Who am I?

This isn't my first blog; I've attempted blogging many times before and I'm a bit of a failure at it really. But I think my issue is that I was never honest with myself, I over-analysed my content to tailor an 'audience'. Which I've come to realise, isn't really my primary concern. Blogging to me is about self expression and writing about my personal experiences, but before I start talking about my personal experiences, I need to define myself in order to give them meaning. In the past I would focus on one thing whether it be my studies, hobbies or other interests, but that was always just one side of me. So who is me? Well, I don't really want to get too philosophical so I suppose I should answer that question.

I am 19, an Australian citizen by birth and the eldest of three girls. My mother is a second-generation Chinese ex-pat and my father is an Australian. Growing up as a half-caste Chinese-Australian brought its own challenges but I've never really given them too much heed.

I can't speak any Chinese apart from the tit-bits I learned in high school, which is more than my mother knows as she grew up very much immersed in the Australian community.

That being said, I grew up in what could be considered a typical immigrant Asian fashion blended with an old-fashioned Australian upbringing. I took private piano lessons and group cello lessons from a young age, I danced for many years with my mother making many fantastic costumes for the concerts I participated in. I attended weekend Chinese school for a few terms in primary school which really didn't teach me anything as all the other children could already speak Chinese. My father taught me mathematics and would test me regularly to see where my level of ability was and to make sure my school work matched my abilities. I also attended extracurricular maths classes for a time but dropped out because the class consisted of students who had attended the year before and had already covered the content, leaving me far behind.

I read. A lot. This was interesting because I was a relatively slow starter when it came to reading and writing but when I started, I really took off. It would have been around grade 2, I leap-frogged my class and began reading at a more advanced level. I read Lord of the Rings when I was nine, as well as many other fantasy novels; fantasy was my escape into imagination. My mother began buying books on a price vs. number of pages basis. By grade 5 I had the reading age of a nineteen year old.

In high school, I had already decided what I wanted to do when I went to university; to become a doctor. I continued with music, winning a state music scholarship when I was 15, allowing me to begin private tuition with one of the most prominent cello teachers in my area.

School work was never a huge challenge for me, I breezed through without much effort up until my final two years of schooling. Year Eleven was a first taste of heavy work loading; I picked up two folio subjects (music composition and creative writing) which required me to submit massive folios at the end of the year. While I struggled to motivate myself to do the work, I did get it done in the end and was rewarded with high marks. In year twelve I focussed on subjects that would get me into Medicine. I picked up two Mathematics subjects, Biology and Chemistry. I also picked up a UMAT entry program that helped me study for the university entry exam). While my marks weren't perfect, they were enough to get me into Medical School.

This brings me to another facet of who I am.

I am currently in my second year of Medical school at Monash University. At this moment I am trying to study for my mid-year exam - procrastination is winning.

I currently live in a Residential College as I had to move interstate to study at this university. (I was accepted into my local university however, the reputation of Monash was very attractive and it has proved to be beneficial to my future - more on that some other time.)

I may post more about medical school later on as there are many things about it that I feel are important that many people don't tell you before you get in or even once you get in.

While I am not writing much about it here, it is very much a huge part of my life.

In year 11 I picked up Olympic Weightlifting for a year for a bit of fun (it became a bit of an addiction really). My coach passed away at the end of that year and I had no other coach to learn from so I quit.

Late last year, one of my old friends from the gym convinced me to return and when I moved back to Melbourne, due to the close proximity of the Club to Uni, I have continued. I am currently making a lot more progress and it is probably one of the reasons I haven't burned out due to the stress of my course.

Over the last year I became interested in corsetry via youtube, mostly due to a woman called Lucy (bishounenrancher). I was fascinated by not only corsetry as a form of self-expression and beauty but as an artisan craft. There are many people that I am inspired by and I am currently working on a few holiday projects that I may post about later one.

Being brought up with an ethnic background exposed me to food. I have a huge passion for food and cooking and I may also post about those things when I go back home for breaks as my college has meals that are provided.

There is one more thing that really defines who I am and that would have to be my partner. We will be celebrating our fourth year anniversary in a week's time although our celebrations will have to wait until I return home. Yes, we are in a semi-long-distance relationship. He studies at the local university while living with my parents and we see each other when I have major holidays or he flies up to see me.

I am also quite keen on design and photography; I have a Canon 550D DSLR which I treasure. I hope to work on the layout of this blog over the break :)

Well, me in a massive nutshell, there you have it :)

P.S. I am a massive nerd.