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Hey Sam, Shawn, Mike, Bradley!
Hey Hey! I’m Lewis Liu, one of your new roommates for the fall! I’m
so excited to meet all of you – but I guess we should make some introductions
first!
Well, where do I start.. I’m very talkative so I forgive a long and
rambling introduction, but since we’ll be living together, I guess it won’t
hurt for you guys to know me a little better – and I really don’t know how to
explain to you all who I am, so I’ll here I go with a long and hopefully not
boring email.
You all know from the sheet that I’m from Short Hills, NJ. Yea yea…
I know, NJ – you’re probably thinking “oh the armpit of the US”, but
seriously, NJ is the best (we got rolling highways, beautiful shores,
picturesque suburbs and a proximity to the City). I’m from I guess an upper
class suburban neighborhood which I am so glad to be leaving (the kids here
are icky)! In no way shape or form are my parents “rich”, they just work hard
so we can afford a house in Short Hills for the schools and stuff, and I am
very grateful I had Millburn High School education and be going to Harvard.
This summer I’m working as a computer programmer for Englewood Tires
at their headquaters writing random programs and doing some data entry shit..
so boring, but it pays well so whatever… and also tutoring and painting a
family portrait for an elder couple. I’m also trying to spend as much time
with my girlfriend as possible before I leave for college because we’re
breaking up when I leave (it’s just not going to work you know…). We’ve been
going out for a year + month now, and I love her, but I’m also a practical
person… so yea…
So finally at Harvard, which by the way, is going to be fucking
amazing (!), I plan to either double concentrating in Physics and VES (I’m a
painter) or do the masters Advanced Standing Program in Physics. I am leaning
towards the former just b/c I want to learn as much and as broad as I can in
my four years.
Thus, I guess it’s pretty obvious that my two major passions are
physics and art. I guess I love physics b/c I believe that in order for us
(humans/everything) to exist, the laws of the universe must be perfect, and
thus to study the laws of the universe is to study Perfection Herself. Yes, I
am a nerd at heart and damn proud of it! When I was little, even though my
family didn’t really have the.. uh.. financial resources, I used to scrap up
little pieces of things my parents used to throw out and do experiments and
stuff, I guess I have always been interested in why and how the things in our
world work. (I included a short blurb in the end of this email about my
passion for physics.. I wrote for Stanford but never submitted it. Read if
you want – but I do know I get boring so
My second passion, as mentioned before, is art. I have been painting
and drawing since as long as I can imagine. Uhh.. I’ll just explain about my
art in a little blurb about if you really feel like reading it in the bottom
of the email (like what I did w/ the physics one).
So if I plan to do Physics/VES I guess I’ll plan to do something like this: I
find physics truly beautiful and art is suppose to express beauty, so why not
use art to express the beauty of physics?
I also hope to run cross-country for Harvard. In high school, cross-
country was my best memory and I wish just to run with the team – I don’t even
need to be on the top of a D1 athletics team; I’ll just be really grateful if
I get to train and compete with the team. And I was on the tennis team in
high school, and I know that Harvard Tennis is suppose to be fucking amazing
so I guess I’ll play intramural tennis for PENNYPACKER!
Let’s see, what else – I’m also a literature freak, mainly poetry
though. I LOVE POETRY! I love writing poetry, especially sonnets and
villanelles and other poetic forms, free verse is also really cool as well (if
anyone is interested I’ll be honored to send some over). My favorite poets
include John Donne mainly for his sonnets; Emily Dickenson for her amazing
rhythm and concise language; and Edgar Allen Poe for his sheer genius. Haha.
you can check out my other “favorites” just by facebooking me so I won’t be
repeat that in this email.
Um.. I also love music, any song with a good melody, lyrics, or both
will satisfy my musical tastes. I like anything from Eminem to Tchaikovsky to
Simon and Garfunkle. I play the violin, though only “decently”; I’m practicing
a lot this summer, but uhh.. yea it’s really just a hobby than anything.
