ROCK CLIMBING
Hanging off high ledges. Jumping across the wall like a spider. Interacting with diverse community of dedicated climbers.
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These are just some of the things that I love about rock climbing. Ever since the age of 14 I have been climbing, and spent 4 years practicing the sport at High School, where I was captain of the rock climbing team, and 2 years climbing at Stanford. While on the Stanford Climbing Team I made great friends, go to go to the USA Climbing National championship where we won 3rd place, and helped spread my passion for climbing throughout the community through a variety of clinics, workshops and a route setting class. Here are some highlights of my time climbing!
A TOUGH OVERHANG
This picture was taken in Mallorca, where I went deep-water soloing during the summer of 2015. This type of climbing involves scaling tricky routes above water without a rope!
GOLF
Calculate, aim and then let your swing go. Let go of the past, plan for the future and embrace the present.
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Golf is an amazing sport that I have been practicing for most of my life since the age of around 5, and I believe it can teach us a great deal about how to live a good life. Not only is it an engaging, challenging game that encourage discipline, focus and regular practice, but the golf mentality also serves as a microcosmic representation of how live a fulfilling life focused on the present. During a round of golf you need to let go of your bad shots, plan for the future in terms of where you will hit your ball, but then let all of that go in the present and just give it your best shot (literally!). I strongly believe this is a philosophy that we could have more of in our daily lives - not regretting the past, planning for the future but then living life undistracted in the beauty of the present moment.
STANFORD
GOLF COURSE
This is a picture of the 3rd hole of the Stanford Golf Course, where I often go to practice. The golf course is a great place to enjoy the sunshine, hang out with other golfing friends and rediscover the beauty in nature!
VIDEO GAMES
Fast-paced action. Long, contemplative adventures. Thought-provoking story-driven masterpieces.
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I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember, and they are one of the hobbies that I retained throughout my life. I love playing games as they provide a bridge between our imagination and reality, and allows us to explore all manner of interesting situations that we would never encounter in real life. I think playing games helps expand my creativity and imaginative capabilities, as well as constantly challenging me to be a better strategist, problem solver and teammate. During my freshman and sophomore years at Stanford I also wrote articles for a video game analysis website called With a Terrible Fate, which you can check out at this link. You can find my bio and links to all the articles I wrote here. Writing for the site allowed to further develop my analytical writing skills and apply them to something I truly love! I also met many amazing people who were equally as enthused about games as I was. Overall, it was a fantastic adventure!
SHEN CHI DO
Discipline. Benevolence. Indomitable spirit and wisdom.
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Shen Chi Do is a martial arts discipline created by Professor Grand Master Shener Dervish in 1979 and is based off a wide variety of ancient martial arts. Shen Chi Do is a rigorous practice that greatly enhances one's physical, mental and spiritual aspirations through the training of the body to perform complex motions and through interactions with the community. I have been doing Shen Chi Do for over 7 years and reached the black belt level when I was 16. Through my experience with this novel martial art I learned how to work persistently and committedly towards a specific goal, how to train my body to respond to challenge, and most important how to foster self-belief in an increasingly complex global world.
SOCIAL DANCE
Flying across the dance floor with a partner in your arms, without a care in the world...
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Social dance is my newest hobby that I picked up in the Fall of my Junior year at Stanford. After my first dance class I was immediately captivated by the elegance, grace and incredible skill involved in becoming a great dancer. Not only that, but I came to learn all about flexibility and good partnering, both of which are essential to becoming a great dance partner. The emphasis in social dance, as opposed to competitive ballroom dance, is on having fun with a partner, and thus going out dancing helps foster a sense of mutual compassion and empathy towards one's fellow dancers. I believe we can learn many life skills from the art of dance, and seek to become the best dancer I can be in the coming years! The picture below was taken after one of the biggest Stanford social dance events, Jammix, in the Fall of 2018. You can find in a blue shirt near the front-middle of the picture!
