The "Minori" Files :P

What goes on through your mind when someone tells you to “describe yourself”? Yeah, exactly, you get kind of stuck. You probably think, “What can I say about myself that doesn’t make me sound like a total narcissist or compliment seeker?” But I think, “What CAN I say to describe myself?” I believe that every person has a unique and dynamic personality that can’t just be fully depicted through a blog entry, but I’ll try to give you a better idea of me – Minori.

When you first see me (the one on the left), you know right off the bat that I’m Asian: I’ve got those cute little dark brown eyes, short height, dark hair, and easily darkened skin. But if you look long enough into my Asian face, you’ll start assuming what nationality I am (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.). I understand it’s hard to distinguish the ethnicities because - come on - you’re only working with eyes here. Interestingly enough, I am half-Chinese and half-Japanese (that means: EYE MIXTURE! Yay, more confusion for strangers!) Unfortunately, I can’t speak EITHER language. It’s strange because I was born as a native Cantonese speaker (with English and Japanese as my secondary languages). Eventually I learned more than one type of Chinese dialect – and now I’m 16, with barely a clue how to speak Mandarin! Okay, I over exaggerated there – I have an idea what I’m doing, but you understand the gist of what I mean.

At Nationals with former champions :)

As you can see from my blog title, I am a dorky drama queen – kind of. I don’t look like a stereotypical nerd in high school and simultaneously act like an overly dramatic Beverly Hills “princess”. What I mean by “dorky drama queen” is someone who is serious about academics yet also enjoys channeling their inner personas in a dramatic/humorous fashion. I’m not going to say that I’m intelligent because some people measure intelligence by different things; I will say, though, that I’m a very diligent student. I’m an only child in my family so I get a lot of pressure from my mom to do extremely well in academics (intensify that pressure, because she’s an Asian mom). Nevertheless, I also push myself to do better because I want a bright future for myself. Pushing myself to do better doesn’t just apply to school, it also applies to my extracurricular activities – like Forensics! This is where my inner “drama queen” struts out into the open. I love Forensics because it gives every individual the chance to be someone else – whether it be a more poetic version of themselves, a more humorous one, a more informative one, or – in my case – a more dramatic one. Occasionally, I will act overly dramatic in situations unrelated to school or extracurricular activities (like real drama, or just hot gossip…which I love).

MISO Volleyball :D

Other than acting in a classroom, I love going out – whether it be to socialize with others, play a good game of volleyball or tennis (my favorite sports), swim at the beach, or shop (one of my biggest hobbies/addictions). I am not one to just sit around at home and “enjoy the simplicity of life”. It’s not that I have ADHD or anything; I just believe that there are more enjoyable things out of the house. Sadly, Ms. Asian Mom wants me to stay home and study. No problem, I just end up blasting music through my speakers and write. Go ahead and call me weird but I have this passion for Writing – and it’s not like “Dear Diary” stuff - I’m talking about fiction, memories, etc. This passion been unraveled in my Middle School years by one of my favorite teachers; since then, I haven’t been able to stay away from Writing for more than a month (which is probably why Journalism class is one of my favorite classes in my Junior Year). Nevertheless, I’m like every other teenager whose average media consumption is like two hours a day. However, in order for me to be me, I need my daily dose of social networking and laughter – definitely laughter, life is too short to be sad about anything.