How many people can say that everyday they do what they love to do? Too few, I think. Thanks to Oberlin, I'm one of those lucky people. At Oberlin, I don’t have to prioritize my development as a cellist and my dedication to learning and schoolwork; I can pursue them equally.

In one day I might walk between the science center and the conservatory building six times to get to different classes and rehearsals. My study time is divided into practice hours and schoolwork hours. The best part of the program is that I don't have to sacrifice anything: I still have a great group of friends, am still exposed to the world's best performances, belong to the club water polo team, and play in chamber music groups and orchestras.

Recently, I performed my junior recital. I had never played a solo recital in my life and found the experience invigorating and a little terrifying. When it was over I was truly proud of myself. The most rewarding part of this experience was sharing my music with my friends from the college. While they'd been to orchestra and quartet concerts, they'd never seen me play solo. For them, my recital was a chance to understand another side of me: the me that forgets about lab experiments and late-night study groups, and plays the cello in an attempt to better know myself and better understand others. I realized then that life isn't about choosing one path and forgetting about all the rest. It's about locating the many paths that are inviting, finding the place where they intersect, and hanging out there for a while. Maybe I'll eventually travel down one of them; maybe I'll build a house there and stay forever.

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