My greatest accomplishment thus far is probably getting a decent grade on NYSSMA for my level 6 piano solo because I know I’m not that great and I didn’t have time to prepare for it. My teacher told us about NYSSMA approximately 2 months prior to the test, but fortunately I worked on one of the pieces before.On the day of the exam it was made known that original sheet music was required which i did not have. Luckily my friend and I were able to purchase the original sheets and just barely make it on time for our exam. We were both anxious about what was to come , so we decided to flip a coin to see who would go in first. I lost of course and had to be the first to take the exam. During my performance, I made a few mistakes here and there, but I still managed to get almost the full score for the performance. Luckily for me, performing the piece made up most of the points for the test. I lost so many points for playing the scales and sight reading.

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It is the feeling of the rush, the sweet high, when I hear the music burst from the speakers. The instructor yells, ” Ready?! 1,2,3,4 !” and we start to move to the beat. I become a completely different person. That person that smiles and tries to walk in the pace of other people is no longer there. In her place, there is a girl who commands attention, who is fierce, and who becomes occupied in her own little world. The stress of life comes pouring at in the form of sweat and is brushed off easily by hands. When the song ends, the others sigh and take a break before the next hour long session. I look up to the ceiling and smile in accomplishment before going over the moves again. I don’t know when it started that dance became my only source of confidence and power. I only remember that as time went by, I slowly lost interest in everything that use to define who I was. Only when I move my body to the flow of the music do I remember I live, that I exist.

Whatever happens is my favorite choreography at the moment.

Photography fascinates me. I take pictures of almost anything, the skyline, and the busy streets of Manhattan, clouds, the sunset, and also the transit system of New York City. I don’t really know why I like trains and buses so much, I just happen to, for some odd reason. Ever since college started, I’ve been focused a lot more on photography rather than the college workload itself. I know I procrastinate a lot and I spend a good amount of my time outside taking photos rather than studying for exams and doing homework. I know this will eventually lead to my doom but hopefully something miraculous will happen and I will change my non-studious ways. I remember back in high school, I would be extremely studious, and take care of homework and other school related things as soon as I could.  But over the summer, I think I lost my touch. I’ve starting becoming a slacker; something that I thought could not be possible. Even now, in October, I still feel that I have my summer mentality. My sleep schedule now is the same as in June, which somewhat surprises me.  Hopefully I will be able to readjust my mentality by the end of the semester. Can’t give up hope, not just yet anyways.

It’s essential that one always tries to lead something in life. Leading is an important experience that changes who you are entirely and your mindset. I was a leader once, and it was an experience that I will never forget. Back in high school, I was voted to be the captain of my varsity basketball team. At first, I was hesitant in taking such a big position, but I realized that I would learn a lot from leading the team, so I took it. Throughout the season, I was to run drills, encourage my teammates, and to be a role model. During games, I wasn’t the one with the most points, but I was the one with his head held up high even in the worst situations. Being a leader for my team really helped me grow as a person. For once, I felt like my voice was being heard. My teammates listened to me and treated me with respect that in return I gave them. I felt I was a great leader, but in the end, no matter, I was still apart of the team.

I can’t draw glasses, so here I am without glasses.
Trying new watercolor technique.
Body Base: BBBases @ DeviantArt
Background: Xishan1 @ DeviantArt

I call myself an artist even though I hardly ever produce a work out of my own free will. I’ve done dozens of paintings and stuff for school. If I do finish a piece, there’s a purpose why I did it. In middle school, I probably painted close to fifty paintings over the course of three years. In high school, I was in Media Communications doing both traditional art and digital art. Don’t get me wrong, I really like making art. I really do, but I have tons of ideas and never enough time to actually bring it into actuality. I have a huge folder on my desktop filled with unfinished art pieces. Line art I haven’t colored in, a pair of blue eyes without the rest of the face, more uncolored line art, templates I wanted to complete, unfinished animation clips—all just gathering dust or the digital equivalent on my desktop. I haven’t touched it in months. On the physical, tangible level, I haven’t produced anything noteworthy either. The last thing I made were headpieces and props for a dance back in high school.

I tried changing my lazy artist habits this summer. I started creating flash animations with my brother. He would create a couple minutes to a story and pass it onto me to continue. The project is still in progress but even then, I was lazy. While my brother would have his part done within a day, it took me a couple of days to get mine done. My excuse was my volunteer work was tiring. It’s a pretty pathetic excuse. I mean, all I do is watch over children. During the project, I decided to do something a bit more ambitious. I decided I was going to create a transformation sequence. I used one of Sailor Moon’s transformation sequences as my base model. On and off, it took me almost a month to draw all 324 frames. I think that’s probably my proudest achievement. The other works I’m particularly proud of are the butterfly wings for my Rin’s MAGNET costume and the Avatar: The Last Airbender headpieces.

I haven’t been making art as I wanted to. I wanted to try to make jewelry, costumes and even large-scale props. But, I’m so lazy. Oh the woes of an artist!

One of the things I’ve always struggled with, is studying and doing well in school. I remember being in high school and thinking I would be in the city in less than one year and life would be so different. I would be able to party whenever I wanted , have people over, not be bothered to eat my vegetables or eat breakfast, these were actually my major concerns at the time which I suppose is rather sad. This really was a major reflection of how I had grown up. I really didn’t want anything to do with education or being a scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I was brought up surrounded by affluent trust fund babies who, in my opinion really just needed a good laugh. They were very uptight. However after my first month and a half at Baruch I can honestly say that the topics we discussed in my high school classes were very similar. I guess I am just more open to learning now. The two years I took off after high school were an incredible helpful catalyst in starting my evolution as a credible writer. I strongly believe in self exploration and separation from ones upbringing. Because now I am very excited about school; a feeling I never throught I would have.

I don’t really have great accomplishments so far in my life. I mean, come on, I’m only a college freshman. But thinking back now, I was amazed that I actually survived through the whole process of college applications. I started preparing for college essays back in August before the start of senior year. I know I’m very early. I don’t know why, I just have that OCD to get an early start on everything. Writing a two-page essay would literally take me a week to complete because I take time planning out the essays. During the end of September, I was done with all the essays. However, I felt insure. So, I asked several of my teachers to look over my essays. Of course, they gave me different feedbacks. So, I rewrote my essays, which took another month. I remember the first semester of senior year was not fun at all due to the college apps. I was super overwhelmed by those annoying applications, AP homework, and clubs. I literally sleep at 1 am every day. And surprisingly, unlike other people who lost weight during this painful process, I gained weight because I eat more when I’m stressed. After I submitted my applications, I felt greatly relieved. Around April and May, I received all my college acceptance letters. At first I was struggling between Binghamton University and Baruch College. After I visited Binghamton, I saw its desertedness. My parents refused the idea of me going to Binghamton right after they visited. Then I finally decided to go to Baruch. Many of my classmates give me plain looks and commented that I deserve a better college when they found out that I’m going to Baruch. I just give them a fake smile and inside my heart, I was holding up my middle finger at them, like none of your business. Anyway, during the middle, actually the beginning of senior year, I was diagnosed with this horrible disease – senioritis. I slack off so much towards the end. I got a 1 on AP Calculus exam. A 1 out of 5!!! Many people don’t believe it and were like “You’re Xiu! How is that possible?” Anyway, college applications drive people crazy and I’m proud of myself that I actually made it!