Intro (Planting Seeds)

A piece on my intellectual identity and how it came to be is incomplete without music, something I hadn’t realized until recently. Even though I might not have realized it, the songs that I listened to for entertainment have shaped who I am. They cover a myriad of topics, from culture to emotions, and by listening to them, I planted seeds in my mind, much like a garden. These songs forced me to self-reflect on problems I faced, and helped me grow.

These seeds lay dormant for months and years, but they provided a different viewpoint that helped me come to terms with my Chinese-American cultural identity, vulnerability and emotions, and college admissions and self-worth. The onus was on me to use these songs as help, because self-reflection and improvement is impossible without you WANTING it. These songs represent seeds because they require constant cultivation of the lessons I learned from them, and constant usage of the ideas that they provide. I have to put into practice their ideas for the seeds to sprout and grow.