A million ideas burst from my brain and died on my fingertips. The blinking cursor was the only color on the empty page, disapprovingly counting every second of my struggle. Concepts bubbled on the tip of my tongue, but not a single one translated into actual words. As Kurt Vonnegut said, “When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.” Literally me. I knew what I wanted to say—I even had the...

As our research cohort finished the last chapter on feminist legal theories, exploring their implications on women’s lives from employment to pregnancies to marriage, something was missing. Where was the section about periods? Despite periods’ demanding role in the lives of billions of women, there was nothing in our extensive textbook about how our laws should support menstruators. In disbelief, I decided to write my paper about the absence of menstrual care in America. To start, I discovered the...

My upbringing straddled the Taiwan Strait, the watery line that separates Taiwan and China. Because I lived in the mainland for [Content Redaction for Privacy Concerns] years, my sense of the world developed under the carefully constructed narratives crafted by my school, the state, and China’s media. For instance, when I introduced myself as Taiwanese, my peers would dismiss me as Chinese, saying that there was no difference. I was taught to believe that the people across the strait...

Sophomore year, I co-founded the [Content Redaction for Privacy Concerns] with my friend to create a sanctuary for writers to share their work and write together. I see the same spirit of celebrating writing at Penn’s Kelly Writers House. I can already imagine myself sharing a coffee with the Writers House Fellows in the Arts Cafe, or performing one of my own pieces during the annual Speakeasy student-run open mic night. I also hope to continue inspiring young writers...

Sophomore year, I joined Schoolhouse.world, a free, online peer tutoring community. I love tutoring here because my students were always genuinely curious. As Schoolhouse heavily favored math courses, I attempted to diversify the pool through public speaking. People flocked to my “[Content Redaction for Privacy Concerns]” series that explored the eight speech and debate events I have participated in, from MUN to Public Forum debate, highlighting their unique characteristics, from speaking in formalities to brainstorming persuasive one-liners. Recently, one...

Since I was young, I religiously believed in fairness. From telling a couple they cut the line at an amusement park to telling on a kindergarten classmate who snatched my markers, I always spoke out against injustice. As I explored the law, the biographical film “On the Basis of Sex” inspired me. Watching former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg challenge the Supreme Court, I realized not only could I use the law to address injustices, I could also change unfair laws...

Hi Roomie! Everyone at Stanford is so accomplished, I’m pretty sure I heard there was an astronaut and a Nobel prize winner in our class. While I have my strengths, I’m also TERRIBLE at a lot of things—that won’t stop me from doing them anyway! Even though I’m slightly tone deaf, I audition for the school musicals and belt out Taylor Swift songs. I won’t hesitate to jam to JustDance and film a Tik...

Sophomore year, I faced my greatest debate crisis: not winning. Struggling with a new partner and confronting the male-dominated debate space, I was disheartened to only cheer my teammates from the sidelines. Despite considering quitting, I instead excused myself from practice to reflect. Distancing myself from debate reminded me how I reveled in conquering unfamiliar topics and missed the adrenaline of responding to obscure arguments in my speech—all irrespective of winning. I returned to my team with a new...