The Crescendo Back to Light I squished the gooey substance between my fingers, hesitantly raising it to my lips. As I gently chewed on the slimy object, I caught a whiff of an earthy scent when it unexpectedly twitched. Horrified, I spat out the worm my peers had told me was candy and fled from their cruel laughter. Tears further blurring my vision, I heard a voice shout, “You’re blind because that’s what the heavens wanted for you!...

“Rrrrr!” My first attempt at flutter-tonguing vibrated through my whole body with a jolting sensation as I prepared my throat to sing while playing the next flute melody and then attacking a glissando with buzzing lips. My Juilliard chamber group was selected for the Luna Composition Lab, a program which solely features female-identifying composers to combat gender inequality in the music industry. “Peace” by Joanna McDonald was my first exposure to modern music as a classical flutist and my first...

Dear Future Roommate, Polaroids of me and my family strung above my headboard, stuffed animals lined on my shelves, magnets from museums I’ve visited stuck on the wall above my desk, a Beethoven Symphony playing softly in the background— this is my bedroom. I am one who greatly cherishes memories. Whether pictures or childhood mementos, they each hold their own story. They make me smile before I go to sleep and greet me when I wake up. I hope...

Walking into the Xin-Sheng School as a New Yorker born-and-raised, I was curious to explore the differences between American and Taiwanese elementary schools and was shocked that there were student-cleaning rotations to clean classrooms, staircases, and even restrooms. Assigned to scrub the squat toilets for the first time, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted, wondering why such jobs were given to students. I looked around at my uncomplaining peers dutifully doing their jobs: wiping down stall doors, mopping floors,...

“Rrrrr!” My first attempt at flutter-tonguing vibrated through my whole body with a jolting sensation as I prepared my throat to sing while playing the next flute melody and then attacking a glissando with buzzing lips. As I played music written by a freshly modern and underrepresented voice, I found myself engaging with my instrument in ways I never had. Once at a Juilliard chamber music rehearsal, our coach sat us down to discuss the Luna Composition Lab, a program...

When I moved to Taiwan in elementary school, I had already attended Tzu Chi Academy’s Taiwanese school for five years. Taiwanese Mandarin was not foreign to me, but I had anticipated a bumpy transition: an abrupt change from taking classes in English to Chinese couldn’t be easy. To everyone’s surprise, I fell in love with the subject Chinese itself. I marveled over the beauty of Chinese calligraphy and the patterned characters that formed some of the most...

As a Juilliard Pre-College flutist and an honor student at a competitive high school, I am looking for a university like University of Michigan that would provide the best of both experiences— musically and academically— through the School of Music, Theater, and Dance and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts dual degree program. Ms. Amy Porter, flute faculty at SMTD, is a professor whose artistry has inspired me immensely over the years, especially while I was learning the...

“Service Has No Boundaries.” Nervously walking into the Xin-Sheng School as a New Yorker born-and-raised, I was curious to explore the differences between American and Taiwanese elementary schools. One major difference I was shocked to discover was that in Taiwan, we had a student-cleaning rotation to clean classrooms, staircases, and even restrooms. Assigned to scrub the squat toilets for the first time, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted, wondering why such jobs were given to students. I looked around...

A successful college experience in my mind is centered on establishing long-lasting connections, a network of peers and professors spanning different fields who I can turn to further down the road (and vice versa). Having diverse interests and an international background myself, I very much value interacting with people across various fields and cultures. I believe that engaging with such a diverse community will help me learn new perspectives and become a more well-rounded individual. I would also want to...

Taking AP Economics and AP Environmental Science at my high school this semester has exposed me to how these two fields intersect to make the world’s economy and the environment a more sustainable living space. Today, our environment suffers from climate change and is deteriorating largely because of poor policy decisions— a global issue that I believe could be reduced through closer communication between economists and environmental scientists. With the education provided at the University of Rochester, I hope...

During a Brandeis campus tour with alum Alvin Liu, the stunning Slosberg Music Center caught my attention and has become a venue I hope to perform in through the many concert series the music community hosts. As a Juilliard Pre-College musician, I want to balance my academic interest in environmental studies with my passion for performance, and with Brandeis’s emphasis on social justice, I believe Brandeis is the ideal institution for me to fulfill these aspirations. Taking AP Economics...