Tennis
I was 7 when I first held a tennis racket! I had joined a local tennis training program. It was also a fun activity for me to spend time at the tennis courts outside of my classes and play. I soon started to develop more interest and strived to be the best at my game. As I started to participate in competitive tennis, I spent several hours each week at the tennis courts practicing various techniques and working on getting good at those. I also loved attending tennis summer camps.
My goal was varsity tennis in high school. This seemed like an unachievable dream when I popped my kneecap during my one of my tennis lessons and had to be in a brace for several weeks. But I was not ready to give up. It took a great deal of mental strength to ease back into playing tennis again after several months, as I healed.
I was thrilled when I made it to the junior varsity in my freshman year but was not willing to stop there. I continued my practice and made it to the varsity team in my sophomore year. I’m so proud that I’m now the co-captain of my team and I love helping the girls on the junior varsity team achieve their dream of making it to the varsity.
Music/Instruments
I started playing the viola when I was 10. I joined my school’s orchestra in middle school and also took lessons at a local music school. I was curious about other instruments as well and soon enrolled into lessons to learn the piano. Shortly after, I convinced my parents to buy me a ukulele and tried to learn that on my own. While I was learning western classical music on these instruments, and I also enjoyed listening to my mom’s playlist of Indian music and soon started trying to play Indian music on these instruments. I recently explored an Indian instrument called the veena.
On the other hand, as my interest and research in neuroscience deepened, my focus has expanded from just playing instruments to understanding the impact of music on structures in the brain, that I intend to explore further.
My Freshman Orchestra (Viola)
Hobbies
I love creating things with my hands, like painting on canvas, ceramics, trying new recipes and bracelet making. I find these activities relaxing and energizing.
These hobbies have often translated into fun and bonding times with my friends and family, like the winter-breaks I spent painting canvas with my sister and cousins, fun cookoffs with family, ceramics workshops with friends and bonding with my grandma over making friendship bracelets during the pandemic.
