Frances Lee?

So in a blog about me, I see it fitting that I introduce myself more in depth if I haven't had the chance to personally before.

To begin with the standard introduction: My name is Frances Lee, a Korean junior at Whitney High School who is about 5'2" and weighs (you don't need to know -- because I don't either) pounds. I'm an only child who has lived in Hawaii, Alaska, and California as part of the duties that entail being a pastor's child. I've seen moose, snow, long days and nights, the big and little dipper, rabbits hiding under houses, and news reports on death by moose tramplings. At school I am currently Pen on Paper discussion leader, Key Club Secretary/President-Elect, and a student coordinator for TEDxWhitneyHigh, and outside of school, I participate in church activities and am a leader at "Ride Your Horse! Therapeutic Riding Program." Sounds just like a list of facts and the skeleton of a college application, right? I'm not done yet.

Having moved from one house to another year after year, I was ecstatic when my stay in Artesia, California was longer than the others, but still didn't have really high expectations of staying for more than 2 years. But here I am, living in Artesia, for what seems to be my 9th year. Before I came here, I made friends easily in Anchorage, San Dimas, and Fillmore because I was young, reckless, and outgoing, but in 6th grade at Burbank Elementary School, I became the girl that not many people really liked. I cried over grades at the age of 11 and was one of the only Asians in a predominantly Hispanic and Caucasian community. I heard my "friends" gossiping behind my back regarding how annoying I was, and although that was elementary school and shouldn't have remained in my memory, it has to this day. But I don't want to turn this into a sob story or a pity party because I found my place at Whitney and am now happier than I could be.

When I arrived at this peculiarly small middle/high school, I was shy, reserved, and narrow minded; when I raised my hand to talk in class, my entire body would begin to shake and I would become colder and colder until my teeth started chattering uncontrollably. This reaction persisted until my 9th grade year of high school when I joined Key Club cabinet as bulletin editor for the 2013-2014 term. Here, I was put into positions in which I had to speak to a group of my peers about upcoming events and updates. At first, this task was nervewracking -- I had clammy hands, wobbly knees, and blurred vision, but over time, it got better and now I'm able to speak in front of about 300 people and still maintain my composure.

But while I was overcoming the fear of public speaking in 9th grade, I also had doubts about my purpose in high school - was it to become a 4.0 GPA student? Was it to continue playing the piano like many of my friends? Or was it to remain quiet and respectful in everything I did without a second thought? With questions upon questions building up inside me, I went to my 9th grade English teacher to discuss with her what made me tick, what made me passionate, and we came to the consensus that I loved to discuss with people and bring out topics that would not be addressed in normal settings. With this in mind, I went to apply for "Mind over Matter" - the discussion group - to become a club, and when my potential, future project failed, I was devastated: but not for long. I was soon introduced as the discussion group leader to Pen on Paper, a writing club created prior by Michelle Whang and Raji Ganapathy. At first, I was skeptical of joining and was upset that Mind over Matter couldn't be an independent club, but (admittedly) reluctantly, I agreed to be part of PoP, and that has made all the difference in my high school experience.

Within Pen on Paper & Mind over Matter started TEDxWhitneyHigh, a conference whose motto is "ideas worth spreading," and through this journey of planning, coordinating, and learning, I have been able to expand my perspective and look at the world through a more mature, professional outlook sharpened by the exposure to the technicalities of organizing a large scale project.

At this point to many of you this may seem like I'm listing off events in my past, but what I really want to demonstrate is that my life has been ups and downs and that it has been nothing close to perfect, but nevertheless I want to keep on driving my life to reach a point at which I can look back and have no regrets - a point at which I'll be able to smile at my past and be hopeful for my future.

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My name is Frances Lee, a Korean junior at Whitney High School who is about 5'2" and weighs (you don't need to know -- because I don't either) pounds. I'm an only child who has lived in Hawaii, Alaska, and California as part of the duties that entail being a pastor's child. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, but I'm determined to keep my head above the water. At school I am currently swamped with extracurricular and curricular work, but I still love every moment of it. Outside of school, I'm making an effort to experience growth as a member of society as well as a human being.

Do I still sound like a skeleton of a college application? But wait, I'm not done yet, because it never stops.

#personal