Q: So how’s high school been going so far?

A: “High school’s great … it’s harder than middle school. They definitely give you a lot more homework. I’m in all honors classes, and it’s not what I’m used to because the middle school I went to did not prepare you for the amount of homework you’re going to get, but it’s fine. My teachers they’re really influential. They help me whenever I have problems or anything like that, so it’s good.”

Q: What’s your favorite class so far?

A: “Math. Definitely math, math is my favorite. Mrs. Painter — she’s awesome. She explains the material really well, but not in like a really-boring-lecture way. She incorporates real-life scenarios and how this can actually help you in life, and not just teach you it.”

Q: What are your goals in high school?

A: “In high school specifically my goal is to get a really good GPA … around 4.4, maybe a little more above that…. I wish to become valedictorian. I don’t think that’s going to be a thing, but I’m going to try. And I think I want to try to get on a sports team, I want to try out. I want to see if I can get into anything.”

Q: Any sports you’ve been looking at?

A: “Definitely volleyball is my favorite sport. I like the energy, it’s really fun.”

Q: What extracurriculars are you involved in?

A: “I’m doing key club, which is like community service. And I’m also doing math team, science research club and speech team.”

Q: Could you tell me about some hobbies of yours?

A: “I really love dance and karate. I take karate every Tuesday and Thursday. I’m a light green belt, by the way. And for dance, I just like doing it for fun, I do it with my friends. I’m not really in a class or anything, we just do it for fun.”

Q: What kind of dance do you do?

A: “Anything. It’s more like hip-hop, something like that. I’ve done ballet before though. I know it sounds girly, but it’s hard.”

Q: When did you start doing karate?

A: “I started maybe two years ago. Yeah, my mom forced me to do it. I wasn’t really into it … But after some time, I started loving it. It’s fun.”

Q: What’s your motivation for continuing it?

A: “Well my friends are in that class too, so they keep me motivated. And I’m trying to get a black belt, so that’s my main goal. Yeah. It looks good on a college resume.”

Q: What are you looking for to this year?

A: “I’m looking forward to making new friends and getting good grades. Those are like my main goal.”

Q: One word to describe yourself.

A: “Intellectual. Definitely an intellectual, educations like my main priority. For example, I remember my mom, my dad, and my little brothers were going out to like this Chinese restaurant; it was my dad’s birthday. And I had so much homework that day, and I was like, ‘No like I can’t go. You have to go without me.’ So they just left me there, and I did homework for the rest of the night. And they came back, but they brought me food though. So it was fine … happy ending.”