As I stood by the front door of our apartment, eagerly waiting for Mom to take me to my first day of kindergarten, I saw our neighbors walking their children out of the building. “Mommy, look! Kui dei zou la!” I exclaimed in Cantonese, fearing we might be left behind. Instead of taking my hand and walking me to school with the other children, she led me to our car. “Jing, we’re not going to school with them anymore....

Despite being admitted to UCs and other amazing schools in California and the east coast, I ultimately chose to stay in the Bay Area, specifically San Francisco. Location was a huge factor for where I went to college....