I'm not at all stressed about the college application process. At all. I feel like I'm taking the most rigorous courses, and I have extracurricular activities and community service and leadership roles, and I'm doing sports (even though I'm not super good at them). Also, I have all the strong support that the college counseling office at Hotchkiss provides for its students; my college counsellor is much of a legend, and I know that my advisor has tried really hard to make sure that I'm in his group. There are factors that I cannot control (international student, financial situation etc.), but for all the controllable factors, I personally think that I am doing a great job. 

   Life has been awesome as ever. I went to a panel discussion yesterday night. It was the closing event of the foreign language week, and a lot of teachers went there to share their stories of living in foreign countries. It makes me feel less alienated. Although the transition from China to America was extremely smooth, and I had almost no hard time socializing or whatsoever, sometimes I just can't help but feeling extremely vulnerable in a culture and an environment where I will always be viewed as "foreign". It's reassuring that people around me have experienced all of that too. However, I was still disappointed that a lot of my friends were unable to understand that. During lunch, I said that peanut butter jelly sandwich was very interesting, and my friend insisted that I said that in a condescending way. I said that it's probably because I'm international, and I apologized; she went on to say that I should stop using that as an excuse after being in America for six months. I immediately snapped. Six months is barely anything; people can live in a foreign country for their entire live without feeling truly assimilated. I don't blame her for saying that, but the fact that she's so ignorant about it still frustrates me a lot. 

   But despite these little nuisances, most of the things are joyful and happy, especially when spring is on its way. I especially enjoy playing piano, since I went back to an old piece that I didn't get to finish. I'm having lots of fun with it, and for the first time in my life I feel like a pianist instead of just someone who plays the piano. 

   This is relatively short, but I really need to go back to my history reading.