I groaned in agony and disappointment at 7:30 PM Sunday, September 9, 2007. My roommate watched me pitch a pillow across our living room and understood my sentiments completely. Why was I upset? Roger Federer had just won the 2007 US Open, defeating world ranked #3 Novak Djokovic, who had been my favorite throughout the tournament. It was almost incredible to remember that, only a month ago, I had been wholly ignorant of professional tennis.
A close friend introduced me to her favorite sport in late July; within a month I had learned not only the rules and regulations of the game, but also the names and records of the top players in the world. I followed the US Open avidly, calling faults along with the referee, critiquing the techniques of the players, and even grudgingly giving credit where credit was due when it came to Roger Federer’s skills. I was fully engaged in (watching) the sport.
Since I relocated to the USA from China at three years old, my life has been an open channel for diversity and new experiences. What began as a juggling act of two separate cultures grew into a passion for learning about the multi-cultural world. I have learned to keep an open mind; I am willing to embrace tennis as easily as I am willing to embrace the traditional customs of my Vietnamese friends. I am as interested in the philosophy and lives of the ancient Greeks as I am interested in the modern-day hi-tech culture of contemporary Japan. This interest carried over into one of my favorite and most memorable experiences—volunteering for the past four of five years at the International Festival in Raleigh. The festival celebrates countries from across the globe, showcasing their unique dances, crafts, and food in a lively, brightly-colored weekend. Every time I participate in the festival, I am reminded how ethnically rich the world is. This proves true in more than just cultural differences, but in legal, political, and social differences as well. One of the primary reasons I am pursuing International Law is I’m interested in topics such as the differing systems of intellectual property rights employed by the American vs. Asian entertainment industries, the careful balance of capitalism and so-called Communism in Chinese politics, and how issues like these affect not only the global political, economic, and social environment but also how they effect more local consequences upon the Asian-American community in the U.S. I hope to explore these issues further in law school, which currently represents a whole new world of experiences for me, including challenges to overcome.
One such challenge I faced in college was exemplified in my summer Philosophy course called Ethics of Peace, War, and Defense. A large part of my final grade was class participation, which was especially encouraged to raise discussion and debate. I found myself struggling to find the right words because I felt that many of my classmates (some of whom were Philosophy majors and old hands at moral debate) were far more eloquent than I and could make more persuasive arguments in their favor. Yet I had opinions I wanted to share, despite my uneasy feelings of inadequacy: I spoke to the professor and made an appointment to see him outside of class, determined to have my say. It turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I have made in my college career: I was able to work up confidence in expressing myself one-on-one, which eventually carried over into the classroom by the end of the course. I had conquered a personal weakness and turned it into a beneficial learning experience.
I will never tire of new experiences, of encountering new challenges to the way I live my life or the beliefs I hold. The chance to learn something new and to pursue it with passion makes my life richer, and I welcome that. I believe this outlook will benefit me greatly in both law school and the legal profession: my ability to turn my experiences into an opportunity to improve myself, to expand the horizons of my knowledge, will allow me to make the most of every challenge I face, for law school is sure provide many. I will employ my passion and my intellect wholly, and look forward to all the future brings—even those occasions where Federer wins.
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