By Vaughn Bui
If someone asked you for one opinion that would turn the world against you, what would you say?
Emily Chan responded with one firm belief, a belief very outlandish and controversial:
“I will say I do love tomatoes. I know that people hate tomatoes … [but] I feel like cherry tomatoes are so fun,” Chan said.
Sophomore writer and illustrator Emily Chan returns to Baron Banner eager to share a wide variety of unconventional topics to write and discuss with others.
Having joined the newspaper her freshman year, Chan hopes to use her experience and time management skills to write opinion and news articles. She also hopes to balance and excel in her academic classes.
Chan takes pride in her speaking and writing skills, being able to discuss just about any topic that comes to her mind. In fact, she argues that she could outspeak anyone in a room filled with a thousand random people in a discussion about any subject.
“I just kind of speak about nothing … I kind of blank out, and then I just start talking about random stuff,” Chan said.
Chan often hops from one topic to another unexpectedly; her bottomless well of random ideas never fails to drain. Yet, she always creates the time to squeeze in an uplifting message to the people around her. Chan’s compliments never fail to brighten the day of its recipient, even though at times they may seem sudden.
“I’m just speaking about nothing, and when I think about mustard, that’s what pops into my head,” Chan said. “How grateful I am to be here in a room with amazing writers.”
Being grateful for what she has is something Chan cherishes deeply. She hopes to influence others to also be grateful for what they have, as it led her to view the world through a more optimistic lens. No matter the time of day, where she is or who she is with, Chan takes a second to acknowledge and express her gratitude for everything surrounding her.
“Once you put value in what you have, I feel like that just opens the doors for more things to come,” Chan said.
With ambitions for her future, she hopes to start by fulfilling a new desire of hers; the goal of befriending a boatload of people.
“In ten years, I would have networked with two hundred — I want to do a hundred people a year,” Chan said.
As if the universe heard, Chan’s new school classes are seemingly challenging her.
“You know in my classes, I feel like I have a lot less friends than last year,” Chan said.
However, that doesn’t stop Chan and her outgoing personality.
“[The lack of friends] just means there’s room for more.”