Life is a progression: of hobbies, of beliefs, of relationships. That scatterplot of experiences makes an individual unique. When considered against the axis of time, the trend lines naturally reflect a person’s values and priorities. Viewing a person’s life on this scale, it’s difficult not to wonder what motivated their every step.

Angelina Zhu (12) prioritizes efficiency. Rather than constrain herself within rigid rules and frameworks, her analytical approach to different aspects of her life frees her. Throughout the years, she honed her ability to identify and improve on herself.

“I’ve always thought about things in an economic way,” Angelina said. “What can I do to maximize the happiness I get? There are definitely things I’d change if I went back, but there’s no point in dwelling on that.”

She relates to the tenets taught in her economics classes and how their methodical evaluations of situations appeals to her considering nature.

Game Theory teacher Samuel Lepler taught Angelina during senior year. Lepler spotlighted how easily she took to economics and its mathematical approach to the abstract and personal. Her ability to focus on the models helped classmates cross that roadblock during discussions.

“One of the great strengths of Angelina is that she’s able to be honest and share what she actually thinks,” Lepler said. “It’s refreshing. Her openness and contributions allowed everybody to get past the challenging things about talking about something like marriage in a strategic way.”

Angelina’s emphasis on reasoning puts others at ease around her. Her frankness abandons any notion of pretense and makes it easy to focus on the moment. Though they were friends in third grade, Ceren Erdogan (12) and Angelina grew close after a shared computer science class. Ceren appreciates Angelina’s practicality and ability to assert herself and her goals.

“Sometimes Angelina doesn’t realize how interesting she is,” Ceren said. “Something I really admire about her is that she stands up for herself. That’s something I’m trying to do as well and continuously learning by watching her get what she wants.”

Close friend Olivia Xu (12) met Angelina at 2-years-old in preschool, and the two have stuck together since. Like Ceren, Olivia feels inspired by Angelina’s trust in herself and how stepped out of her shell more because of it.

“Angelina is very self-aware and perceptive,” Olivia said. “She has a very quiet self-confidence which comes from knowing her own values very well and who and what is important to her. That’s inspired me to also be more confident in myself and more assertive.”

Angelina’s familiarity with herself allows her to approach her life on a daily scale. Rather than mindlessly aspire to an ideal version of herself, she focuses on certain aspects of herself at a time. Her bevy of hobbies illustrates this emphasis on realistic steps. From doing her own nails to a knitting stint to making resin keycaps, every trinket she makes reflects a step in a cycle of improvement.

Olivia highlighted Angelina’s knack for picking up new skills, the most recent being crochet. The majority of her hobbies are born from the dual truth that she “likes to make things, and save money.” Not only is crafting an economic means of expression, it also allows Angelina to savor quality time alone.

“I’ve come to really enjoy spending time by myself,” Angelina said. “Olivia taught me a couple things, and she tells me that I picked crochet up quickly. It’s not like doing my nails, where if I mess up it’s over and it’s stressful and frustrating. When I crochet, if I mess it up, I can just get rid of the entire round and do it all over again.”

Although she came to appreciate solitude and its clarity, she still feels a need to be productive to make the best use of her time. However, this mindset shifts when applied to her interpersonal relationships.

“When I spend time with my friends, I don’t feel like I’m wasting it at all,” Angelina said. “I met more people in high school, and I think I’m happier and healthier now.”

The thought of an ‘optimized’ person carries associations of impersonal and robotic individuals. However, Angelina demonstrates the intense dedication and care constant self-reflection and evaluation produces. Every choice, every minute, every relationship exists because she wants it to. With that internal intentionality comes a selfless sincerity.

“People might think it’s lonely, but I prefer being in close proximity to a few people,” Angelina said. “I want to make clear to my friends that they’re special to me. I’m supposed to be my own first priority, but I don’t know what I would be working toward if I didn’t have people I cared about.”