So when I use a different name in public, I could be someone special, hiding all my flaws and imperfections. I’m Suzy, the valedictorian of my school with a perfect 4.0 GPA, the president of the speech and debate club, and a member of the school’s orchestra. I’m Kelly, the friendly social butterfly of my school, a stark contrast of my introverted self. I’m someone my parents are proud of. But after I finish my last drop of caramel macchiato and exit the Starbucks building, I’m back to being Kathy, a plain, petite Asian female that lacks any of the qualities I associated with the names I used. The beginning of my senior year, I did something that was quite out of character for an introvert: I become a volunteer for Kaiser Permanente Hospital. The other student volunteers were a weekly reminder of how incompetent I might look in the eyes of an admissions officer in comparison. They had been volunteers for years already, showing a long-time commitment, finished many of the necessary GE classes for their future major, and had amazing GPA’s despite their many extracurriculars and stack of AP classes on their
So when I use a different name in public, I could be someone special, hiding all my flaws and imperfections. I’m Suzy, the valedictorian of my school with a perfect 4.0 GPA, the president of the speech and debate club, and a member of the school’s orchestra. I’m Kelly, the friendly social butterfly of my school, a stark contrast of my introverted self. I’m someone my parents are proud of. But after I finish my last drop of caramel macchiato and exit the Starbucks building, I’m back to being Kathy, a plain, petite Asian female that lacks any of the qualities I associated with the names I used. The beginning of my senior year, I did something that was quite out of character for an introvert: I become a volunteer for Kaiser Permanente Hospital. The other student volunteers were a weekly reminder of how incompetent I might look in the eyes of an admissions officer in comparison. They had been volunteers for years already, showing a long-time commitment, finished many of the necessary GE classes for their future major, and had amazing GPA’s despite their many extracurriculars and stack of AP classes on their