At 30,000 feet above ground, I sometimes looked through the half-covered window and, for no more than a second, confused the platter of clouds for terrain. It seemed like the sky had its own Antarctica: softer and less ruthless, but nonetheless majestic—a dimension of rolling hills and vast plains powdered with cotton-candy snow. Once in a while, when the clouds parted and the aircraft tilted to the left, the land underneath would briefly peek through, like a child too shy...

I would not apply to so many safety schools just because...

I declined two schools that are better known than Rice. One was an Ivy and the other one is simply more selective than Rice (also has a better national reputation). These schools, not coincidentally, were the ones that had my mom's "blessing". But...

When I chose my school, I compromised a bit. I turned down schools that had better reputations...

I really want to volunteer with the Peace Corps! Not sure if I'll do this right...