I chose UC Berkeley from among many other options because it was important for me to try new things in new places, and Berkeley's urban, West Coast environment is wildly different from Millbrook. Berkeley's undergraduate program will also solidify my foundation as I further explore the many interests I developed at Millbrook — music, entrepreneurship, clubs, and activist culture — and begin to narrow my academic focus. My Millbrook mentors were all extraordinarily passionate about their subjects, and I am glad to have taken so many advanced and AP classes. I learned to aim for excellence without getting lost in perfection, and I absolutely found truth in the idea that what makes a place memorable are the people who create it.