Long ago, I fell into a magical realm. The local library was the entrance. I checked out books that piled from my arms to my chin. I read in the car, at the dinner table, during class, and even during baths. Reading was encouraged. “There is never too much reading,” my third-grade teacher said after I explained the reason for my parents’ worries. It took years to realize that something was out of the ordinary. Books were a source of...

You are in Florence, Italy with a credit card, a brick-like camera, and no phone (it was forbidden). With you is your Latin class. The supervisor sets a rendezvous at a fake David statue and high-tails away. Everyone now has six hours to survive. I found myself in this situation during a class trip in 2017. Excited and a little scared, my time in Florence was spent with teenagers, many without foreign experience. Add in a lack of impulse control and...

It was the fifth train ride in three weeks. Pain numbed my lower back after sitting for six hours. Another hour and I would be in Guangzhou. My feet were still sore from walking around Xinqiao Hospital the past two weeks, yet despite the exhaustion, I couldn’t be more content. The excitement of travel surmounts the negatives. I find joy in meeting new people and being immersed in different cultures. While working with people, I feel fulfillment in supporting...

Feel your arms grow numb. Feel the weight of bricks in your hands as needles dance on your skin and fire burns hot and cold through your fingers. Feel the softness of the meat when you rub in the scorching chili flakes. Szechuan cuisine is all about the spice and flavoring. One needs to know the properties of each. Szechuan peppercorns numb the tongue and chili peppers ignite the taste-buds. They go well with crisp, sweet scallions and nutty, roasted...

No matter what your interests are, Model UN has a niche. I have discussed cyber-warfare in Iran and religious unrest in 1530s Europe. Due to the complexity of these issues, thorough research is paramount. Model UN preparations has shaped me from a thinker to a speaker of global issues when family visits from abroad. These diplomatic conversations within and outside of conferences prepare me to be a collaborative problem solver in a divided world. Moreover, using canned beans as artillery...