A sea of fuchsia-stained nuclei appeared in my field of vision. The neurons in the spider's brain were like pomegranate seeds, thousands squished into each of the brain's lobes. Layers upon layers, a beaded sculpture made from cells with neural connections twining them together. How many neurons could there be? And if such a small creature possessed so many neurons, what about humans? I tried to scale up my mental sculpture to match, but I failed to conjure up the...

Only at Yale would over 2,500 tickets to an orchestra concert sell out in mere minutes. The YSO Halloween Show captures why I love Yale. As a classical musician, I know how difficult it is to get my generation to come to any classical performance, but Yalies' enthusiasm for the Halloween Show demonstrates their supportiveness of their peers' work and the friendly nature of this enthusiastic community. The orchestra's coupling with a silent film brings together directors, actors, videographers, and musicians...

Louis Pasteur famously coined the phrase "Omne vivum ex vivo." All life is from life. At first, this idea makes perfect sense. Students everywhere learn that new cells are produced from older cells through mitosis in Introductory Biology. However, closer examination reveals a fundamental issue: life has not always existed. So how did life come to be? The answer lies within prebiotic chemistry. This topic was briefly mentioned during my biology class earlier this year. We talked about how Darwin's...

Most people cherish their Sundays, holding on to the last free moments before the week ahead. That's not the case with me; every afternoon, I'm at the Elley-Long Music Center, surrounded by my colleagues from the Vermont Youth Orchestra (VYO). The majority of a young musician's time is spent alone, studying solo repertoire, but the VYO brings us together to create music as a community. Despite our different instruments, experiences, and goals, we all share one mission: to create complex...

My primary academic interest, computational biology, stems from my desire to combine molecular biology and computer science. I have long wondered about the processes that make life tick—computational biology permits an understanding of life’s inner workings on a level impossible with conventional lab or field experiments, as computational methods enable predictive modeling of biological pathways and their complex interactions. Brown is one of a handful of schools that offers a Computational Biology concentration/major, where I could learn...

At Brown, I hope to share music with the community around me. I’m excited to continue more formal pursuits by joining the Brown University Orchestra as well as be part of groups like BruNotes and Healing Through Harmony, where I can bring my music to audiences who may otherwise be unable to access classical music. I also wish to create a program similar to Classical Music Encounters with fellow musicians, fighting classical music’s elitist connotations through informal educational...

My 23andMe test would yield a single-colored pie chart—100% Chinese. My parents’ ingrained culture shaped my childhood. My default language was Mandarin; I ate “long life noodles” every birthday; I attended Chinese school weekly. My values were inherited, like my black hair and almond eyes. As I’ve grown, however, my American life has fed me new values. These values from my cultural home in China and geographic home in Vermont have shaped my perspectives on each. I remember a...

Dartmouth fosters a culture of exploration unmatched elsewhere. Academically, the D-Plan and quarter system provide incredible flexibility, making experiential opportunities like studying abroad easily accessible. I hope to expand my global awareness and gain new perspectives by joining over half of Dartmouth’s student body in their pursuit of international study. Even outside the classroom, students demonstrate their inquisitiveness—the widespread participation in the Dartmouth Outing Club proves their desire to see the world with their own eyes. Dartmouth allows...

My family tree is as boring as it gets. A 23andMe test would yield a single-colored pie chart—100% Chinese. Despite being part of the first generation raised outside of the mother country, my parent's deeply rooted Chinese culture shaped my childhood. My default language was Mandarin; we celebrated Chinese New Year and Mid- Autumn Festival with mooncakes; I attended Chinese school weekly. My values were inherited, just like my black hair and almond eyes. As I've grown older, I've reluctantly...

Out of stillness, whispering cellos and violas emerged, rising and falling, like hushed breaths. Then, a question, punctuated by three detached notes over an ominous clarinet drone. For a moment, the question remained unanswered before a single french horn’s solemn call pierced the silence, quickly decaying into nothingness. Then, it began anew, the lighter, upper winds echoing the opening melody of the lower strings. The members of the Vermont Youth Orchestra (VYO) performed the first few bars of Dvoř�...

Out of stillness, whispering cellos and violas emerged, rising and falling like hushed breaths. Then, a question, punctuated by three detached notes over the clarinet’s ominous drone. For a moment, the question remained unanswered before the solemn call of a single French horn pierced the silence. It then began anew, the upper winds rephrasing the opening melody. The members of the Vermont Youth Orchestra sang the opening bars of Dvo?ák’s Ninth Symphony as one. Synchronized bows weaved...

Albert Einstein said it best: "I know that the most joy in life has come to me from my violin. Frankly, I can't imagine my life without my violin. My violin allows me to press pause on the stressful restlessness of life. Sometimes practicing isn't the most fun, I'll admit it. But sometimes it's exactly what I need: reflective time by myself, my emotions seeping out through the music. At the end of the day, I look forward to every...

My upbringing was inherently Chinese. My default language was Mandarin, rice was eaten every day, and I attended Chinese school on Saturdays. My values were shaped by my family and the culture that permeated my home life. As I've grown, I've reluctantly strayed from my Chinese roots as I've adopted more and more American values. Nonetheless, I continue to feel a kinship with the Chinese community around me. In fact, the influence of American culture has given me a unique...

With a uniquely interdisciplinary curriculum and plentiful experiential opportunities, The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts will help me achieve my lifelong goal of exploring the world and learning as much about it as possible. Academically, the liberal arts curriculum of LSA means that I'm not confined to one field of study. Instead, I'm encouraged to dive into topics I've never encountered before. I look forward to taking courses like "Predicting the Future", where I can compare and contrast...

I have been lucky enough to have lived in Vermont my entire life. There's something special about the state that I don't want to lose as I proceed into college. Fortunately, the university less than 20 minutes away from home exudes a spirit that matches what I love about my state while providing opportunities that satisfy my academic goals. To begin with, UVM allows me to explore the forested wilderness that makes Vermont so unique. The outdoors are among Vermont's greatest...

Louis Pasteur famously coined the phrase "Omne vivum ex vivo." All life is from life. At first, this idea seems to make perfect sense. Introductory Biology students typically learn that new cells are produced from older cells through mitosis. Yet, closer examination reveals a fundamental issue: life has not always existed. So, then, how did life come to be? One answer lies in prebiotic chemistry, which is just a small portion of the field of molecular biology that I wish...