Kevin Tzeng (12) has one blue earbud in as he listens to music, the other one dangling loose as he tunes into the world around him. What’s on his playlist? Most likely Day6, his current favorite K-Pop group.

“I got into K-pop the same way I got into anime,” Kevin said. “My sister just showed me a video of them singing and dancing and I thought it was good music. It wasn’t until later when I actually tried to analyze it and learn some of the dance moves.”

While Kevin does not consider himself a dancer, he has mastered some K-pop moves, including select ones pioneered by the girl group Twice. He discusses Asian culture in all its forms, ranging from K-pop to anime to manga, with his friend Neil Bai.

“Kevin, or Tzeng as he is better known as, is and has been very passionate about Asian culture for as long as I’ve known him,” Neil said. “He has delved deeply into many different areas such as Japanese animation and Korean pop music, and continues to search for new and interesting topics to indulge in.”

Besides his nondescript black outfit, Kevin sports a faded goggle tan from the months of summer spent in the pool. He immerses himself in both Asian culture and swimming, as a way to take his mind off the stresses of everyday life.

“Finding something to lean on in times of struggle is something that really fascinates me,” Kevin said. “Everybody has unique methods of relief for different reasons, and that’s something to take pride in.”

Ultimately, swimming and Asian culture serve a similar purpose—a break from reality.

“Sure, I may not be an Olympic-level athlete, but the water allows me to reach that something that is so far away,” Kevin said. “People wonder how swimmers can stand such a boring sport that consists of repetitive action back and forth from wall to wall. As much as I understand them, to me, swimming is so much more.”

When Kevin enters the swimming pool, he feels as if he’s entered another dimension.

“If I ever feel lonely, swimming is a good way to fix that,” he said. “In the beginning of freshman year, I was a person who basically had no friends because I was new. I felt like swimming was definitely a way to relieve that.”

The friends Kevin made through swimming helped him have a more relaxed outlook on life.

“They’re normal friendships, but when I talk to [my swimming friends], it’s much more lighthearted than talking to some of my academic friends at school, where they all have that same problem of Harker competitiveness,” he said.

Kevin considers himself a relatively quiet person, so he tended to make friends through people with common interests.

“I would describe myself to be pretty laid back, but also pretty introverted in a way,” he said. “I don’t really like going out of my comfort zones at times, and making new friends is something that I really struggled with. If I get to know you better, then I get a lot more comfortable with you, but at the same time, in the initial stages I really don’t want to get to know other people. My first friend [at Harker] was Vinke [Kevin Xu (12)], because I met him in 6th grade. Having that first friend there enabled me to get to know other people because I was more relaxed around Vinke, so others would get to know me better.”