Well, I guess that basically sums up my main passions in my life. I
guess I’m a very passionate person, very energetic and enthusiastic (though
hopefully not too annoying all the time!) I love to have good conversations,
and that’s what I really love about the Harvard prefrosh I met so far. We’re
able to have amazing deep conversations about philosophy or art or math or
something and then jump to something silly and mindless and fun – the breadth
and profundity is truly amazing. So yes, I love to talk, I can just sit in a
coffee house and talk all day and I won’t be bored a single bit! (So I guess
that’s why they put me in the Pack, hah)
I’m Chinese, and I can speak Mandarin fluently and am proud of my
heritage, but in no way shape or form one of those crazy “Azn Groupie”
people. Oh yea, and I you can relax, I’m not one of those “Asian nerdie
people” you see who just study study hard. I try to take the “Work Hard Play
Hard” approach, though a lot of time, I actually do enjoy work.. uhh yea…
Anyhow I just think the “Azn Groupie” thing is so wrong. People are just
people, and who cares if one is from one culture or another. We should all
try to understand each other and embrace each other, not try to start some
superiority shit that’s basically just.. uhh.. well racism.
I try to keep an open mind about things, but the things I value more
than even my intelligence and talents are integrity and my principles (so
sometimes I can be a bit stubborn or even self righteous if I believe I’m
truly right – so I warned you ahead of time!)
On the other hand, I try to be kind and helpful as much as I can – I
figure as long as I’m on this world, mind as well try to make myself and
others have a better experience in life.
So yes, that’s my little introduction, I hope I don’t sound too
egotistical or whatever, but I’m just trying to give you the gist of who I am,
and I certainly look forward to hearing form you! I would write more but I
hope I’m boring all of you and you’ll get annoyed with your roommate before
you even meet him!
your excited roommate,
Lewis Z. Liu
PS. I also included my Harvard supplementary essay on the bottom—yea yea… I
know, but I have put a lot of energy into this essay and I think it really
really does show who I am so you can read if whenever if you want.
PHYSICS
Sitting in the large lecture hall of Columbia University watching my
Science Honors Program professor prove Einstein’s Special Theory of
Relativity, I stared and listened in amazement, astonishment, enlightenment.
As the equations arranged themselves on the chalkboard, I felt a warm feeling
of delight. The t and t prime, two relative time frames traveling at
different velocities, played in this logical performance of paradoxes.
Finally, the professor proudly wrote on the board, “t’=t ã”; the paradoxes,
solved. I heard a series of “woah”s and “ahh”s resonating in the room, but I
remained silent.
I have always enjoyed physics for some unknown reason, but now I figured out
why I love it. I love the ability of man to express the universe in simple
profound equations – the perfect balance of positives and negatives, the
seamless conservation of “space-time” and energy. I love the paradoxes,
the “how can this be”s that are solved by man’s mind. Ultimately, I
discovered that I love physics for its uniquely human quality of curiosity and
thought. Albert Einstein, like all physicists, was a man who used his mind to
search the truth, a truth that is explained not in words or expressions but in
the universal law: physics. And the search for the truth is precisely what
makes physics human.
ART
I have always been drawing – I was drawing 3-D objects at age three, Power
Ranger battles at age seven, serious still-lives at age ten, nude models this
summer, and sketches for my new painting yesterday. Drawing allows me to
create worlds on paper, either the world I see in front of me or the world I
envision in my dreams. My mentor, Zhou Young, a famous Chinese artist, taught
me to draw. From the basics, I was exposed to other media such as oils,
watercolor, pastels and traditional Chinese painting. Though I never forgot
my drawing roots, oils are my passion. The bold colors, the infinite
variations, and the profound depth of the medium captivate me. Art allows me
to escape a bad day, dive into a good moment, express my humanity, and explore
the world. I apply arts to transcend the mere notion of paint and colors and
to tell the truth in beauty. When destruction is the fate of everything, I
take solace in my ability to create.
Beautiful Scars
People often ask me what the ugly scars on my arms and legs are. I used to
shy away uncomfortably and mutter, “Mosquito bites.” They are certainly not
mosquito bites but shadows of my childhood illness.
