After watching the wheel spin endlessly for the 45th time that week, I had given up. No amount of computer reboots or calls to Xfinity Customer Service could fix the problem - I needed a new computer. I have only known Old Faithful throughout my life. An old Windows PC, it was cumbersome to move and even more to operate, but I was loyal anyways. The constant whirr of its fans, the rhythmic clacking of the keyboard - I grew...

I’ve never been the best at social interaction - I was always shy and preferred to keep things to myself. I preferred the comfort of silence to stifled, awkward interaction. I would only respond if called on, wanting to absorb myself in one of my fantasy books, or focus on math problems. In 9th grade, I could no longer choose silence. I’ve loved trivia since I was young, tuning into Jeopardy! every night and clicking along with contestants...

I am a first-generation son of immigrants, between two worlds. On Halloween, I hand out Snickers and introduce kids to Chinese lychee candy in equal measure. I hunt down mooncakes with my dad in the international store, which are somehow always next to yellow boxes of panettone. I shoot off rapid-fire Shanghainese and English at home, asking for ‘“pai gu (ribs) for wan fan (dinner) today?” My parents immigrated to the U.S. so that I could have English as...

I grew up in South Florida, a melting pot of culture. In fact, minorities make up 62.5% of South Florida’s population, and my high school is no exception. There’s a distinct inequality in the education opportunities between wealthier students and their poorer classmates, especially in children of immigrants who didn’t grow up speaking English as their first language. We didn’t have the same networking or learning opportunities as others do - our parents never went to parent-teacher...

After 36 hours of work, my friends and I triumphantly put the finishing touches on what would be the Princeton Review’s nightmare. We looked proudly on our accomplishment - a sophisticated PSAT practice program, for free. Although HackTheLib was our first hackathon, that didn’t stop us from eagerly competing. We were to create a community-based application that would help people in general. Being juniors at the time, the PSAT was fresh in our minds, and we were well aware...

As I approached the entrance, the automatic sliding door parted, and a welcome whoosh of cool air brought relief from the sweltering heat outside. And with the phrase, “Go read - I’ll be back from the store soon,” I was free. My mother took me to the library every weekend starting when I was 6. I remember walking the rows, dragging my hand along the spines of the books on the shelves, inhaling the scent of cellophane and paper and...