Eleanor Roosevelt once said,”The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Hello, My name is Catherine Zhang, and everything I’ve done in my life so far, from being in the audience, to performing center stage, to interviewing mayors, Olympic swimmers, and famous artists has been driven by my passion, my love for my community, perseverance, and faith in myself. Originally, this all started when my mother brought me to a play after school when I was three years old. After watching it, I felt inspired about how people could convey their thoughts on stage.
That led me to join Galaxy Art’s Group for Children, a space that gave me the opportunity to discover who I am as a person through performing. At first, I felt intimidated even talking in front of people, but through time and experience , I built confidence. Additionally, I learned how valuable these three things are : community, perseverance, and staying true to yourself. First, I realized that community matters, as without the support of my parents, teachers, and fellow teammates, I would have never even found out about my love for the stage since I probably would have been too terrified to perform. For example, without their encouragement, I might not have worked as hard as I did in rehearsals , and likewise, their support after my performances always boosted my self-confidence. Secondly, I learned perseverance matters. This was because there were many instances where I felt that no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t perform as well as my teammates. But instead of quitting, I decided to persevere and practice harder, which ended up to be the right choice for me in the long run. Third, I learned being confident in who you are is important, as even though I was portraying a character, it was me putting my emotions out on stage. Therefore, being part of the Galaxy Art Group for Children not only helped me learn these core values but also showed me the joy of expressing myself in front of others at a young age.
From there, I also tried several other hobbies to see what I liked, and at five, I found a deep passion for dance. Since discovering this art, I learned over time that sometimes body language and actions could have a larger impact on people than words do. Dancing also allowed me to express not just my emotions, but thoughts in ways I didn’t know was possible before. For example, several professional dancers could learn the same piece, but in the end, they will all showcase it in different ways, as the choreography is just the base, and it is what the dancer’s personality is that makes the movement special. At eight, I joined a competition team and performed , “The Lion King,” where my team danced in front of thousands of people on a national stage and ended up winning first overall. From that year of smiles and tears, I further reinforced my love for my community, as we couldn’t have won without each individual girl’s determination in putting 100% effort into not only every class we had, but all the practice at home behind the scenes. Additionally, this was my first major opportunity to showcase my personality in front of such a huge audience, and after it was announced we won, I felt that all my hard work paid off. Recently, after almost eight years of dance experience, I taught the choreography , made the dance formations, and organized renting studios to a group of kids from my school. After around three months of hard work, we successfully performed the dance cover on stage and are planning in the future to have it professionally recorded.
Looking back now, each step of my journey was built on the last. Watching that first show at three opened my imagination. The Galaxy Art Group for Children taught me collaboration, self-worth and perseverance. Dance gave me the confidence to express who I truly am. Together, these experiences shaped me into someone who is not afraid to share my opinions, ask questions, and fight for what I think is right. Which is why now, for the past three years I’ve been giving back to my community by being a reporter for the same organization that helped me discover myself. Additionally, I’ve tried to seize every opportunity possible, attending events ranging from modeling competitions to professionals playing the Morin khuur to try to give back to my community as much as possible.
For example, here’s the response of one of my first major interviewing experiences on mayor Jack Ding. For most people, this response would be hard to understand, especially if Chinese isn’t their mother tongue which is why reporters like me can easily interpret and summarize. For example, I would say: “Jack Ding is trying to convey that community activity is essential for immigrants. For the first-generation , achieving the “American Dream” meant integrating into society and the local community. And for younger generations especially, one of the best ways to gain recognition and fulfill that dream is by getting involved in politics and public affairs.”
I also interviewed Dr. Xu Fangfang, who is the daughter of BeiHong Xu (Father of Modern Chinese Painting). She delivers how common values such as (Faith and Love, Family and Marriage, Dignity of Life, Social Justice, Service and Charity, Honesty and Forgiveness Community and the Common Good) affect her growth and achievement. I am deeply touched by her; and also my audience.
Meanwhile, I also interviewed the previous Olympic swimming champion Wang Xiaohong. She shared her story on how to participate in the social community and help youth treat swimming as not only a sport, but also a hobby, social activity and even a self-discipline tool. I shared my interview with my audience and supplied a novel way for our social life.
As located in Silicon Valley, I also get a chance to interview smart and innovative youth. Jason Yang is one of them and he is only 11 years old, but is already a veteran of writing science fiction. He shared lots of interesting ideas about how science and fiction combined together to change the world.
As I continue my education into high school, I want to carry forward my values of love for the community, perseverance, and self-worth. But additionally, I want to embrace leadership, believing that from the lessons I’ve learned about teamwork, confidence, and expression will guide me in making a positive impact on the world. Thank you.