Alyssa Liew

Hi! My name is Alyssa Liew and the best thing that’s happened to me so far this school year was not failing the road test, which was amazing since the odds were not in my favor. But then again, who could refuse to give that neon orange sticker to a person who has been driving for 14 years and who owns a Barbie car? 

My academic goals this year are pretty standard. I’d like to maintain good grades as well as keeping my 5 streak alive, which will be more difficult this year with four tests instead of two (thank goodness for caffeine). I’d also like to solidify and visit a list of colleges I would like to attend. I hate the questions "Where are you going for college?" and "What do you want to do?" mostly because I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life, so I'd like to figure that out this year. 

Casually sitting on Han Dynasty era national monuments. If anyone asks, it wasn't my idea.

This summer I got to visit my family in China and Malaysia, whom I haven’t seen in years. Apart from seeing family, the best part was shopping, eating street food in the wee hours, and seeing the Terracotta Warriors in China and parasailing, finding Nemo in an undersea dive, and drinking Jumbo Mango juice in Malaysia. The worst part was the flying and waiting and flying and waiting. Who knew you couldn't get used to getting half way across the world? We also got stuck in a mob in China, which was both exhilarating and annoying. 

Villagers at Iskandur Kul; the sweetest people you will ever meet. 

The thing that I can go on and on about for hours is my summer in Tajikistan a year ago. I don’t know if that would count as geeking out about something since it’s kinda conceited. Tajikistan is north of Afghanistan and west of China, and I was lucky enough to see the Afghan border on one of our trips. It looked really dusty, just like Tajikistan. A lot of memorable things are from that summer, from being proposed on several occasions, going to Chiluchor Chasma (44 Springs; each spring heals a specific illness and where Saint Kambar Bobo is buried) right before Ramadan began, and hiking for the first time. The women in the picture were absolutely wonderful. They were only a couple years older than I am, and they've had to forgo schooling in order to support their family in a temporary village built with mud and dung. They also invited me into their home for snacks, which was an amazing gesture since they themselves were fasting for Ramadan. After studying Persian in Tajikistan, I decided to take an Arabic class at UK in order to create a foundation for Middle Eastern affairs, which is a possibility for a future career. Also, one of my current goals is to learn how to make Persian food, but that’s a bit difficult since my cooking skills are limited to barely making dumplings and ramen. My experience there was amazing and delicious, and I would love to go back one day. On a slightly unrelated note, my dream vacation would be island hopping in Southeast Asia, going across Europe by train, or hiking the Pamirs.

Random Alyssa facts: I love to talk (no surprise there). I can’t the sound of clinking silverware and sharpening knives. I like going to www.iwastesomuchtime.com and www.attackofthecute.com to procrastinate. I ruined my copy of The Wal-Mart Effect by spilling nail polish on it when I was trying to paint my locks and read at the same time. I like color coding things. I would eat at Panera everyday if I could. I love to read. My friend taught me how to read during nap time. I'm scared of being in the dark with doors open to other ominous dark places. 

So that's my hopes, dreams, and aspirations neatly consolidated into five paragraphs. I don't know how to end this with finality so I hope you have a wonderful day? And, don't forget to be awesome.