar to my intention of studying business. I have grown up near Silicon Valley, where the highest value is often technological advancement, and all my high school peers plan to enter the STEM field. As such, my differing passion is often disregarded. In fact, I've been told that being a “finance bro” doesn't suit my personality. Additionally, my family is composed entirely of computer science majors, and they always told me that following in their footsteps would be the path of least resistance. With everyone around me taking a different path, I struggled to resist the peer pressure and defend my own interests. I wanted to blend in, but I couldn't. Because if I did, I knew I would be sacrificing my dreams. Financial literacy is incredibly important; it is the key to success for both personal and business finances, and without it, the American economy would collapse. When I dream about myself twenty years in the future, I am a corporate finance consultant who helps businesses and everyday people succeed financially. It may not be similar to my classmates' dreams of developing the newest AI model, but it is equally important. I am overcoming my obstacles by re-answering those questions, but now with conviction: peer pressure does not maximize life quality, I should not defer to someone else by default, and my opinion is most certainly worth fighting for. I ultimately persevered in the chess club, eventually becoming the public relations officer and increasing female participation—I plan to do the same in the future. I will persevere in my education and use my degree to encourage other young girls and minorities to resist the peer pressure and enter the finance field. After all, no one should ever feel restricted by the expectations of others; I hope I can help break that invisible barrier, not just locally, but also in my national and international communities. Consequently, when I see someone facing similar circumstances, I will always urge them to follow their dreams, not convention. I wanted to blend in, but instead, I will stand out.

Growing up, I have had my fair share of bullying. There have been classmates who made fun of my clothes, and even my family members have called me fat and told me to lose weight. Unfortunately, my experience of receiving harsh judgement from those closest to me is not inherently unique. Bullying can leave indelible scars, and with the increased use of social media, it is becoming hard to escape. I believe the core problem here is how unlimited access to the internet has isolated many young teenagers, and with various public figures sharing their entire personal lives, it is also harder to set firm boundaries. Consequently, my efforts to prevent bullying revolve around providing kindness and support to anyone to needs it. As I stand at the gateway of higher education, I hope to continue finding and improving new, tight-knit communities; financial assistance would help to alleviate the burden of tuition fees and others costs that accompany extracurricular activities. One of my biggest endeavors where I feel I am making a difference in others' well-beings is being a member of my school's marching band. The band directors encourage everyone to focus on uplifting each other, and this has created a positive environment where there often seem to be no judgement and only whole-hearted acceptance. Nevertheless, there are many members who slip through the cracks and often end up outside the circle. I experienced this as a freshman, when I first joined and did not know anyone. Ever since then, I've done my best to talk to new people and make friends with those who similarly felt forgotten. In order for bullying to occur, someone must be an outsider—I do my best to make sure that no one is alone. I also volunteer as a math tutoring for a local non-profit organization called BOBtutor. My work has allowed me to make connections with bright children and guide them through challenging algebra and geometry concepts. But beyond the lectures and practice questions, I have also had the privilege of simply talking to them and getting to know them better. When we interact, I try to make sure that they are always displaying kindness and setting boundaries. After all, bullying is a violation of personal space, whether that is physically or mentally. These young students are growing up in the digital age and are surrounded by technology; a parent once even told me how she often worries about cyberbullying. Hopefully, my conversation with the kids about online cruelty and the importance of drawing limits will help them stick up for themselves in the future and deter potential harm. My own experiences with bullying, both at home and among peers, have forged in me a sense of compassion and a commitment to inclusivity. Financial aid will gift me more freedom in college, where I can take classes and join various clubs without excessively worrying about prices. As a result, I may continue to make new friends, spread positivity, and extend my support to everyone in the community. In conclusion, I believe that the best solution to in-person bullying and cyberbullying is prophylaxis by spreading kindness and creating safe spaces. Through my involvement in marching band and tutoring, I have always tried to promote inclusivity; I hope to receive financial support for my higher education and for my efforts to protect all communities from bullying and loneliness.

