a rising freshman at Lowell High School

waking up to my alarm at 7:40 a.m. and turning it off. After, I go to the restroom to brush my teeth. Then, I greet my parents and rush to the kitchen to eat breakfast. After my energy levels are recharged, I say goodbye to my parents and check when the bus is coming before I start walking to the bus stop. Once I get to school, I go to my locker to get everything I need for class. My first four classes of the day are Mandarin, English, Cantonese, and Science. During lunch break, I like to eat with my friends and talk about life. The next classes I have are math, physical education, and social studies. When classes end, I go to my locker to grab everything I need before riding the bus to go to tutoring. From 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., I do my homework and ask my tutor for help if necessary. After, I walk back home and help with preparing dinner. Dinner, one of my favorite time of the day, is when we all get to catch up and share about our day. I would typically go back to my room to finish my homework before I take a break. Finally, I shower and brush my teeth before going to bed to get my much needed rest until another day starts again.

STEM can be for anyone. It isn't limited by gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, etc. If you have a passion for STEM, don't let what others say and believe stop you. Even if you start out completely clueless about the topic, remember that everyone must start somewhere. Time and dedication is the only way for someone to reach new heights.

hone and apply my knowledge and skills I've learned from the past to real life situations. It has also helped me widen my horizons and think about things from a different approach.

From a young age, I would always question how things worked and why things were that way? When I started learning more about science, many questions were answered, but more questions ended up being generated. My favorite subjects from elementary school to high school were always math and science. As I grew older, I started developing interests in multiple areas of STEM.

DrawingCalligraphyPuzzlesBakingCooking

Mathematics and science are the college classes I use the most. Whether I'm calculating the unit price of an item to see if I'm getting the best deal, seeing the time it will take me to get to school, or following a recipe to see if I put in too much flour, I am unconsciously using math in my everyday life. In terms of science, physics has helped me develop a basic understanding of the universe and its mass. It has helped me live life without having to constantly question the world around me. There is also a science to cooking and baking like the Maillard Reaction. Undoubtedly, arithmetic and science are classes that I constantly and will need to use in life.

Active listening, critical thinking and communication have been the most important skills to my educational career. Even if my body was there, if my mind wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to take in any information. Being able to be fully present and focus on what is happening is the only way I would be able to learn. I sometimes find it difficult to take in all the new information, but my critical thinking has helped me process and comprehend the information so that I am able to make a logical judgement. Whenever I have any questions or if there is something I want to be elaborated, my effective communication skills has helped me get my point through. Without having these skills, my educational career would have come to a halt, unable to acquire any new knowledge.