By Hannah Lee
Junior Yoanna LeeIn Korean culture, blood type is considered to be extremely important as many Koreans believe that it is associated with personality traits. For example, A blood types are thought to be responsible, perfectionists and stubborn. Junior Yoanna Lee explained that when she was born, her mom was extremely curious about her blood type. Therefore, despite the fact that doctors do not typically reveal blood types at birth, her mother forced the doctor to reveal Lee’s blood type when she was born, saying that it was extremely important for Lee’s family to know.
“My mom just didn’t want me to have AB blood type and I had AB,” Lee said. “In Korean culture, AB blood types are both crazy and geniuses at the same time. There are all of these stereotypes about each blood type. If I ever do something crazy or something just really creative, my mom always mentions my blood type.” |
Senior Philip ChauSenior Philip Chau has a very distinct family history that not many people know about. Prior to settling in San Jose and later in Cupertino, Chau’s parents lived in Vietnam. During the time of the Vietnam War, Chau’s parents joined other refugees in embarking on a treacherous journey to escape Vietnam and reach America.
“During the Vietnam War, the Communists were taking over, so my parents decided to leave Vietnam to come to America,” Chau said. “They were first stopped at a Malaysian refugee camp and had to stay there for a month. Through a boat, where there were pirates and robbers, they eventually made their way to California." |
Junior Brandon LinJunior Brandon Lin is part of a unique national organization. Since middle school, he has been a member of the United States Chess Federation. Although he initially joined the federation thinking that he would excel, he later discovered that chess was not as easy as it looked. While he is known for his membership in the prestigious organization by those around him, the fact that chess is not a great skill of his is something he hides from his friends.
“I thought I would be good,” Lin said. “Turns out, I am bad and there is nothing I can do to improve. I’m still in it just so I can claim I’m in it and look cool and smart." |
Junior Elena ChenWhen junior Elena Chen was young, she had a slightly different heartbeat. According to her mother, her pediatrician informed the family that she had a unique heartbeat when she was young, although it was not associated with a medical condition. While she is not sure whether this is still the case, this special trait gives her a sense of pride.
“It made me feel special,” Chen said. “Not a lot of people have my heartbeat. It didn’t impact me at all, but it was just kind of cool.” |
Senior Nikita Kalje
When senior Nikita Kalje was in third grade, she was met with an unexpected circumstance. One day, both of her closest friends did not show up to school. When her teachers asked her if she was okay, she just nodded, but in reality, it was just a way for her to avoid seeming weak in front of her teachers.
“No one knows that I have a fear of being lonely,” Kalje said. “I always tell people that I’m fine if I’m ever by myself, but in reality, I don’t like being by myself. I’m just too scared to admit it.” |
Junior Sakina NaqviNot many people know this fact about junior Sakina Naqvi: she speaks five different languages. Along with Hindi and English, which she naturally learned as she grew up, Naqvi can speak Arabic, Chinese and most recently, Korean. While she has been learning English, Arabic and Hindi since she was young, she started learning Chinese when she entered high school and is currently taking online classes to learn Korean.
“It’s just for my own enjoyment,” Naqvi said. “It’s cool that I can communicate with different kinds of people from different cultures.” |
Sophomore Maya SinghSophomore Maya Singh has a secret that she doesn't like to share with others – when she was four years old, she took ballet classes. Despite regularly attending the classes, she hated everything about dancing, from the routines to the awkward and uncomfortable costumes.
“I quit because I was embarrassed about it,” Singh said. “I remember in my last performance, I didn’t want to dance at all. Still, I was forced to, so I purposely messed up the routine.” |