Who you are matters

• Describe where you come from
• I am from Beijing, China. As the capital of China, Beijing has been an integral part of the chinese history. The main city is full of buildings with at least some significant national history. For example, the primary school that I attended was established in the 14th century when Beijing was the capital of the Yuan dynasty.
• Tell me where you're going
• I left my hometown to study when I only 15 years old and I have missed it a lot. Therefore, after completing my education in the US and working for many years, my ultimate goal is to go back to Beijing.
• Tell me how you plan to get there
• After graduating from Marshall, I am plannig to do a Masters program in the field of business analytics. Hopefully, this will help me find a job for one of the big consulting companies. I would like to work in different cities in the world because I would want to experience different culture and environment. After I have accumulating enought wealth, I will be going back to Beijing to enjoy my life after retirement.
• How are you LIKE your parents
• First of all, I am about the same height as my dad. We also look alike, and all of our family friends say that I look exactly the same as my dad when he was in college.
• How are you UNLIKE your parents
• I really like to play online video games because I think playing games is not just for fun but it is also a good practice for communication, strategy and teamwork. But my parents seems to never understand my point and they are also worried that video games distracts me from school work.
• Have you developed your own expectations for yourself, or if you were honest, would you say you're operating under someone else's expectations?
• To be honest, I feel like I have been partially operating under my parents' expectations. My parents has always wanted me to study at a prestigious university and working in the finance area after graduation because they both studied economics and finance during college. It is considered good filiality to follow your parent's career path in the chinese culture.
• Who serves as a model for you of someone who lives life with great passion and personal responsibility?
• I have been a Lakers' fan since I was a teenager. And Kobe Byrant definitly serves as a model to me. I have watched Kobe puting the entire team on his shoulder and working so hard to bring two NBA champions back to los angeles. His perseverance has also been inspiring me. Also his loyalty of playing for the same team for twenty years is something for me to learn. 
• Connecting with the ANIMAL WORLD: What wild animal do you feel a special connection with, and why?
• I have also felt a specail connection with the snow leopard. I became fascinated by this beautiful animal when I first encountered it while watching Discovery Channel as a kid. I like snow leopard not only because of its increadible external appearance but also because its ability to adapt to extreme environment and solitary lifestyle somewhat resembles my own personality.
• Connecting with the NATURE KINGDOMS: Describe a significant childhood encounter with a tree or plant.
• One of my major encounters with a plant happend when I was about 5 years old. As a kid, I loved to play with fire. During a visit to my grandparents' house, I started to try to set a cactus plant that my grandpa grew on fire. My parents were so busy talking to my grandparents that no one noticed what I was doing. Eventually, I set the entire cactus plant on fire., and my parents were really mad at me.