“Colorful, loud, spontaneous, not afraid to do anything, loud,” Victor Shin (12) said, pausing after his attempt to describe how others perceive him. “Did I say loud?”

Everything from his pastel flannels to his green-tinged hair is an outlet for his self-expression.

“Something about myself that I know is true is I’m not afraid of anything. I don’t really regret anything that I do,” he said. “Alongside that, whenever I make a decision, I’m really good at committing to it. I don’t worry about the consequences, and I don’t worry about what will happen after, as an aftermath. I’m really good at committing and not being afraid. I guess that explains the reason why I dyed my hair blue last year. I was just like, ‘Whatever let’s do it.’”

Victor’s gregarious personality comes through in his role as co-senior captain of Kinetic Krew, the all-male upper school dance team.

“I believe that the only way to portray your personality is to do it directly,” he said. “Don’t send any hidden messages, just be direct, be loud. Say what’s on your mind right away, well not some things but most things. Through dance, I show people that I’m loud, but I can also be emotional and very quiet through my moves.”

Another place he enjoys “losing himself in the tunes”? Surprisingly, the golf course. A four-year member of the upper school golf team and the sole captain in his senior year, Victor has found his closest friends through the sport.

One of those friends was Jin Kim (12).

“I’m really glad I met him,” Jin said. “I was pretty serious before; I didn’t really joke around much, but his positivity kind of rubbed off on me, and that has changed my personality a little bit, too.”

Golf, to Victor, can be an individual sport in name but more of a team sport in practice.

“Last year during our [Northern California] Tournament, which we placed first in, I was our sixth player, and I had about seven holes left,” he said. “At around the 12th hole, I tweaked my back, and I experienced severe pain. That was tough physically, but it was also really tough mentally because I thought my round was over. My lower back was in so much pain that I couldn’t really swing the club, so I thought my round was over, and I almost gave up. Then I saw the look in one of my teammate’s eyes, and he looked like he was playing really well. His confidence in his own game gave myself my own confidence back. It made me believe in myself again and helped me power through that physical struggle that I went through.”

As a Korean-American, Victor speaks of the racial prejudice he faces at several country clubs. But he has managed to channel those negative experiences into positive personal growth, as he strives to be a more accepting friend and teammate himself.

“I really strongly believe in human equality,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what sexual orientation, it doesn’t matter what gender, it doesn’t matter what race, I don’t care. Everyone should be treated the same way because we’re all human beings, and I really wish that people would respect that idea of equality more and that we’re all here living on earth and that life is a beautiful thing. We should all learn to respect our own lives and other people’s lives and that is kind of the main reason why it’s just respect and confound love for others.”

Charley Huang (12) appreciates Victor’s uninhibited personality, but also his willingness to throw his “loud” demeanor aside to pursue a deeper conversation.

“We had just come out of our friend’s birthday party, and it was like 1 a.m. It was me, Victor, and Kaitlyn Nguyen (12), and we didn’t want to leave. So all three of us sat in my car, and we just talked for like an hour,” Charley said. “It was really late at night, so we were super open with each other, and I feel like that was my best memory with Victor.”

But most of the time, Victor speaks in staccatos, his sentences as crisp as his dance moves. His life philosophy — “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” — reflects the parallelism evident in his speech.

“I play golf because I love it. I dance because, well one, it’s exercise, and two, I love it. I love music; I love dancing; I love moving; I love movement. It makes me feel good. That’s one thing that I truly believe in,” Victor said. “If you’re going to do something that you don’t like, and it doesn’t make you feel good, then why do it? Don’t do it. It makes me feel good, that’s why I do it.”