Liu 1

Tiffany Liu

Professor Carmen Acevedo Butcher

R4B

22 September 2022

Life of an Acai Bowl

In my senior year of high school, I was doing what millions of other seniors were also

doing: preparing college applications. The most memorable part of the entire process was

creating my Video Profile for the University of Chicago. For their application, they

recommended submitting a two-minute video introduction, stating “We hope students find

creative ways to share their voice and ideas” (University of Chicago, 2020). For my video, I

wanted to showcase my own personality through the eyes of people who were most important to

me. Thus, I sent a Google Form to my friends, family, and mentors, asking them questions like

“If I were a food, what would I be and why?” and “If I became president, what do you think I

would do first?” It was a really impactful project because their responses helped me realize

qualities about myself that I had not even noticed before. A response from my literature teacher

in freshman year really stood out to me: “If you were a food, you would be an acai bowl—an

assortment of flavors that works in harmony to produce a solid meal” (Liu, 2020). Through my

own perspective, I believe that an acai bowl is the perfect representation of my personality as I

am someone who has an unlimited list of things I want to explore and learn about. My only

enemy is time—not being able to try everything that my curious mind desires.

I am a 19-year-old woman from Cupertino, and I have lived in the Bay Area for my entire

life. According to US News, Cupertino High School is ranked #23 in STEM high schools and
 Liu 2

has a population that is 71.2% Asian (US News, 2021). In this area, I felt a lot of pressure to

succeed, especially in the field of tech. I often wonder whether tech is something I actually want

to pursue or if it is something that has been pushed upon me by my circumstances. It has taken

me years to finally decide that it is a combination of both. My parents immigrated from Taiwan,

and a majority of my extended family still lives there. My dad was only able to move to the

United States because he got a job offer for software engineering in Silicon Valley. Although I do

not feel the obligation to also get a tech job because of my parents, I do feel connected to it

because it has shaped my family’s journey to where we are today.

Thus, I am majoring in Data Science. Since last semester, I have been an Academic

Intern for UC Berkeley’s Data 8 course, where I guide students through fundamental data science

concepts including hypothesis testing, data visualization, and regression. This semester, I am a

Research Assistant at the Risk Resilience Research Lab, a mentor for the Essential Tools for

Data Science Decal, and an Education committee member in Blockchain at Berkeley. I plan to

pursue graduate studies in Data Science and to eventually become a professor who advances

research and exploration in methods to uplift underrepresented communities.

Recently, my research interest lies in blockchain technology. Blockchain was introduced

to me as “a technological solution to a social problem” by members in Blockchain at Berkeley.

Essentially, blockchain is a system of recording information that is difficult or impossible to

change or hack. Below is a flow map of how a blockchain works.

 Liu 3

Blockchain in Action (Stanford Graduate School of Business)

According to Stanford Graduate School of Business’s study “Blockchain for Social Impact,”

blockchain promotes human rights initiatives as it can create verifiable information streams to

track rights violations across the world (Stanford, 2018). This is one of many use cases of

blockchain that I am amazed by and want to continue researching about.

Although my academics play a central part in my identity, I am also a myriad of other

things: ballroom dancer, hiker, camp counselor, real estate agent, and actress. I have done Latin

dancing since middle school, and I am beginning to learn Standard on the Cal Ballroom dance

team. I am someone who jumps at every opportunity to learn new things, so learning different

dance styles is no exception. On Sunday mornings, my friends find it difficult to reach me as I

am almost always hiking somewhere with no service. My favorite one at the moment is the hike

to Alamere Falls in Point Reyes. This summer, I was surrounded by nature as I was a camp

counselor at Camp Kesem—a week-long summer camp for children who have parents with
 Liu 4

cancer. I also hold a real estate license and am minoring in Theater and Performance Studies.

Acting and being part of theater has been a huge part of my development. Without it, I would not

have the confidence and self-awareness that I am so grateful to have. Arts educator Rekha S.

Rajan highlights in “Integrating the Performing Arts in Grades K-5” that students need creative

venues to encourage confidence, self-expression, and collaboration (Rajan, 2012). She urges all

teachers to integrate the performing arts throughout their curriculum, which is an aim that I care

deeply about because of how much I was personally affected by it.

Alamere Falls (Liu)

Berkeley Classic Ballroom Competition (Liu)

 Liu 5

Besides my professional pursuits and personal interests, the most important thing to me is

the connections I have with others. I believe that being an only child has made me closer to the

people I meet because I constantly seek familial, sibling-like bonds with my friends and cousins.

I have a journal called “The Happy Book,” and I ask my friends to each write a page of things

that make them happy. The reason I have this book is because I value reflection on the good

things in life. I owe much of my happiness to the relationships I have, and my greatest goal is to

contribute to the happiness of those I surround myself with as well. During my high school

graduation speech, I expressed “Thank you, my fellow classmates, for being a part of my movie

and allowing me to be a part of yours. From your influence, I have grown into a better version of

myself and discovered that our potential is defined by self-belief and perseverance” (Liu, 2020).

I have found that the better version of myself is one that is independent but also supported by the

people I love.

Graduation Speech (Liu)

Ultimately, I consider myself as someone with varied interests. There is tension between

all of the components that make me have the qualities of an acai bowl. I have ideas about who I

want to be, but I am not sure which path I will end up taking. I am also unsure whether pursuing
 Liu 6

all of these interests is the “correct” approach or if I should narrow it down. However, I am just

seeing where each one takes me—whether it is a hobby or professional career. Entrepreneur and

bestselling author Michael Simmons outlines seven advantages of being a polymath in his article

“People Who Have ‘Too Many Interests’ Are More Likely to Be Successful According to

Research.” He argues that Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin,  Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and dozens of

other successful people are examples of how “the most creative breakthroughs come via making

atypical combinations of skills” (Simmons, 2018). I am still young, my interests will fluctuate,

my combination of abilities is one of a kind, and I have all the time in the world to figure my life

out. After all, who doesn’t love an acai bowl?

 Liu 7

Works Cited

“Apply”. University of Chicago College Admissions. 2022.

https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply.

“Cupertino High School”. US News. 2021.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/california/districts/fremont-union-h

igh/cupertino-high-school-2213#:~:text=Overview%20of%20Cupertino%20High%20Sch

ool&text=The%20AP%C2%AE%20participation%20rate,in%20the%20Fremont%20Uni

on%20High.

Galen, Doug. “Blockchain for Social Impact: Moving Beyond the Hype.” Stanford Graduate

School of Business. 2018.

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/gsb/files/publication-pdf/study-blockchain-impact-mo

ving-beyond-hype.pdf.

Liu, Tiffany. “Alamere Falls”. Personalized collection. Photo. 25 July 2022.

Liu, Tiffany. “Berkeley Classic Ballroom Competition”. Personalized collection. Photo. 19

March 2022.

Liu, Tiffany. “Graduation Speech”. Personalized collection. Photo. 03 June 2021.

Liu, Tiffany. “University of Chicago Optional Video Profile”. 22 October 2020.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlHg1TmFud0.

Rajan, Rekha. “Integrating the Performing Arts in Grades K-5”. ProQuest Ebook Central. 23

May 2012.
 Liu 8

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libproxy.berkeley.edu/lib/berkeley-ebooks/reader.actio

n?docID=1993943.

Simmons, Michael. “People Who Have ‘Too Many Interests’ Are More Likely to Be Successful

According to Research”. Thrive. 4 May 2018.

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/people-who-have-too-many-interests-are-more-likely-to-

be-successful-according-to-research/.