![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and its played such a major role in who Ive become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something Im [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala (21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“Im not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
Heart of Harker: Lessons in stress and pressure
Provided by Joanna Lin
April 25, 2019
You’ll never get there. Right now, all that matters is college. Once you get in (and you WILL get in), it’s internships, grad school, med school. And afterwards, your own lab, your own practice, your own Silicon Valley startup. And suddenly you’ll find yourself signing your kids up for Suzuki violin lessons when they’re 6 months old.
To me, Harker’s “college-centric” mindset is only representative of a much larger problem. At a lab meeting in October, one graduate student picked an article written by recent MIT Ph.D. graduate Justin Chen, who lamented the all-encompassing, never-ending lifestyle of scientific research. He talks about how always feeling on the edge of a breakthrough has a negative effect on his personal life. In discussion, the three international post-docs observed that it’s a very American trait to keep going and going, trying to get ahead at the expense of anything. We noticed that relationships start to suffer, along with mental and physical health. I couldn’t help but draw a comparison to my high school experience.
Insight is the capacity to step back and evaluate yourself: your actions, your goals and your beliefs.
This past year, I’ve reflected on the pressures that parents, many of whom are immigrants, place upon us. Not just your actual parents, but every parent in the community. Because they are brilliant and hardworking people, your parents were the top of their class at the best universities in the country. It’s only natural for them, and us, to expect the carriers of their genes to do the same. It’s definitely easier to say this than believe it, but those expectations are deceivingly unrealistic. You don’t have to achieve more than your parents did, and you’re not a failure if you don’t.
Insight is the capacity to step back and evaluate yourself: your actions, your goals, and your beliefs. It’s okay to not yet see that there’s a problem, but it’s unforgivable to recognize it and ignore it. So here we go: I am part of the problem. I joined a lab to not only explore my interests, but also because medical schools look at published research. Of my three main extracurriculars into which I poured my high school career and decorated in flowery prose for college applications, I am currently participating in none. I still measure myself against everyone around me. I still prioritize doing as much as possible over taking care of myself.
Yet, I’m magnitudes happier now than I was a year ago. The last time I felt this happy was probably my freshman and sophomore years at Harker, when I wasn’t playing mind games with the unknown entities that are The Admission Committees. This next round of applications, I’m going to try to keep in mind that, no matter how important this may seem, it’s just another step. My success in life is not measured by which school I go to now, or the school I go to afterwards, or the job I land after that, or where or when I buy a house.
