I turned to the Food Network, on the rare nights when I had trouble sleeping. I watched shows like Iron Chef, where numerous talented chefs presented their dish before a panel of intimidating judges. I enjoyed watching each dish become so elegant, and envied the judges who had the privilege to indulge in such masterpieces.

However, I soon realized that, while one might think that it is the judges who get the most satisfaction from the experience, it is actually the chefs who do. Selecting the ingredients, cooking the meal, and watching faces light up give the experience all its value. The chefs do not let criticisms affect their love or vision for their career; such is the attitude I’ve come to embrace through the experience of studying at a nearby community college in my senior year.

Coming from a highly competitive high school, I dared to question why we put so much effort, time, and even heart into our 4.0’s. It wasn’t that I didn’t value excelling at academics, but I was skeptical about the true meanings the A’s, B’s, and 2400’s carried for each student. It was as if we were passive consumers of our grades: letting every grade weigh on our moods, even our outlooks on life. I wondered, shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t our longing for knowledge and impact intimidate the A’s and the B’s, the countless hours spent for a club?

Then I heard about College Advantage, a program that offered a college classroom experience to seniors. I applied, for I wanted to build my interests and potential now rather than wait for my future to “arrive”. At De Anza, I indulged myself in acquiring knowledge that fascinated me in its significance and application to the world. Although my psychology grade was solely based on four tests with questions derived directly from the text, I looked forward to each lecture. My existing interest in biology and new interest in psychology have led me to take psychobiology next quarter. My English class has proved the phrase “looking is not seeing”: we used semiotics to dissect popular culture and politics. I realized the importance of being aware of what we read, watch, and listen to, for everything we’re bombarded with affects us to the extent that it shapes our culture. Yet what intrigues me is how we can choose what we surround ourselves with.

I want to be the true chef of the experience: not the one who allows the words of her critics to perturb her world but the one who puts something out there for the world everyday. She understands that her passion is much more powerful than any word or rating. She also believes that, as the social-cognitive theorists in my psychology textbook put it, “people are meant to be active seekers and interpreters of information, not just responders to environmental influences.”




my uc essay... well one of them. time flies yo.