When I think of someone who has made an impact on my life, the first person that comes to mind is my older brother Jason. He inspires me to be the best person I can be. Graduating valedictorian from his class and attending Yale University, Jason has shown me that dreams do come true; he reminds me that I must never give up.
Growing up, Jason was always the smartest kid in class. He was beating games at age five and had an eloquent vocabulary. At a young age my parents could see that he was a genius; my mom always joked how it was all the Chinese food she ate while she was pregnant with him. After finishing seventh grade, he attended SMU's talented and gifted program, also known as TAG. This was a summer program where you live in a dorm, go to classes, and earn college credits at a young age. He continued this summer program every year until he graduated high school. After applying to multiple colleges, two schools he had dreamed of going to contacted him and let him know that he had received a fully paid scholarship. These schools were SMU and Yale University. He had to decide if he wanted to stay close to family or move thousands of miles away to Connecticut where he'd never been before.
Soon after, he decided to attend Yale University and begin his college adventure on his own. When he moved out, a part of me felt like it was missing. I knew eventually he'd have to leave for college, but I didn't mentally prepare myself. I would come home from school and go in his room to ask for help with homework and the vacant room reminded me he had left. Even though I wasn't ready for him to leave, I knew when he left he was leaving to fulfill his dream and make his family proud. Throughout high school he had always dreamed of being a movie director, so right off the bat he chose to major in directing at Yale. Every summer after he had completed his classes, Yale paid for him to study abroad, study film, and film his own movies.