I wanted to blend in. Peer pressure and I have met on several different occasions. My psychology and biology classes always emphasized that there is an evolutionary purpose behind this phenomenon—to help humans survive by helping them belong in a group instead of being an outsider. But does it really optimize the quality of someone's life? Should I always defer to the majority? Is my opinion worth fighting for? My struggle to answer convincingly to these questions has become an obstacle to carving out my own path in higher education. I should have expected this from the multiple precedents in high school. For example, when I joined the chess club at my high school, there were only two girls—including me—among twenty boys, and I was the only member of Chinese heritage. It took a lot of courage to attend every lunch meeting without feeling like an outsider. My friends saw the stress it elicited in me and, with their best intentions, encouraged me to quit. This is similar to my intention of majoring in finance. I have grown up near the Silicon Valley, where the highest value is always technological advancement. All my peers plan to enter the STEM field, and hardly anyone can relate to my passion in finance. In fact, I've been told that being a "finance bro" doesn't suit my personality. Additionally, my family is comprised entirely of computer science majors, and they always told me that following in their footsteps would be the path of least resistance. With everyone around me taking a different path, I struggled to resist the peer pressure and defend my own interests. I wanted to blend in, but I couldn't. Because if I did, I knew I would be sacrificing my dreams. Financial literacy is incredibly important; it is the key to success for both personal and business finances, and without it, the American economy would collapse. When I dream about myself twenty years in the future, I am a corporate finance consultant who helps businesses succeed financially. It may not be similar to my classmates' dreams of developing the newest AI model, but it is equally important. I am overcoming my obstacles by re-answering those questions, but now with conviction. Peer pressure does not maximize life quality, I should not always defer to someone else, and my opinion is most certainly worth fighting for. I ultimately persevered in the chess club, eventually becoming the public relations officer and increasing female participation—I plan to do the same in the future. I will persevere in my education and use my degree to encourage other young girls and minorities to resist the peer pressure and enter the finance field. No one should ever feel restricted from higher finance or corporate finance; I hope I can help break that invisible barrier, not just in my local community, but my national and international communities. I wanted to blend in, but instead, I will stand out.

Success is to overcome peer pressure. Peer pressure is not always a bad thing; it can help people conquer harmful habits and ultimately discover a stronger sense of contentment. However, it can also become the biggest obstacle when it comes to achieving one's dreams. This is the challenge with which I am all too familiar when it comes to carving out my own path in higher education. I should have expected this from the multiple precedents in high school. For example, when I joined the chess club at my high school, there were only two girls—including me—among twenty boys, and I was the only member of Chinese heritage. It took a lot of courage, especially considering my shy disposition, to attend every lunch meeting without feeling like an outsider. All my friends saw the stress it elicited in me and, with their best intentions, encouraged me to quit. All I wanted was to blend in, but I couldn't. The same feeling applies to my intention of majoring in finance. I have grown up near the Silicon Valley, where the highest value is always technological advancement. All my peers plan to enter the STEM field, and when I talk to them, hardly anyone can relate to my passion in finance. In fact, I've been told that being a "finance bro" doesn't suit my personality. Additionally, my family is comprised entirely of computer science majors; I can parrot all my parents' statements about how software engineering is the most stable career. And with everyone around me taking a different path, it's difficult to resist the peer pressure, stick up for myself, and defend my own interests. Deferring to my parents' wishes and deciding to pursue a degree in computer science would have been easy. I wanted to blend in, but I couldn't. Because if I did, I knew that I would be sacrificing my dreams. Financial literacy is incredibly important; it is the key to success for both personal and business finances, and without it, the American economy would collapse. When I dream about myself twenty years in the future, I dream about myself as a corporate finance consultant who helps businesses succeed financially and contributes to the overall economic growth of the country. It may not be similar to my classmates' dreams of developing the newest AI model, but it is equally important. I ultimately persevered in the chess club. This year, as the public relations officer, I have significantly increased female participation—I plan to do the same in the future. I will persevere in my education, ultimately using my degree to encourage other young girls and minorities to resist the peer pressure and enter the finance field. No one should ever feel restricted from higher finance or corporate finance; I hope I can help break that invisible barrier, not just in my local community, but my national and international communities. And so success to me would be resisting that peer pressure, achieving my dreams, and inspiring others to do the same. It would be considering my family's feedback, evaluating it, and eventually realizing finance is still the best path for me. This scholarship opportunity would not only further convince my parents, but it would also provide more moral support for me. Even though I have learned to receive most of the validation from myself, external support would only increase my confidence and boost my resolve. I wanted to blend in, but instead, I will stand out and succeed.