Hi, I'm May, an avid writer, creative thinker, poet, and dreamer. Growing up bilingual, I developed a deep love and fondness for words and the art of language. Letters sauntered on the page and seemed to come to life. The fact that there are words in some languages that can’t be translated to other languages, experiences in some cultures that can’t be found in others, is what led me to write “The Middle Man.” From third grade onwards, I explored and crafted the blessings and tragedies of adolescent life in the world of Google Docs. As a kid with an overactive imagination, I also spent a lot of my recesses and lunch times reading.  I still remember reading "Rules" by Cynthia Lord in 4th grade, which is about a girl who creates a list of rules for her autistic brother to follow. It was the first time that I’d ever felt seen, and it made me want to make others feel seen through my own writing. Eventually, I was able to fulfill this desire through poetry. In sixth grade, I learned for the first time, how to write an acceptable concrete poem from my English teacher Ms. Alexis Sears. To this day, she is still the writer that I admire the most. After poring through the poems on her website as a young 6th grader, I came to understand why the strongest passions are discovered during childhood. I continue to enlarge my knowledge of the world around me by engorging and living vicariously through the works of other writers. After all, great writers are inspired by other great writers, and I think it is so beautiful how all writing is borrowed yet new at the same time. Novels: Anything from Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything to John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men to George Orwell’s 1984 to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar to Frederick Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil. Articles: The New York Times’ columns, The Washington Post and The Guardian’s investigative news, and the San Mateo Daily’s food story map. Poems: Kinsale Drake’s "Baby Carrots," Ocean Vuong’s "Headfirst," Franny Choi’s "Strawberry Moon," and Ada Limón’s "What I Didn’t Know Before." My absolute favorite passage of all time is from Kafka's letters to 23-year-old Milena, where he writes, wretchedly: Dear Milena, I wish the world were ending tomorrow. Then I could take the next train, arrive at your doorstep in Vienna, and say: “Come with me, Milena. We are going to love each other without scruples or fear or restraint. Because the world is ending tomorrow.” Perhaps we don’t love unreasonably because we think we have time, or have to reckon with time. But what if we don't have time? Or what if time, as we know it, is irrelevant? Ah, if only the world were ending tomorrow. We could help each other very much. Kafka taught me what it means to love as a writer and to be loved by a writer, which is one of the greatest gifts in the world. Since I fell in love with writing, I've never stopped. I write prose, poems, creative nonfiction, personal narratives, columns, articles, and fiction. You name it, I write it. Additionally, I love to draw, take photos, sculpt, and create mixed media videos. Besides the creative arts, I'm proud to call myself an entrepreneur and a leader who volunteers and serves for my local community. But no matter where I go or what I do, writing will always be my first and greatest love.