An unusual form of skin allergies plagued me for over ten years. My
back, arms, and legs itched day and night; wounds bled and stayed open for
days. I had trouble sleeping. I struggled to sit still and refrain from
scratching. Few wanted to play with me because they were afraid of my wounds
and scars. When I first started school, even the teachers were afraid of me.
On day one of first grade, I was so excited that I could barely stand still.
I anticipated a friendly cheerful teacher with a bright red apple—the kind I
read about in books. This brief childhood dream was shattered when my
teacher, bearing a strange smile, asked me about the sores on my arms and the
blood on my shirt. I nervously told her it was just allergies, but she sent
me home anyway. Walking home, clutching my mother’s arm, I cried and vowed
never to go to school again.
Of course, though, I went back the next day.
The teacher let me back in when she understood my condition, but life outside
the classroom was a different matter. I was never picked for kickball in
recess; kids always told me I had no future in sports, for I was scrawny and
sickly. In sixth grade, one boy in gym class said I had AIDS. I didn’t know
exactly what AIDS was at that time, but I knew it must be some horrible
disease that made people afraid of you.
My parents took me to many doctors, but nobody could figure out my
problem. Because of this “handicap”, my parents choose not to push me as a
child, and I did not have any great expectations. Naturally I dreamt of
turning into a great writer like Dickens or becoming a famous scientist like
Einstein or being an acclaimed artist like Monet, but those were just vague
fantasies.
Most of the time, I took solace in playing by myself. A science book,
along with my natural curiosity, often occupied me long enough to forget about
itching. Then I performed experiments that the books suggested. Instead of
asking for GI Joes or Matchbox cars for Christmas, I asked for a microscope, a
telescope, an electric set and a chemistry set. Amateur experiments were my
playground; my curiosity, my doctor. Though knowledge excited me, I wanted
something more to expand my imagination. Thus, I drew pictures and played
legos. The drawings and spaceships allowed me to momentarily forget about my
skin. But basically I was a realist; my drawings were derivatives of reality
and lego-fantasies integrals of science. I have always accepted my physical
illness. I was sick, but the pain strengthened me. The wounds forced me to
expand in ways I never thought possible.
Through this torture, I learned compassion. Most of my classmates in
elementary school had hurt me, but my friend Matthew showed me kindness. The
light of friendship in the shadows of cruel misunderstanding shone brightly in
my otherwise lonely life. If one friend’s compassion brought so much joy into
my life, I figured, then my compassion toward others would also bring joy into
their lives—and it does. Ultimately, my compassion earned me many friends,
yet compassion is taught by torture.
Through this suffering, I learned perseverance, for the greatest feat is
something thought not possible. Now I am the captain of the cross-country
team. I am a varsity player in one of the top tennis teams in New Jersey; I
am one of the most respected athletes in my school – the kids who said I had
no future in sports because of my sickly childhood were wrong. I was never
expected to be a great student due to poor elementary education and my
illness, but now I am a scholar of Nabokov and I am the Essex County Merck
Physics Champion. Perseverance is taught by suffering.
Through this misfortune, I learned gratitude, for my childhood was plagued
with illness, yet I am blessed with many talents. I clung to my talent for
art, for it was my portal into dreams; I treasured my ability to think, for it
was my rationale in chaos. I appreciated my family and Matthew because they
gave me true kindness when others didn’t, and now I appreciate my family,
friends, talents and life much, much more. As Emily Dickinson wrote, “Water is
taught by thirst.”
Ultimately, I learned myself.
My allergies didn’t fully go away until I reached fourteen. Today, I carry my
scars with pride. Though each scar represents helpless tears from my parents
or insults from a bully, it also represents forgiveness and maturity. Each
scar represents a trial I overcame, an experiment I performed, a picture I
drew. Moreover, the scars represent the dreams and ambitions I still strive
for. As my girlfriend tells me, “You are beautiful because of them.” |
ive been reviewing that...it would be strange taking 55 and 1b coz i forgot 1b lol
