In high school, I began to tire of the pressure placed on me by my family and their high
expectations. I gradually stopped my extra-curricular activities, including music and art lessons,
and chose to work instead. I graduated at the top of my class, although I wasn’t
valedictorian—perhaps because I didn’t want to give my overbearing family the satisfaction. And
then I chose a large public university a lot farther from home than the small private college my
parents hoped I’d attend. I wanted to be a small fish in a big pond for a change.