By Charlyne Nguyen
In the movie, “Forrest Gump,” Mrs. Gump said that “you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.”
Apparently, it’s an insight into knowing where a person has been and sometimes, a window to see where they’ll go. This may seem a little far-fetched and a tad superficial, but if anyone is looking to know a little more about Justin Hsieh, they would only have to look at his feet.
From a distance, Hsieh seems to be the most happy-go-lucky kind of guy—strutting around the school in his flip flops with a kind of quick pace that can be described as filled with excitement and eagerness.
Many people walking around him in the school halls or grounds can’t miss the sounds of the flip-flopping of his flip flops.
People whose go-to footwear are flip flops are known to be outgoing, friendly and spontaneous. They’re also known to be relaxed and super chill.
This couldn’t be more true for Hsieh.
He’s the kind of guy, if stranded on an island, would bring the book “A Song of Ice and Fire,” his Hydro Flask and, for those who know him, a deck of cards.
What would a guy by himself do with a deck of cards? Well, Hsieh would start flipping the cards around his fingers or do some kind of neat trick with them.
Yup, that’s Justin Hsieh for you.
When he’s not speeding through the halls in his flip flops, Hsieh is busy leading Baron Banner alongside Karen Phan as co-editors-in-chief, being a total boss in Model United Nations (MUN) and speeding through the race track for the school’s cross country team (not in his flip flops).
Hsieh’s hobbies include reading and writing, so it was natural for him to pick Baron Banner as his source of nourishment for his interests.
“I stayed in Baron Banner because I really enjoy the writing, and I really enjoy getting to know about the things happening on campus and getting to improve my abilities to communicate,” Hsieh said.
Speaking about communication, Hsieh is also the president of the MUN, an academic club on campus.
“I’ve been the president for two years, and for me, that’s something that I really like because I got to learn a lot from it, and I got to meet a lot of people from different parts of the country and from different parts of California,” Hsieh said.
Despite Hsieh’s many accomplishments, he always seems to stay grounded and focused on helping others. Everything he does, from Baron Banner to cross country, has always been more about the people.
“I’ve really gotten to appreciate the bond that you have when you’re part of an athletics team [and] I think that’s a really important part of my life,” Hsieh said.
With his abundant talents, Hsieh is considering becoming a journalist, a news editor or a lawyer. A teaching profession is also a possible career path.
“Maybe I want to be a teacher when I’m older because I really enjoy finding the best way or like [to] figure out the best way to explain something. I think it’s like a puzzle, and that’s something I really enjoy getting to do,” Hsieh said.
His passions and interests go beyond the school gates. One of these passions includes his love for Japanese culture—especially the food.
“My mom raised us on Japanese food, and it’s my favorite food in the world. I could live my whole life on only Japanese food,” Hsieh said. “If I ever have a meal and it’s Japanese food, I’ll be excited about it no matter what it is.”
No matter what he’s doing, whether it be fixing the nitty-gritty of someone’s article, conquering tough terrains in a cross country race or even gobbling up Japanese food, Hsieh is always ready to give 110%.
His passion and determination have already brought him so far, so there’s really no stopping this freak of nature that is Justin Hsieh—not even when he’s in his flip flops.