On home…

I’m from Shenzhen, a modern and fast growing city in southern China. It’s known for its technology, tall buildings and amazing food. I grew up surrounded by a busy city atmosphere, but there are also many parks and beautiful places near the water. 

My family is small and supportive. We enjoy spending time together, especially doing sports together and during traditional holidays. We have family dinner or breakfast everyday, and my dad will have a deep talk with me and my little brother. I can always learn something during that time and I really like my family atmosphere. Growing up in Shenzhen helped me become open-minded because the city has people from many different places and cultures. 

 

 

On Emma…

I learned about Emma through my counselor. He understood my strengths, but also my hesitations. He saw that I often played small, staying quiet in class, avoiding leadership roles, and sticking only to what I already knew I could do well. One day, she sat me down and said, “I think you need a place that will challenge you to grow, not just academically, but in courage.” That was when she first mentioned Emma. I took her advice seriously. I went home that night and began researching Emma. The more I read, the more I realised she might be right. 

My first impression walking into Emma was that it felt different from any school I had ever visited. The building was warm and full of natural light, but what struck me most was the atmosphere. Students walking and smiling at me, teachers greeting students by name, and a sense that everyone was busy becoming something. As someone coming from a coed environment, I was nervous about how an all girls school would feel. Would it be more competitive? More intense? Instead, I found something I had not expected: calm focus mixed with genuine kindness. On my very first day, a student I had never met showed me to my classroom without being asked. That quiet welcome made me believe I could stay. 

What makes Emma special is that it gives me the bravery to try things I would never have attempted before. In my first weeks, I watched other girls struggle and fail and try again and no one laughed. No one whispered. Instead, I saw classmates offering help and teachers offering second chances. Emma has given me permission to try before I feel ready. It has taught me that bravery is not the absence of fear, it is the decision to move forward anyway. 

 

 

On dance and basketball…

I’m most passionate about two things: hiphop dance and basketball. They came into my life at different moments, but together they have shaped who I am. I started hip hop dancing eight years ago, when I was very young. At first, it was just a fun activity after school. But over time, it became something deeper. Dance taught me discipline before I even knew the word. It taught me that repetition leads to freedom, that you practice a move one hundred times so that on the one hundred and first time, you can finally stop things and just feel. Eight years later, dance is still a home for me. It is where I go to reset, to express what I cannot put words to, and to remind myself that my body is capable. 

Basketball came later. I started in 8th grade, which is late compared to most girls on the court. I was not the fastest or the most skilled. I joined knowing I would be behind. But I practiced my dribble alone on the empty courts. I asked better players for tips. I got benched and watched and learned. Basketball taught me not just individually, but team-oriented. It taught me that you can contribute even on a day when your shot is not falling.

One thing I have learned from both is that passion does not care when you start. It only cares that you start. Being late to basketball did not make me love it less. Being young when I started dancing did not make me better automatically. What mattered was consistency. 

 

 

On physics…

The most interesting class I have taken at Emma so far is physics. I was nervous going into it because I did not always see myself as a “science person.” But physics turned out to be different. In many classes, getting the wrong answer feels like a public failure. In physics, wrong answers were just part of the process. We would run experiments that failed, and instead of moving on,we would stop to ask “what did we miss?’’ That taught me something I needed to hear: that trying again is not shameful. It is how understanding happens. 

Physics also changed how I see the things I already love. I feel the physics of balance in a dance move. Physics did not just teach me formulas, it taught me to look at the world with more curiosity. 

 

On Jestermester…

My favorite tradition at Emma Willard School is Jestermester. When I first heard about it, I did not quite understand what it was, a whole week without regular classes? But it became special to me because I used it to try something new: screen printing.

I had never done screen printing before. I was nervous but excited. By the end of the week, I had made my own bag and my own shirt with my own hands. I learned something new, and I had real fun doing it.