Though I was born in Tennessee, I have lived in Dalian - a city in northeast China - since I was one year old. At that time, my mother hired two tutors to teach me reading, writing, and mathematics. This opportunity gave me the key to the door of knowledge and built up my desire to open it. The results benefited me, but there was one unhappy surprise mixed in with it all.

 

By the time I was three, I finished reading all the story books I had and could fluently read Chinese newspapers. I also wrote Chinese characters, and could add, subtract, and multiply numbers. Since I memorized all the story books my tutors read me, I had no more fun reading them, so I insisted that I needed to go to school. My mom agreed and, from then on, I was the youngest student in my school.

 

With the benefit of this learning behind me, I began first grade at age 4 and, during the school year, took first place in an annual English Speech Contest, competing against students in the first through sixth grades. The next year, I won the contest again, so the sponsor changed the rules so that a student could only win once against any given set of grades. So when I was in seventh grade, I was able to compete again and took second place. The next year, I joined once more and won. For these contests, I had to prepare and memorize three speeches and present the one the judges asked for on the spot.

 

My early education continued to help me in later years. In the summer of 2002, I took an advanced school placement test along with around 2600 students in order to enter a class for the gifted. The top 50 were chosen for the class, and I scored 9th. The pressure in this class was severe, as all the students were the best from their elementary schools. We were tested in the afternoon on what we learned in the morning. Before school ended, scores were ready and the teachers would read everyone's scores in front of the class in the sequence from the highest to the lowest. Doing homework until midnight or later was normal for everyone in class.

 

Though the students' brains were well equipped, the study environment was not. The classroom was far too small to fit so many people, so three or four desks were placed together in such a way that all four students had to stand if one was to get out from the desks. The squat toilets at the school were extremely dirty, for they were flushed only twice a day. Reminding myself of the dirty toilets and the problems of even getting out of my classroom, I never drank water while at school. This lasted for two years until my physical body could no longer stand it. Between this and the pace of study through all these years, my body responded with kidney inflammation.

 

For nine months, I continued my medication. My doctor informed me that I was not allowed to study under that kind of pressure again until my tests turned normal. So I found a homeschooling program called Laurel Springs, based in the United States, and am currently in grade ten. While going to school full-time through Laurel Springs, I am also working independently with my writing mentor to develop business and writing skills.

 

As for my hobbies, I love music and I play the piano and take singing lessons. I am also a prize-winning Latin Dancer in my age group and have a patent on a fluorescent shuttlecock for badminton. My dream, which I am working at it in every way possible, is to go to Harvard. I wish to major in business and work in an international bank after graduation. I hope that the skills I learn through this website's service, in addition to my schooling, will help to get me there.