Reading

After quarantine began I thought this would be a great opportunity to rekindle my passion for reading. During highschool I was always frustrated, as a couple of months after reading a book I always sensed my memory of even the most captivating story lines slowly fading away. Since March I have begun my journey to combat the retention gods now always reading with a pen and sticky notes in hand, mindful of detailing opinions, connections to previous literature, and vocab words I haven't encountered before. Check out what I've been reading on Goodreads! One of my favorite quotes: "Reading a good book in silence is like eating chocolate for the rest of your life and never getting fat." -Becca Fitzpatrick

Tennis

The summer before highschool I knew I wanted to avoid PE at all costs, and after playing semicompetitive ping pong for a couple years I thought tennis wouldn't be too different... Needless to say I wasn't selected to be on the team. Luckily after begging the coach to let me on the team, he agreed to hold a second tryout on the condition that I practice with the girls team (as the only male) everyday after school for the rest of the semester. As I made a fool of myself in front of the entire school for 5 months, I slowly fell in love with the game and eventually worked my way onto the varsity team where I resided for the next 4 years.

Community Service

I have found service to be the most rewarding and joyful passion in my life. Whether it is through the refugee chess camps and community tournaments I annualy organize, my music tutoring business for underpriveled youth, to my work as a Santa Monica Youth Volunteer assiting at my local communtiy center, I always learn the most when I am helping someone else. “We rise by lifting others” -Robert Ingersoll